Client Testimonials

“Mum and Dad were the first to deal with EBM when they hired Terry, an insurance broker they’d used since the 1970s.

We’ve had a number of crop and building insurance claims over the decades since then but the year I’ll never forget is 2008. It was a disaster for vehicles – we wrote off five vehicles and severely damaged another.

EBM not only promptly lodged and handled all the claims, but helped us through when the insurers reviewed us closely because of all the claims. We trust EBM and they look after us. Terry set the bar high, and his colleagues have lived up to the mark after his retirement.

With EBM, insurance is one box I don’t have to worry about – the insurance box is ticked.”

Donald Heitman, Owner, Arena Farming Co. 

Arena is an expansive 2,700 hectare farming operation, producing sheep,  cattle and crops, near Mingenew, Western Australia. The enterprise 

supports three generations of the founding Heitman family. 

Image Courtesy of Donald Heitman 

“In the 1970s business was done through friendship and networking. I was one of the first customers and have stuck with EBM ever since. As our business has grown, they’ve attended to our needs and grown with us. They have adopted new services to accommodate our business.

We’ve watched their families grow up as they’ve watched ours, so that trust and long-term knowledge does play a major part in staying with the company.

It’s a great comfort.

EBM has always been proactive in getting us the right cover. They know our business. The staff at EBM – the people we’re dealing with – have been there so long they know our business intimately.

Our insurance needs have changed dramatically over 40 years. We’ve grown from a staff of four or five to 50 and we have more shops now. Insurance companies’ needs have changed as well, so we’ve all had to adapt. But service from EBM has always been good. They’re always there to respond. We can ring them at any time and get the answer we need. I have a private car collection and they have the knowledge at hand to help me deal with insurance there when I need to.

EBM, like ourselves, started small and has grown through demand and service.

EBM deserves its place at the top of the tree in the Australian market. I believe that in a 40-year-old business, satisfaction comes from watching people grow with you.”

Alan Linney, Owner and Creative Director, Linneys 

Linneys has been producing unique fine jewellery for more than four  decades using Western Australia’s most precious resources – Kalgoorlie  gold, Argyle diamonds and South Sea pearls. It was one of EBM’s first  clients and the 40-year relationship continues today. 

Image Courtesy of Alan Linney 

“We started the business with $150. We were making water tanks and we saw a swimming pool mould for sale in the paper for $500. We sent a cheque, the mould came up from Perth, and we were in business – as easy as that.

We went to the bank to get finance for a bigger factory on our two acres in Narrogin and the bank asked about insurance. Somehow, somewhere, we came across EBM and we’ve been with them ever since.

They cover everything for us – workers’ compensation, all of our vehicles and machinery around the country, display centres and contents, our pools in transit, marine transport when we’re shipping overseas, our operation in Spain, public liability and warranty cover, and travel insurance. They cover us around Australia, around the world, wherever we ship to.

Fibreglass is a very high risk industry. One drop spilled can be a fire. It’s the worst product, as it goes up on its own.

When Lloyd’s stopped insuring fibreglass factories, EBM went about searching for someone that would do fibreglass insurance. EBM has always been able to find us insurance, and at competitive prices. Whoever they pick, the best deal they can do for us, we’re absolutely happy to take their advice on that. After 30 to 35 years you build up an element of trust.”

Bob and Rona Biernat, Founders, Freedom Pools 

Freedom Pools was founded a year before EBM. From small beginnings,  making farm water tanks in the Western Australian country town of  Narrogin, the fibreglass swimming pool manufacturer has grown into a  thriving international business. 

Image Courtesy of Bob and Rona Biernat 

“For more than 25 years, AgLink has relied on EBM for its liability and professional indemnity insurance.

I’m not an insurance expert. I’m an accountant, and I don’t want to have to spend time going through different policies to find the best provider or the best coverage for our business.

I leave that up to EBM – and rely on their knowledge of our business and of the insurance business.

We renew policies each year with EBM and I really have a high comfort level with the team that looks after our business. He takes the complexity out of it."

Ian Gillespie, Finance Manager, AgLink

Based in Victoria, AgLink is one of Australia’s biggest agricultural chemical distributors, with more than 190 outlets across Australia. This private corporation, owned by 22 members, was formerly known as Independent Horticultural Distributors.

“Early in 1989, a bloke called John Black walked into our workshop yard dressed like an insurance man. I was busy and working on a drill rig, covered in oil and grease, and in no mood to be exchanging pleasantries.

This occurred twice more before we had a chance to gather the information he required. John proved he was able to get us thoroughly covered, across all our insurance requirements, for far less than we’d previously been paying.

By mid-1992, John had firmed his influence in and around the Goldfields and his business had attracted the interest of a larger firm, Elkington Bishop Molineaux, who took over the company.

A couple of years later, John informed me EBM’s business in Kalgoorlie had grown such that an office was to be established here with a local representative. I was disappointed at first … this young bloke out of the Perth office, Ashton George, would move to Kalgoorlie, set things up and continue to look after us.

Time tells the story better than anyone because, more than 26 years later, we’re still with EBM and Ashton is still taking care of our insurance needs.

In that time, our own business has tripled in size, while adding other investments and acquisitions along the way, all with the insurance guidance of Ashton and his colleagues at EBM.

Over the years, we have met many of EBM’s staff and Directors and, together with Ashton’s staff here in Kalgoorlie, have become close friends, as well as business associates.”

