Matt Fawcett
Snapshot:
Industry / Sector: Business / Corporate
Career Type: Business Owner
Education Pathway: TAFE & Apprenticeships
Mid Coast Connection: Born & raised on the Mid Coast
The Blurb:
Matt Fawcett, owner of INSURE MORE @ with offices in Forster and Taree, shares his journey from a local high school student in Wingham to a leading insurance broker and community leader. After starting in banking, Matt "fell into" the insurance industry, completing his Diploma in Insurance Broking locally before purchasing the Taree business and expanding to a second location in 2025.
He discusses the essential skills for his role — deep product knowledge combined with the ability to build genuine, long-term relationships with clients and the community — and explains why he values giving back, serving as Chamber President and a board member for Dundaloo. Matt also reflects on the importance of critical thinking, advising young people to take advice but always do their own research rather than accepting it as absolute truth.
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Current Role – Owner of Insuremore (offices in Forster and Taree), providing insurance solutions ranging from residential homes to large manufacturers, and serving as President of the local Chamber of Commerce.
Career Path – Attended high school in Wingham; started in banking; transitioned to an insurance assistant role; completed Diploma in Insurance Broking locally; purchased the Taree business; expanded to a second office in Forster in 2025.
Key Skills – Product knowledge, relationship building, community engagement, understanding client needs (from basic coverage to comprehensive protection), and long-term client retention.
Challenges Shared – Navigating a profession with evolving qualification standards (currently no formal Bachelor's degree, though one is in development), and balancing business growth with deep community involvement.
What He Loves – Meeting new clients and understanding their businesses, building long-term relationships that extend beyond annual renewals (becoming part of clients' "broader family"), and the ability to give back to the community through not-for-profit work.
Advice to Younger Self – Take every piece of advice you can get, but take it with a grain of salt. Do your own research, formulate your own understanding, and don't accept information as gospel without verifying it yourself.
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"A lot of it is building relationships with your customers and the community. So I think that's the big one for an insurance broker."
"You kind of become part of, I guess, their broader family. So it's good being in a small town like that."
"Doing my job allows me to give back and give time to those kind of outside-of-work things."
"Take every piece of advice that you can get from people, but the saying is take it with a grain of salt... I wouldn't just take whatever on as gospel."
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[00:00] Intro
Today we are joined by Matt Fawcett from Insure More @. Matt will talk to us about his journey, his pathway, and the skills he's used to get to where he is today.
[00:26] Matt, to start us off, can you tell us a little bit about what your work is today and what does that look like?
Yes, I'm an insurance broker. We have two offices, so I'm the owner of Insure More @. We have an office in Forster and an office in Taree. We look after clients both big and small. We've got residential houses up to big manufacturers in town. Our job is to find the most competitive, most broad cover for the customer at the end of it and try and help them out.
[00:54] If students aren't really sure what insurance does to help people, can you just explain a little bit about the importance of that?
So insurance covers the kind of unexpected events, so things like the flood we had this year and bushfires and even just a house fire from your kitchen and things like that. And up to big manufacturers, it might be a product failing and causing injury to someone. So that's where the insurance comes in to protect the business and the individuals.
[01:23] What was your pathway? How did you get to be working in insurance?
Kind of like most people in insurance, I fell into it. So I obviously started at high school in Wingham and then went into finance. I did banking for a little bit and got sick of that, like most people in banking. And then I kind of fell into a job as an insurance assistant. And then from that I did training. So I've done my Diploma in Insurance Broking. Currently there's no formal large qualification like a Bachelor of Insurance, but they're in the process of developing ones. So hopefully in the next 12 months that will come out. But from that I then purchased the business in Taree and then this year in 2025, we purchased the second business. So I kind of fell into it, but it's been a good ride.
[02:10] And did you move away to study when you did your finance?
No, I was pretty lucky. We did it all here in the branch. So in the bank here. And then I also did all my insurance training here as well.
[02:22] What kind of skills do you feel like you need to have to be an insurance broker?
It's probably more of a personal one. So obviously knowledge around products is always helpful because people want to know that you're talking about things correctly, etcetera, with them. But a lot of it is building relationships with your customers and the community. So I think that's the big one for an insurance broker.
[02:42] And what do you love about your job?
Same as that, I really like meeting with my clients, meeting new clients, understanding their business, understanding what makes them tick in a business and what they're looking for. There's obviously some that want to get the bare bones, what they need to keep trading, so some public liability. But then there's others that really want to be covered for everything and anything, and understanding why and working with them through that. And then over time you build relationships and wish them happy birthday and things like that because you know them so well.
So it's not a once-a-year kind of thing. You're talking with them quite regularly throughout the years. So that's what I enjoy. You can build those relationships and understand when they have big life events like birthdays or weddings and things like that. And so you kind of become part of, I guess, their broader family. So it's good being in a small town like that.
[03:37] How do your values play out in your work?
So a big part of it is the community. So I'm obviously the Chamber President currently and will be for hopefully another 12 months. And then that kind of works in with my business as well because I want to give back to the community. I want to give back to all the not-for-profits in town. So I also sit as a board member for Dundaloo. For the past eight years, I've either been the president, the vice-president or the treasurer. So doing my job allows me to give back and give time to those kinds of outside-of-work things.
[04:15] To use your skills to be able to help others in the community, that's great. And what advice would you give yourself? So if you're thinking back to your 14-year-old self or if there was a young student listening today, what would be a piece of advice you would give?
I'll definitely say take every piece of advice that you can get from people, but the saying is take it with a grain of salt. Take it on, do your own research around it and formulate your own kind of information around it. I wouldn't just take whatever on as gospel. I would build on that and do my own research into it.
Please note: All content is correct at the time of recording.
