Donaldson Brown
Donaldson Brown is a privately held New Zealand insurance risk advisory firm offering business, personal, life and disability, and group employee benefits insurance through a transparent fee-for-service model that rebates 100% of commissions to clients, serving multinationals, SMEs, and individuals across six NZ offices.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersParnell, New Zealand
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Donaldson Brown does
Donaldson Brown NZ Limited, trading as Donaldson Brown, is a privately held, 100% New Zealand-owned insurance risk advisory firm headquartered in Parnell, Auckland, founded in 2014. The company provides life, health, business, and personal insurance services through a fee-for-service model that rebates 100% of commissions back to clients, positioning itself as New Zealand's most transparent insurance risk adviser relative to traditional commission-driven brokers. Its core product offering is organised across four pillars — Business Insurance, Personal Insurance, Life & Disability Insurance, and Group Employee Benefits — supported by a dedicated Claims Management service and an in-house claims team that processes motor, property, liability, marine cargo, business interruption, and heavy motor claims.
The firm serves a broad customer base that includes large publicly traded multinationals, SMEs, and individual consumers, addressing pain points around opaque commission structures, generic policy design, and weak claims advocacy. Distribution is direct, through a nationwide team of Risk Advisers located across six New Zealand offices (Auckland Parnell HQ, Orewa, Mount Maunganui, New Plymouth, Dunedin, and Christchurch), supplemented by an exclusive Commercial and Corporate insurance partnership with ASB Bank (New Zealand's second-largest bank), a premium partnership with Southern Cross for Group Medical schemes, and an affiliation with Insurance Advisernet/AUB Group that provides access to 135+ partner businesses, 425+ locations, 3,500+ client serving employees, and over $4.5B in combined policy premium across Australasia.
Underlying technology consists of a brokerage operations platform with online intake (Request a Call Back) and online claim forms routed via FormsByAir, plus operational integrations with McLarens (loss adjusting), Smith & Smith (glass repair), Chemdry and JAE Services (flood restoration), and NZRA (roadside assistance). The firm holds a Class 2 Financial Advice Providers licence (FSP1005611) from the Financial Markets Authority effective 11 July 2023, and operates under a disclosed privacy framework aligned with the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020. Revenue is generated through disclosed advisory fees, policy placement fees, and premium funding commissions of 0%–2.5% on borrowed amounts, with the commission rebate model structurally eliminating the standard broker incentive to maximise premium.
Donaldson Brown firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Donaldson Brown
- Legal name
- Donaldson Brown NZ Limited
- Website
- https://donaldsonbrown.co.nz
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Donaldson Brown is a privately held New Zealand insurance risk advisory firm offering business, personal, life and disability, and group employee benefits insurance through a transparent fee-for-service model that rebates 100% of commissions to clients, serving multinationals, SMEs, and individuals across six NZ offices.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Donaldson Brown industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Insurance Brokerage and Risk Advisory
- NAICS
- Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (524210), Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities (5242), Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (52421)
- SIC
- Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411), Fire, Marine & Casualty Insurance (6331)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Specialty Insurance Brokerage (Marine, Aviation, Cyber, Professional Lines) (FSAEADAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Retail (Personal Lines) Insurance Brokerage (FSAEADAA), Individual Health Insurance Brokerage & Distribution (FSAIAEAL)
Keywords
Where Donaldson Brown is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Parnell
- HQ country
- New Zealand
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices6 records
Markets served
Donaldson Brown business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Fee-for-Service Financial Advice: Donaldson Brown charges fees for providing financial advice, arranging, altering, or cancelling general insurance programmes. Additional fees may be charged for placement of new policies, endorsements, handling complex claims, and other services delivered with client agreement.
- Commission Rebate Model: The company removes all commissions from domestic and commercial insurance premiums received from insurers, instead rebating 100% of commissions back to clients. For life and disability clients, Donaldson Brown either receives a fee from the client or commissions from the insurer premium, with full disclosure.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Fee-for-Service Advisory |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels3 records
Donaldson Brown product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Donaldson Brown is a New Zealand-based insurance risk advisory firm that delivers business insurance, personal insurance, life and disability insurance, and group employee benefits through a network of Risk Advisers. The firm operates on a transparent fee-for-service model, rebating 100% of insurer commissions back to clients to eliminate conflicts of interest, and provides end-to-end claims advocacy and risk management services.
Product overview
Donaldson Brown is a full-service insurance risk advisory firm offering a unified platform of insurance products and services across four core pillars: Business Insurance, Personal Insurance, Life & Disability Insurance, and Group Employee Benefits. A fifth pillar is Claims Management Services, which supports clients through the entire claims process across all product lines. The company operates a transparent fee-for-service model (rebating 100% of commissions back to clients), providing financial advice and arranging, altering, or cancelling general insurance programmes. Products are sourced from various insurance providers across local and overseas markets and tailored to individual and business needs through a network of Risk Advisers. The company serves clients ranging from individuals and SMEs to some of New Zealand's largest publicly traded companies.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Business Insurance
- Personal Insurance
- Life & Disability Insurance
- Group Employee Benefits
- Claims Management Services
Quantifiable outcome
- Premium funding commissions of 0% to 2.5% fully disclosed to clients
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Donaldson Brown
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Donaldson Brown technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Donaldson Brown partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Insurance Advisernet / AUB GroupcoreDonaldson Brown is affiliated with Insurance Advisernet / AUB Group which represents over 1 million client policies, 135 partner businesses across 425+ locations in Australasia, with over 3,500 client serving employees and $4.5 Billion in policy premium coverage. This affiliation provides scale and leverage to achieve superior outcomes for clients.