Lynn and Lorraine Kennedy, Founders, Kennedy Drilling 

Kennedy Drilling is a family business operating in mineral exploration  provinces throughout Australia. Since the 1980s, the Goldfields  company has expanded from one drill rig to seven, successfully riding the  highs and lows of the cyclical mining industry. 

Image Courtesy of Lynn Kennedy

“Our vineyards were hit by severe hail in October 2014. I’ve never seen anything like it! We experienced substantial damage, and it really highlighted the importance of insurance.

Swinney Vineyards has been a client of EBM since 1997 and, over the years, EBM has shown that it really understands our industry and our needs.

Being the fourth generation on this land, it’s almost like we have a responsibility to insure – it would be remiss not to have proper cover. As a farming family, we are conservative by nature and view insurance as a cost of doing business.

We sincerely hope we never to have to go through such a major claim again as it was pretty traumatic at the time, however, if we did, we would want EBM acting for us.”

Matt Swinney, Grape Grower and Farmer, Swinney Vineyards

One of the biggest grape growers in Western Australia’s Great Southern, Swinney Vineyards produces premium wine grapes on land first identified for its viticultural potential by botanist Baron von Mueller in the 19th Century. The vineyard is part of a 2,500-hectare property which has been home to the Swinney family graziers for four generations.

“The biggest insurance claim we’ve ever had was around $1.5 million, from an explosion in a feed mill. No one was hurt thankfully, but it badly damaged equipment and there was a significant loss of profits.

EBM was fantastic at managing the claim for us and seeing it through.

EBM is good at identifying risks and advises remedies to overcome these. They’re pre-emptive as well as helping afterwards when something goes wrong. EBM carries out regular inspections of our operations.

Insurance is a big cost in a business like ours and we’ve been with EBM right from the very start. They’ve looked after us extremely well. I would recommend them for the professional way they go about their business, from whoa to go. The people we deal with and the relationship we have makes it so easy.”

Colin Aitken, General Manager Investments, Milne AgriGroup 

Milne AgriGroup is Western Australia’s largest integrated agribusiness.  Formed in 2002, it is a major supplier of animal feed and has major  interests in livestock production, including the well-known Mount Barker  free-range chicken products. 

Image Courtesy of Colin Aitken

“Our company used EBM from day one. Sharon’s parents are farmers and long-standing EBM clients, and recommended that she and Brad use EBM too.

As BPH (WA) has grown from a small business to a substantial company facing more complex risks, EBM have stayed attuned to our needs.

We have a very good rapport with EBM based on face-to-face meetings with their local team in Geraldton, not just emails and phone calls. We’re very happy with their service.

If we’re about to enter into a new contract, EBM goes through it with their legal team to ensure that we’re covering all the bases required in terms of insurance and that there are no hidden clauses that could cause us problems.

Our annual insurance reviews are also very helpful. EBM can forecast the insurances we need based on the work we plan to do and the projects we expect to work on, so we’re not taken by surprise.

We’ve found EBM very responsive. Whenever I’ve got a query or an issue, I get a prompt reply even if it’s outside normal business hours.

Ultimately, using EBM gives us peace of mind because we know that they are insurance experts who understand our business and who we can rely on to protect our interests.”

Mathew King, BPH (WA) 

Brad and Sharon Phillips founded BPH (WA) as a one-truck operation in Perenjori in 2002. Today, their business boasts a large fleet of mining vehicles and their clients include Chevron, Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group and Hancock Prospecting. 

“Before we partnered with EBM, our previous broker was a large multinational provider. That relationship started well but soon we were … just one of a crowd.

With a lot of service industries, it’s important to have long-term relationships with people and that wasn’t happening, so we decided to find a new broker.

We chose EBM because it is large enough to have a certain amount of industry sway, along with professional systems and technical proficiency, but you can still deal with people you can get to know.

It’s not only a lot more personal dealing with EBM but I think they put a lot more effort in on our behalf and, as a result, there were savings – and some of those savings were quite substantial.

As a person who’s been in business a long, long time, I value personal relationships a lot.”

John Belbin, Financial Controller, Elsum Engineering 

Melbourne-based Elsum Engineering has been supplying industrial  customers with high quality, made-to-order sheet metal products for more  than 30 years. 

Image Courtesy of Elsum Engineering

“As President of ARAMA, it’s been wonderful to work with EBM to educate members on the importance of insurance.

EBM truly understands the management rights industry, and their insurance packages give our members confidence that they are being covered by a group that truly understands their business. Whenever EBM speaks at our meetings, there are always lots of questions and comments – they have an exceptional level of expertise.

ARAMA have thoroughly enjoyed a long-term relationship with EBM going back for years, and we look forward to many more years to come.

In my own business – the management rights of Atlantis Marcoola Beachfront Resort on the Sunshine Coast – I’ve seen how quickly EBM respond in the event of a claim. A lightning strike caused a power surge which knocked out our phone and internet. We needed to replace all of our phones and other equipment.

Within three days, the equipment had been sourced and it was all back and running at full capacity within a week. Everything was replaced – and the cost was covered. The response from EBM was quick and professional – and we did not skip a beat.”

Eric van Meurs, (Former) ARAMA President

The Australian Resident Accommodation Managers Association (ARAMA) is a not-for-profit, membership-based peak industry body for people involved in the management rights industry. Members manage over 43,000 units – including holiday properties, corporate rentals and student accommodation – with a property value of more than $12 billion. EBM is ARAMA’s sole preferred insurance provider and corporate partner.