It’s hard to believe that we started our independent insurance firm 33 years ago this year!
In many ways, 1986, our first year of business, feels like a world away. It was when we used landline phones, typewriters, people paid for most things using cash or cheque, and we issued hand-written carbon copy receipts.
The median house price was $73,500, cars were just starting to be made to run on unleaded fuel, and Random Breath Testing was being introduced across all States and Territories with 0.08 the legal limit.
And the internet, well, that was still years away!
So, what else was happening back then?
For South Australia, it was the State’s 150th birthday, John Bannon was our Premier and it was the year we welcomed some of the biggest names on the planet to our fair city, including Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip and Pope John Paul II.
Nationally, Bob Hawke was Prime Minister, Paul Keating the Treasurer and with the release of Crocodile Dundee that year, Paul Hogan was the people’s hero, and many were falling in love with Kylie Minogue, aka Charlene, on Neighbours.
The mid to late 1980s was a period of economic excess, where the term “greed is good” became a mantra for some, leading ultimately to economic turmoil with the Black Monday stock market crash coming just a year after we commenced business.
It was certainly an interesting and volatile time to establish a business and, as with all companies, it takes a lot of belief, hard work and commitment to get momentum and achieve sustainability.
Three decades on, the landscape now is vastly different as we operate in a global, highly digitised, incredibly competitive, rapidly evolving market.
It’s not lost on us how fortunate we have been. We are extremely grateful to have such a loyal client base and to receive fantastic support from family, friends, the community and business sector.
And been blessed as a family to work together, with three out of four family members part of the business.
To our dedicated, skilled team, all our clients and supporters, we thank you, and look forward to continuing to provide our insurance advice and service to you for many years to come.
