Underwriting Agencies of Australia

What Underwriting Agencies of Australia does

Underwriting Agencies of Australia (UAA) is a specialist insurance underwriting agency founded in 1972 and headquartered in Newcastle, NSW, that designs and distributes tailored insurance products for mobile plant and machinery operators, contractors, and the broader construction sector. The company's core product platform consists of two bundled policies: Industrial Special Plant (ISP), which combines seven cover sections (Damage, Hired in Plant, Additional Benefits, Financial Protection, Breakdown, Road Risk, and Broadform Liability) into a single mobile plant package, and ProCon (Industrial Professional Contractors Liability), which combines five professional liability covers (Broadform Liability, Professional Civil Liability, D&O, Statutory Liability, and Employment Practises Liability). Both products are underwritten through a binder agreement with QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited, renewed in April 2025 for a further 10 years. UAA operates through a Steadfast Group-controlled corporate structure (since 2015), with regional offices across NSW, QLD, VIC, WA, and SA/NT, plus subsidiaries in New Zealand (UANZ), Singapore (UAS), and the merged MECON Insurance construction book.

UAA distributes exclusively through insurance brokers, treating them as business partners with direct access to underwriting and claims decision makers — a regionally staffed B2B model that yields a fragmented end-customer base spanning earthmoving contractors, crane operators, civil construction firms, and infrastructure contractors across Australia and beyond. Revenue is generated through insurance premiums collected via broker distribution, supplemented by Steadfast Group shared services (compliance, legal, HR, banking, group purchasing). The company holds AFSL 238517 and is identified as the largest specialist insurer of mobile plant and equipment in Australia, with more than 70% of clients in regional Australia. Geographic reach spans Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, and a network of service suppliers across Latin America, the Pacific Islands, and Papua New Guinea.

Name

Underwriting Agencies of Australia

Legal name

Underwriting Agencies of Australia Pty Ltd

Website

https://uaa.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Underwriting Agencies of Australia (UAA) is a specialist insurance underwriting agency, founded in 1972 and based in Newcastle, that provides bundled mobile plant and contractors liability insurance through brokers across Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore, underwritten by QBE.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Commercial Insurance

NAICS

Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (524210), Direct Insurance (except Life, Health, and Medical) Carriers (52412), Claims Adjusting (524291)

SIC

Fire, Marine & Casualty Insurance (6331), Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411)

akta.pro primary industry

Management Liability (D&O/EPL/Fiduciary) (FSAJAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Large Commercial Package (National Accounts) (FSAJAFAC), Professional Umbrella / Excess (E&O/D&O Wrap) (FSAJANAH)

Keywords

• Mobile plant insurance
• Equipment insurance underwriting
• Contractors liability insurance
• Construction insurance
• Crane insurance

Headquarters

HQ city

Newcastle

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Insurance Premiums: UAA acts as an underwriting agency providing insurance policies through QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited. Revenue is generated through insurance premiums collected from policyholders via broker distribution. The company specializes in mobile plant and machinery insurance with products including ISP (Industrial Special Plant) and ProCon (Professional Contractors Liability).
2. Steadfast Group Services: UAA is part of the Steadfast Group conglomerate which provides shared services including compliance tools, procedures, manuals and training, legal, HR, banking, and group purchasing arrangements in exchange for professional services fees from partners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Underwriting Agencies of Australia (UAA) is a specialist underwriting agency providing insurance solutions for the mobile plant and machinery industry. The company offers two core packaged products: Industrial Special Plant (ISP), combining seven cover sections (Damage, Hired in Plant, Additional Benefits, Financial Protection, Breakdown, Road Risk, and Broadform Liability), and ProCon Industrial Professional Contractors Liability, combining five cover sections (Broadform Liability, Professional Civil Liability, Directors' and Officers' Liability, Statutory Liability, and Employment Practises Liability). Policies are underwritten by QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited and distributed exclusively through insurance brokers across Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.

