LinkedIn:

linkedin.com/in/daniel-kuo-1566a72a

Website:

loanmarketparamount.co.nz

Email:

daniel.kuo@loanmarket.co.nz

Phone:

021 293 1678

Number of employees:

Year founded:

2018

Headquarters:

575 Wairakei Rd, Burnside, Christchurch 8053, New Zealand

“It is a priority for us to continue to tap the unmet needs of our clients and grow with them to understand how to service them properly and give them what they need in this ever-changing landscape”

Vivianne Gauci, HomeEquity Bank

In just a few years, Loan Market Paramount has established itself as a key provider of mortgage advice and brokering in Christchurch and Canterbury. Starting in 2017, it has grown to a team of 20, including mortgage advisers and support staff. Embracing diversity as a means of ensuring the most effective assistance for clients from a range of cultures and backgrounds, Loan Market Paramount has a multilingual team that speaks English, Hindi/Punjabi, Chinese, Filipino and Malayalam. Excellence in customer service is a core principle of the approach at Loan Market Paramount, with a strong focus on communication and unwavering commitment to helping clients achieve their goals, even when the process includes an extended period of financial coaching to get clients into a position to secure mortgage finance. Across the team, a range of specialties ensures that Loan Market Paramount is well-positioned to assist with many different kinds of transactions, including purchasing a first home, selling and buying, and financing for construction, development and business purposes. Robust business systems enable Loan Market Paramount to efficiently handle a large volume of business. The team has helped more than 2,000 clients in Canterbury and around New Zealand over the past few years.

Brigid Rauwhero

Claims Manager

John Hogan

Head of Claims

Meg Dempsey

Operations Manager

Robert Collins

Head of Underwriting

Anthony Porter

Head of Business Development

Marcus Kadir

Systems and Project Manager

Maya Lazarus

Brooklyn Claims Manager

Michael Holbrook

Director – SURA Construction and Engineering

Daniel Kuo

Mortgage Adviser

Leadership

Micah Ponto serves as senior vice president, head of financial services for Arch Insurance, a position he’s held since 2021. He joined Arch Insurance as an assistant vice president in the large commercial department in 2009. His prior roles at Arch Insurance included senior vice president, national manager of the large commercial department, regional vice president – central region, head of employment practices liability and head of the real estate investment trust group. Ponto previously worked at The Hartford in their financial products division, where he focused on management liability risk in both financial institutions and large commercial D&O. He has a bachelor’s degree in finance, investments and banking from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Senior Vice President, Executive Assurance, Financial Services

Micah Ponto

Chris Christon is a senior vice president at Arch Insurance where he oversees the large commercial group and transactional risk portfolio nationally. Christon has nearly 20 years of experience specializing in directors and officers, employment practices and fiduciary liability. Prior to joining Arch in 2009, Christon held various roles at Hartford Financial Products. He has a BA in English from Emory University and a JD from Brooklyn Law School.

Senior Vice President, Executive Assurance, Large Commercial Group

Chris Christon

Stephen Swartley is the chief underwriting officer and senior vice president of executive assurance at Arch Insurance. He has over 20 years of experience in management liability and product line expertise in directors and officers liability, employment practices liability, fiduciary liability, fidelity, kidnap and ransom and cyber liability. Prior to joining Arch Insurance in June 2009, he served in a variety of underwriting and managerial positions in management liability at The Hartford and as an underwriter at Reliance National. Swartley holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Pittsburgh.

Chief Underwriting Officer and Senior Vice President, Executive Assurance

Stephen Swartley

Hela Trerotola is a senior vice president at Arch Insurance, where she oversees the growth and middle market team. She has almost 20 years of technical, management and sales experience, specializing in directors and officers, employment practices, fiduciary, fidelity, kidnap and ransom and cyber liability insurance. Trerotola joined Arch Insurance in 2009 and previously held various roles at Hartford Financial Products. She holds a BA in mathematical economics from Colgate University and an MBA from NYU.

