Budge, Macliver to advise Aon

GLOBAL insurance broker Aon has looked to Western Australia's local business talent to bolster its presence in the state - adding a Perth-based board to its existing operations.

Grange Consulting managing director Ian Macliver and former BankWest managing director and Murdoch University chancellor, Terry Budge, have joined recently appointed Aon state manager Andrew Clarke on the new advisory board.

The board reflects similar structures that the US-headquartered group uses in other states.

Mr Clarke is a recent arrival in WA, having worked in Asia for most of the past two decades, most recently as Aon's CEO in India, replacing David Gower who took the position in 2007.

He said while customers had been concerned about the impact of troubles at the world's biggest insurer, AIG, the insurance market had not been as affected by the global financial crisis as the banking sector.

WA is considered one of the most competitive insurance markets due to the relatively high number of independent brokers operating here.

According to 2009 WA Business News Book of Lists, the biggest brokerage in the state based on the number of individual brokers is Jardine Lloyd Thompson, which had 151 brokers and 183 staff at the beginning of the year. Aon sits at second with 107 brokers and 119 staff, followed by Marsh with 60 brokers and 68 staff.

Mr Macliver is also on the boards of Mount Gibson Iron, Stratatel, Port Bouvard, Empire Beer Group and Otto Energy.

Mr Budge is on the board of LandCorp, Aspen Group, Westoz Investment Company and Leadership WA.