About Us
Built By Brokers Who Wished This Network Existed When They Needed It
Better Broker Network was founded by Australian insurance brokers who successfully scaled their own brokerage over 16 years – and learned the hard way that being great at placing insurance doesn’t automatically make you great at running a business.
We built the AR network we wished existed when we were navigating those challenges ourselves.
Who We Work With
Better Broker is built for insurance brokers who value genuine business guidance over transactional support, appreciate flexibility over rigid structures, want collaborative relationships rather than anonymous membership, and are committed to building sustainable, profitable businesses.
We focus on helping brokers become professional, successful, compliant, and educated – the four pillars that forge a Better Broker.
At whatever stage you’re in:
- Building your foundation (0-$300K revenue): Getting fundamentals right and making early decisions for sustainable growth
- In active growth mode ($300K-$900K revenue): Navigating critical decisions about hiring, specialisation, portfolio management, and scaling
- Running an established brokerage ($1M+ revenue): Optimising operations, developing teams, and long-term strategic planning
Our Story
After 16 years of building and running a successful insurance brokerage, our founders – Gurnaik Tiyur and Ryan Passagne – had a realisation: the hardest parts of growing their business had nothing to do with placing risks or managing client relationships.
The real challenges were business decisions that traditional AR networks never helped with: when to hire your first employee, how to manage an ageing portfolio while chasing new business, whether to specialise or stay general, how to scale without burning out.
They had compliance support. They had product access. They had all the “table stakes” services every network provides.
What they didn’t have was genuine business guidance from people who’d actually faced the same decisions.
So they founded Better Broker Network with one driving question: “What business advice and support services would have made our journey to becoming a successful brokerage easier?”
The answer became Better Broker’s foundation: a boutique AR network that provides real business consulting, not just administrative processing.
Our Philosophy: Boutique By Design
Better Broker intentionally caps membership at 60 brokers because genuine support doesn’t work at larger scale.
Large networks operate on volume economics – hundreds of members feeding standardised processes designed for throughput, not personalised support. When you’re member #247 in a database, you get limited access to decision-makers, bureaucratic approval processes, and inflexible arrangements.
When you’re one of 50 members in a boutique network, you get:
- Directors who actually know your name and business challenges
- Strategic guidance from people who’ve built successful brokerages themselves
- Flexibility to adapt arrangements as your business evolves
- A collaborative community where knowledge actually gets shared
This isn’t about building the biggest network. It’s about building the best one.
Our Values
Integrity
Honest conversations about what works and what doesn’t. Transparent advice, even when it’s not what you want to he
Professionalism
High standards in everything we do. Ethical practices that protect members’ interests. Reliable support when you need it most.
Continuous Learning
The insurance industry evolves constantly. We embrace ongoing education and knowledge sharing as essential to staying relevant and valuable.
Broker-Centricity
Your business challenges and growth objectives drive our decisions. We tailor solutions to your circumstances rather than forcing standardised templates.
What We Believe
“Being a great insurance broker doesn’t mean you’ll be a successful business owner. There are a lot of ceilings you’ll hit on your business journey, and the right advice coupled with the right support is the key to breaking through them.”
– Gurnaik Tiyur, Director
Business guidance as well as compliance support. Every AR network handles policy checking and regulatory requirements. What determines whether you build a sustainable brokerage? The decisions you make about staffing, specialisation, portfolio management, and resource allocation.
Underwriting insight is a competitive advantage. Understanding how insurers think and how to position risks effectively directly impacts placement success. Chris Varkoly’s 20+ years of underwriting experience gives our members practical knowledge they tap into regularly.
Flexibility beats standardisation. Your business at $200K revenue looks nothing like it will at $800K. We adapt to your circumstances rather than forcing you into rigid templates.
Real networks actually network. When someone has expertise in a specialty class or solves a tricky challenge, that knowledge gets shared. This is what “network” should mean.
Transparency builds trust. No hidden fees. No surprise costs. Clear conversations about what we can and can’t do. Honest advice, even when it’s not what you want to hear.
The People Behind Better Broker
Gurnaik Tiyur
Director
Gurnaik co-founded Better Broker after 16+ years of building and running a successful insurance brokerage. His experience navigating the challenges of scaling a broking business – from making that first hire to managing portfolio mix to competing against larger players – directly shapes how Better Broker supports its members.
Gurnaik’s approach centres on honest conversations about the ceilings brokers hit and practical strategies for breaking through them. He brings real-world experience in the business decisions that determine whether brokers thrive or just survive.
Chris Varkoly
Head of Partnerships and Development
Chris brings over 20 years of underwriting experience across multiple insurance classes to Better Broker. This isn’t theoretical knowledge from someone who moved into network management – it’s current, practical insight into how underwriters assess risk, what they look for in submissions, and how to position placements for better outcomes.
For Better Broker members, Chris’s expertise means guidance on submission quality that improves placement success, understanding of insurer appetites and underwriting criteria, practical advice on presenting complex risks, and strategic insight into building underwriter relationships.
Ryan Passagne
Director
Ryan’s question – “What business advice and support services would have made our journey to becoming a successful brokerage easier?” – became Better Broker’s founding principle.
With 16+ years as a practicing broker and business owner, Ryan understands the gap between being skilled at placing insurance and building a sustainable business. His focus on solving practical problems rather than just providing administrative services reflects the core philosophy that differentiates Better Broker from volume-focused competitors.
Ryan Passagne
Ryan began his career working in finance and investments for large Australian banks, before pivoting to successfully running an insurance brokerage. He has fostered this brokerage’s success and continual growth for the last 16 years.
His career has seen him wear many hats, and his passions and strengths lie in project management, business planning and marketing. Success is rarely an accident, and Ryan believes his years in the industry have given him the insight needed to replicate it. He’s excited to share his wisdom with others and can’t wait to help the next generation of insurance professionals reach their full potential.
Always down for a gig or a new restaurant opening, Ryan loves live music and food. When he’s not socialising, he can be found spending time with his kids and wife and experimenting with recipes at home.
Ryan has a bachelor’s degree in Business, a Diploma of Insurance Broking and has completed post-graduate studies in Finance and Investments.
Gurnaik Tiyur
Gurnaik has run a successful insurance broking business for the last 16 years. Along with his more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry and his 30 years of general business experience, this makes him an expert in business longevity and strength. He’s been through it, learned from it, and is ready to pass on his strategies for success.
The entrepreneurial spirit visited Gurnaik early and he strives to foster and share it by helping others fulfil their potential. He believes it is of paramount importance to zoom out for the bigger picture. His view is that business should be fun and that you should enjoy achieving your goals.
Always the Dapper Dan, Gurnaik has a fervour for fashion, and outside of work you’re likely to find him working out or socialising with friends and family over the latest craft beer.
Gurnaik has a bachelor’s degree in Business, a Diploma of Insurance Broking and has completed post-graduate studies in Financial Planning.