Senior Vice President, Executive Assurance, Growth and Middle Market

Hela Trerotola

Jamie Schibuk serves as executive vice president of professional liability and cyber for Arch Insurance. In 2009, Schibuk joined Arch Insurance North America as an underwriting manager in executive assurance. Prior to joining Arch Insurance, Schibuk spent four years working for The Hartford in the financial services department within the Hartford Financial Products unit. Schibuk has a master’s degree in risk management from St. John’s University in Queens, New York, and a bachelor’s degree in economics and mathematics from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. He has also earned the chartered property casualty underwriter and registered professional liability underwriter designations.

Executive Vice President, Professional Liability and Cyber

Jamie Schibuk

Marcus Kadir joined Brooklyn Underwriting in 2021 as the systems and projects manager, coming from a consulting and contracting background. He has extensive experience working on projects throughout the insurance industry and beyond, completing stints with Allianz, JLT, Police Bank and within Capgemini’s Digital Consulting practise for both iCare and McDonald’s. Kadir brings a pragmatic approach to the Brooklyn Leadership team and is focused on driving Brooklyn into their next phase of growth through the introduction of digital technologies and operational efficiencies. Kadir holds a master’s degree in business law from the University of Sydney and a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Technology, Sydney.

Systems and Project Manager

Marcus Kadir

Maya Lazarus is a qualified solicitor with over 15 years’ experience within the insurance industry. Lazarus joined AXA XL in March 2016 as a senior financial lines claims specialist for IFL and was appointed Brooklyn underwriting claims manager in April 2020. Lazarus started her career as an underwriter for World Insurance Network and then worked for a number of international brokers specialising in financial lines. She then moved across to claims and worked for QBE and DUAL Australia as a financial lines senior claims specialist and as the national claims manager for Invivo, a medical indemnity insurer. During her time as a claims specialist IFL for AXA XL, she focused on financial planning and construction claims. Her passion for SME claims and her service-focused approach have drawn her to Brooklyn Underwriting, where she has been making claims the “face of Brooklyn” and where she enhances the unique Brooklyn claims experience and adds value to brokers.

Brooklyn Claims Manager

Maya Lazarus

Michael Holbrook became the director of SURA Construction in 2018 after joining as a senior underwriter in 2015. A qualified mechanical engineer, Holbrook has over 20 years’ experience in construction insurance, having previously worked at Lumley Insurance as a regional specialty lines manager – engineering and marine. His technical capability and pragmatic underwriting are highly regarded throughout the insurance industry, a reputation he seeks to replicate in his home-grown shiraz.

Director – SURA Construction and Engineering

Michael Holbrook

Daniel Kuo is an experienced mortgage adviser working with Loan Market Paramount since 2018. One of the first team members to join the fledgling company, he has become an established Canterbury mortgage adviser with long-term clients in Christchurch and around NZ. With a background in accounting and construction, Kuo assists clients with more complex borrowing requirements, including business finance, construction finance and development finance, though he works with clients from first-home buyers to seasoned investors. Awarded ‘Premier Performer’ status in 2020–21 and 2021–22, his business is now recognised as one of NZ Adviser’s 2022 Fast Brokerages.

Mortgage Adviser

Daniel Kuo

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Bio

“Our long-term vision is to reimagine our customer and partner journeys to deliver a simple, efficient and highly pleasing experience supported by empowered teams and enabled with leading digital capabilities”

Vivianne Gauci, HomeEquity Bank

Management Liability Arch Insurance’s professional underwriting team specializes in providing management liability insurance to a broad range of industries. Cyber Arch Insurance’s experienced underwriting team takes a forward-looking approach to writing network security, privacy and media liability. Professional Liability Arch Insurance’s professional liability team is positioned to offer liability insurance solutions for lawyers, architects and engineers; design-build professionals, contractors and consultants; franchisors, insurance agents and brokers; real estate agents and brokers; property managers; registered investment advisors; travel agents and tour operators; and a host of other miscellaneous professional classes.

Medals

Overall service level

Construction

Product innovation

Product range

Turnaround time – claims

BDM support

Broker communication, training and development

BDM support