- ASB BankcoreDonaldson Brown is the exclusive Commercial and Corporate insurance partner of ASB Bank, New Zealand's second-largest bank. This partnership provides significant distribution advantage for corporate clients.
- Southern CrosscoreDonaldson Brown is a premium partner of Southern Cross, working with all major Group Medical and Life providers including nib, AIA, and UniMed to find the best solutions for organizations.
- Southern Cross, nib, AIA, UniMedcorePartnership network of major health and life insurance providers for group employee benefits schemes.
- McLarens New ZealandminorEmergency claims service provider providing after-hours, weekend and public holiday emergency claims service throughout New Zealand.
- Chemdry ServicesminorNationwide flood restoration specialist partner for water damage mitigation services.
- JAE ServicesminorNationwide flood restoration specialist partner for water damage mitigation services.
- NZRA (Roadside Assistance Ltd)minorPreferred supplier for roadside assistance services recommended to clients.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Donaldson Brown competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Crombie Lockwood: One of New Zealand's largest independent insurance brokers, serving commercial, personal and corporate clients. Comparable to Donaldson Brown in offering multi-line brokerage with corporate and SME focus in the same NZ market.
- Rothbury Insurance Brokers: NZ-focused insurance broker offering commercial and personal lines to corporate, SME and individual clients. Direct competitor to Donaldson Brown in the mid-market NZ brokerage segment.
Broad incumbents
- Aon New Zealand: Global insurance and risk advisory firm with a substantial NZ presence serving large corporates. Overlaps directly with Donaldson Brown's commercial/corporate segment but at much larger scale with broader product breadth.
- Marsh New Zealand: Global risk and insurance broker with NZ operations serving large enterprise clients. Competes with Donaldson Brown for corporate and multinational accounts but with significantly larger advisory capacity and global resources.
- Arthur J. Gallagher New Zealand: Global insurance broker with NZ operations across commercial and corporate segments. Comparable in providing multi-line brokerage and risk advisory to NZ corporates, though at materially larger scale.
Regional players
- ICIB Brokerweb: Australasian broker network serving NZ clients through affiliated partners with commercial and personal lines. Comparable to Donaldson Brown's AUB/Insurance Advisernet affiliation model and target customer base.
Others
- AUB Group: Australian-listed parent network of Insurance Advisernet to which Donaldson Brown is affiliated. Relevant as the broader network that provides scale, buying power, and partner-level infrastructure for Donaldson Brown.
- Southern Cross: NZ's largest health insurer and a partner of Donaldson Brown for group medical schemes. Adjacent rather than directly competing — illustrates the upstream carrier side of Donaldson Brown's distribution value chain.
- nib New Zealand: NZ health insurer that Donaldson Brown works with for group schemes. As a partner-carrier, nib is comparable to the supply side of Donaldson Brown's group benefits distribution.
Emerging players
- LifeDirect: NZ online life and health insurance comparison/brokerage platform. Emerging player competing for individual life/disability insurance customers that Donaldson Brown also targets in its personal lines pillar.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Donaldson Brown social profiles
Digital presenceDonaldson Brown compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Donaldson Brown financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Donaldson Brown leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Donaldson Brown funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Donaldson Brown M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Donaldson Brown
What does Donaldson Brown do?
Donaldson Brown is a New Zealand-based insurance risk advisory firm that delivers business insurance, personal insurance, life and disability insurance, and group employee benefits through a network of Risk Advisers. The firm operates on a transparent fee-for-service model, rebating 100% of insurer commissions back to clients to eliminate conflicts of interest, and provides end-to-end claims advocacy and risk management services.
Is Donaldson Brown a public or private company?
Donaldson Brown is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Donaldson Brown founded?
Donaldson Brown was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Donaldson Brown based?
Donaldson Brown is headquartered in Parnell, New Zealand, in the Oceania region.
How does Donaldson Brown make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Fee-for-Service Financial Advice is the primary driver. The others are commission Rebate Model.
Who are Donaldson Brown's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Crombie Lockwood and Rothbury Insurance Brokers. Broad incumbents are Aon New Zealand, Marsh New Zealand and Arthur J. Gallagher New Zealand. ICIB Brokerweb is listed as a regional player. Others are AUB Group, Southern Cross and nib New Zealand. LifeDirect is listed as an emerging player.
Does Donaldson Brown have an API?
No public API is recorded for Donaldson Brown.
What industry is Donaldson Brown in?
Donaldson Brown's product category is Insurance Brokerage and Risk Advisory. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAEADAJ, Specialty Insurance Brokerage (Marine, Aviation, Cyber, Professional Lines), with a secondary code of FSAEADAA, Retail (Personal Lines) Insurance Brokerage. Its NAICS code is 524210 and its SIC code is 6411.