Product overview

Underwriting Agencies of Australia (UAA) is a specialist insurance underwriting agency providing innovative insurance solutions for the mobile plant industry. The company operates a platform-plus-products architecture centered on two core insurance products: Industrial Special Plant (ISP) and ProCon. ISP combines seven cover sections (Damage, Hired in Plant, Additional Benefits, Financial Protection, Breakdown, Road Risk, and Broadform Liability) into one comprehensive mobile plant and equipment insurance package. ProCon provides Professional Liability coverage combining five key cover sections (Broadform Liability, Professional Civil Liability, Directors' and Officers' Liability, Statutory Liability, and Employment Practises Liability) under one policy for customers operating mobile plant and machinery. Both products are distributed exclusively through insurance brokers and underwritten by QBE Insurance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Industrial Special Plant (ISP) Comprehensive mobile plant and equipment insurance package that combines seven cover sections (Damage, Hired in Plant, Additional Benefits, Financial Protection, Breakdown, Road Risk, and Broadform Liability) into a single policy. Designed for businesses operating mobile plant and equipment ranging from post hole diggers to fixed or mobile cranes. Includes automatic hired-in plant cover up to $50,000. Distributed exclusively through insurance brokers.
• ProCon Industrial Professional Contractors Liability Professional Liability product combining five cover sections (Broadform Liability, Professional Civil Liability, Directors' and Officers' Liability, Statutory Liability, and Employment Practises Liability) into a single policy. Designed for customers working and operating mobile plant and machinery, including fidelity coverage up to $50,000 in aggregate. Distributed exclusively through insurance brokers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Automatic hired-in plant cover up to $50,000 included
• +4 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• QBE Insurance (Australia) LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 April 2025UAA provides insurance policies through QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited under a binder agreement. In April 2025, UAA and its subsidiary UANZ secured a new 10-year agreement with QBE, ensuring continued capacity and support for specialist underwriting solutions in Australian and New Zealand markets. QBE is one of Australia's largest insurers with over 130 years of history (since 1886).

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Honan Insurance Group: Honan is a large Australian insurance brokerage and underwriting agency operator with specialist capabilities across multiple verticals. Comparable as a direct peer in the specialist MGA and broker-distribution segment that competes with UAA for broker mindshare.
• Dual Australia: Dual Australia is a specialist underwriting agency operating multiple niche schemes in the Australian market. Comparable as a direct peer in the specialist MGA model that targets broker distribution with vertically focused products.
• CHU Underwriting Agencies: CHU is one of Australia's largest underwriting agencies, specializing in strata and unit-related insurance. Comparable as a direct peer in the broker-distributed specialty MGA space with a similar product-scheme architecture.
• Breeze Underwriting: Breeze Underwriting is an Australian MGA that specializes in niche commercial and trade-related insurance products distributed through brokers. Comparable as a direct peer in the specialist MGA segment with similar broker-focused distribution.
• Calliden (Steadfast Group): Calliden is a Steadfast-aligned underwriting agency providing specialty commercial lines through the broker network. Comparable as a sister-company MGA under the same parent group that competes for the same broker relationships.

Broad incumbents

• QBE Insurance Group: QBE is the capacity provider and binder partner for UAA, but also the largest Australian general insurer and a global specialty player. QBE is comparable as the underlying carrier behind UAA's products and as a broader competitor in commercial lines underwriting.
• Hollard Insurance Australia: Hollard operates as a major Australian underwriting agency group with multiple specialty underwriting agency partners. Comparable as a competitor in the MGA segment and as a partner capable of hosting or competing with UAA's specialist mobile plant book.
• Insurance Australia Group (IAG): IAG is one of Australia's largest general insurers, with a significant commercial lines and specialty underwriting franchise. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the Australian commercial insurance market that competes with UAA's broker-distributed specialty products.
• Allianz Australia: Allianz is a global insurer with a substantial Australian commercial and engineering lines presence. Comparable as a broad incumbent that competes with UAA in commercial package and contractor liability products.

Regional players

• Pacific International Insurance: Pacific International is a New Zealand-headquartered insurer with commercial and specialty capabilities. Comparable as a regional peer in the Australasian specialty insurance market that UAA competes with through its UANZ subsidiary.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/uaainsurance
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/underwriting-agency-uaa
• Instagraminstagram.com/uaainsurance

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Underwriting Agencies of Australia