Why The Bridge International is different and were appointed lead advisor on RAA’s game changing strategic partnership with Allianz
According to the RAA CEO, Nick Reade and former RAA chairman Peter Siebels, the role of their trusted lead advisor, The Bridge International, was critical in ensuring the success of their recent strategic partnership agreement with insurance giant Allianz.
Reade explained “We engaged The Bridge to help us understand what our strategic options were and to help us through a process to get to a board decision on which direction we wanted to take. Critically, we could have used a big tier one investment bank, but what we really wanted were advisers who had a very deep understanding of the Insurance industry and our Insurance business as well as member owned organisations. The Bridge brought all their diverse experience to the table and quite frankly, I think that choosing The Bridge as our lead advisor was a smart decision and one that’s played out very well for us.”
Siebels added, “Some time ago RAA, like many others in our industry, found itself on a burning platform as the financial pressures on regional insurers had become too much to bear and thus something had to change. With several catastrophic weather events in one year, it was clear we had to do things differently and find an alternative and better way forward for the members and our organisation. That’s when we engaged The Bridge to see what our options could be.”
RAA is a long-term client of The Bridge, with a relationship built on trust, expertise, and a track record of delivering results.
As Siebels and Reade highlighted, The Bridge was tasked early in the strategic discussions to present a clear picture of developments and trends in the industry so they could get agreement on a clear pathway forward.
Siebels continued, “The Bridge are an excellent cultural fit and as such there is a strong alignment with RAA. They spent a fair amount of time doing a strategic assessment and analysis into how we could secure a positive outcome for RAA members in the long term. Their goal was to provide us with a recommendation that met our key strategic criteria including de-risking RAA’s financial future, securing ongoing investment and incentive to keep growing RAA’s insurance portfolio and ensuring member and employee experience would be protected. When all options were considered, their recommendation was that we explored a strategic partnership. Finding that strategic partner became their next task.”
The Bridge were instrumental in building the case for why RAA should enter a strategic partnership, the pathway forward, what kind of financial return the company would expect and the criteria for long term success.
Reade added, “The really important parts of the strategic partnership centred around protecting the RAA brand and negotiating the best distribution agreement possible as this is key to how you’re going to govern the partnership. The Bridge advised us on the best way to protect critical issues such as the member experience and pricing. We’d also seen and heard where things have gone wrong in the past, so as The Bridge’s team have seen these partnerships from both the buy and sell side before, we were keen to make sure that they played a key role in every area of our new strategic partnership negotiation.”
A big part of The Bridge’s role came because of the trusted relationships they have built in business over many decades. These relationships became critical in the exploration and negotiation process.
Siebels continued, “Stuart Blake and The Bridge have outstanding relationships in the industry. It’s as a result of these relationships that we were able to fast track the process with The Bridge. Whilst there was a perceived risk in using The Bridge, when we looked at their integrated process and the value their deep level of understanding and experience brought, they clearly were the right choice for RAA.”
The Bridge MD Stuart Blake said, “I co-founded the Bridge 8 years ago to provide a differentiated approach to management consultancy. We have now worked with over 60 leading brands here in Australia and built long term trusted relationships. Nick Reade and the team at RAA had a vision for transformational change and strategy to future proof their member proposition for decades to come. We were delighted to work with the number one brand in South Australia and help establish the 20-year partnership with Allianz, the number one insurance brand globally. At The Bridge we pride ourselves on being different and truly care for our partners. It is this difference that helped us achieve the best possible result and outcome for RAA, their members, and Allianz.
A big part of RAA choosing The Bridge as their lead adviser on the Allianz strategic partnership was the way the advisory engages and consults with their clients on a day-to-day basis.
Reade explained, “The Bridge were very much an extension of our team in the sense that they were in all our meetings. They were in the board updates every week and were really partnering with us in all true senses of the word. It was very collaborative. They were well respected in the role that they played and as such it was like I had another two or three team members. It was very much a seamless partnership as we didn’t have to meet, educate and then bring in advisors, which would make the process disjointed. The Bridge were always very much all in with my team and the board and this commitment was a major help. The way they integrate and operate is very different to other advisors and consultants. I mean when you’re looking at something like this, there’s only a couple of pathways, and one is to go to a big investment bank. Thanks to The Bridge being able to tap into their unique experiences, really understanding where the deals are made or broken and how to structure the best distribution agreement.
This theme about The Bridge being different and having different values to other advisors is a common one and certainly one that played out through the entire RAA and Allianz strategic partnership process.
Siebels explained, “The Bridge are different to other advisors and consultants in many ways. Firstly, they always bring their A team. You always get the best and never get palmed off with anything less. Then they really take the time to truly understand your business, the people and the culture. This is very rare, particularly the cultural understanding element. They have a unique approach and structure, both of which never falter. They also have a genuine empathy for RAA and they really cared for our members and our business. It was never about The Bridge and always about RAA – again, a very rare attribute. Their values really shine through when you work with them.
As the RAA and Allianz strategic partnership moves through regulatory approval stage Siebels and Reade reflected on how The Bridge helped both organisations achieve such a “remarkable result”.
Peter Siebels concluded, “The Bridge helped us secure an outstanding result for a very good business. Their negotiation of the different elements between parties was very clever and professional. They co-designed an excellent strategy, were a part of all key discussions and through their knowledge of the industry and players and their unwavering approach helped us secure a very good outcome. This result protects and futureproofs the RAA brand for 20 years, produces an increasingly positive experience for RAA members and a better and brighter future for RAA.”
Nick Reade concluded, “The Bridge is a great team to work with. They have deep insurance expertise, which is extremely valuable when entertaining these types of new strategic partnerships. Being able to pick up the phone and call the team any time, including the MD Stuart Blake, and know he’d worked, and has experience with almost anyone who was part of the discussions, was on another level. The Bridge were motivated to get a deal done. They had more credibility and integrity around what they were saying because of their relationships and real-world experience, which to me was extremely valuable. Ultimately, they advised us on the key areas that you really wanted to get right in a distribution agreement, and we never deviated from that. With that we set our criteria, communicated those criteria and The Bridge ensured that we got exactly what we wanted – a truly great deal for Allianz, RAA, our members and South Australia.”
https://www.thebridgeinternational.com