Broker profile: 'Insurance has been very good to us'

Heather Peirano is the MD of Piranha Insurance Brokers in Queensland, an active industry representative and national leader who says being engaged with community is key.

Tell us about Piranha.

We are a small regional insurance brokerage, with walk-in traffic on a daily basis. Our client base covers all aspects of our community and being involved with the community is important for us.

I have had the privilege of working with many inspiring people in my 60 years of working. In male-dominated industries – a car dealership, mechanical workshop, sawmill, and in sapphire mining – I learned the art of navigating and negotiating with different thought patterns and characters.

I use these experiences and skills today in collaborating with our team, insurers, and the public.

I came to the insurance profession when I married 35 years ago. Peter had a multi-agency – which was a life agency and general insurance multi-agent — and we became Piranha Insurance Brokers, established in 1978 as a locally owned and operated family company servicing Rockhampton, Capella and surrounding areas.

In 2016, health issues resulted in Peter retiring and we became a corporate authorised representative of our son’s brokerage in Brisbane.

Insurance has been very good to us and our family, and we have two sons (Aviso Select CEO Andrew Hinz and Piranha Broker Nathan Peirano) who work in this satisfying profession.

Encouragement comes when our team is involved in discussions with clients and meeting their requirements, and this comes about by the education and personal exposure we provide for all team members.

How are current conditions?

We and our clients are experiencing challenging times. There are several factors creating this – insurers working from home is resulting in less personal interaction with their teams and delayed responses, and insurers have less capacity to underwrite.

Also, over the past few years senior staff have retired and a lot of experience has left the industry.

In our office, the senior team members often sit with our junior team and talk about particular covers and claims they have been involved in. This is a learning time in which no one really registers they are gaining knowledge until they come across something like what has been discussed.

How do you enrich your community?

I believe everyone should contribute to our community and our chosen employment.

My way of contributing is being a Council of Queensland Insurance Broker (CQIB) committee member. CQIB provides training in Far North Queensland, an area often missed in the training calendar.

We also provide support to our Queensland broker families, and locally I am on the board of Capricorn Enterprise which promotes economic development and tourism in the Central Queensland area.

I am a NIBA Queensland divisional committee member and the National Board representative, and I am proud to be involved in the contribution and dedication NIBA gains for us all in the federal arena.