Our People

Our People

Paul Griffin

Paul has extensive experience in General Insurance covering all classes throughout his career and operating in most markets in Australia. He holds specialist knowledge in agricultural classes of insurance.

Starting in Adelaide with Commercial Union Insurance, Paul stayed with them, through their change to CGU as part of IAG, for over 25 years before leaving to launch FERME in 2009.

Throughout his career, Paul has held senior management positions in Sales, Underwriting and Claims. He has lived and operated in many areas of Australia including time in Adelaide, Darwin, Whyalla, Melbourne and Sydney.

Paul holds an MBA from MGSM; is an Affiliate of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance; a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors; and a Member of the Australian Insurance Law Association.

Wade Duff

With over 30 years of experience in the General Insurance market, working for both insurance companies and insurance brokers, Wade has held senior roles with CGU, including NSW Client Placement Facility (AON); Underwriting and Development Manager Commercial Division QLD; Divisional Manager Personal Lines QLD; Dispute Resolution Manager QLD; and NSW Financial Institutions Manager.

Before joining FERME, Wade was the Manager of a very successful Sydney-North Shore insurance brokerage. Wade's speciality area is Business Insurance and Liability, including PI, D&O and Management liabilities.

Nicole Griffiths

Nicole has over 15 years general insurance experience, having worked for major insurers in a number of roles from Sales to Customer Service as well as Project Management and Claims positions.

Nicole has been with FERME since November 2009 and says she has enjoyed the role and getting to know and understand her clients and their individual insurance requirements. Readily available to assist with claims, she strives to ensure that appropriate cover options are presented to her clients. Nicole's area of expertise lies in General Insurance and Agriculture, focusing on the Blue Mountains region and the Central West region of NSW.

She is based in Mudgee where FERME have opened and expanded their office and operations.

Peter Dearth

Peter started in insurance at the age of 17 and worked in Claims and Assessing roles for eight years before moving to Nyngan to work as an account manager for Australia’s largest regional and rural insurer. Moving back to Sydney,  he then commenced work as an account manager at a commercial insurance broker where he was able to extend his experience from the rural sector to all types of SME businesses ranging from pool shops and smash repairers to engineers and earthmoving contractors.

Peter joined the FERME team in August of 2011 and brings a strong background to business and agricultural insurance. Peter is based in our Sydney office providing sales support and service to our existing client base.

Kristy Burdekin

Kristy comes to us with management, customer service skills  and the love for the agricultural industry.

Having previously worked for Australian Agricultural Company, she gained  experience working on cattle stations in south west Queensland, up to 1.4 Million acres in size. She became interested in insurance when she purchased her first house in Mudgee. Kristy has worked hard to achieve her insurance qualifications and will be focused on Agricultural insurance. Watch out for Kristy at a cattle sale in Regional NSW!