The insurance industry lost one of its true innovators and unique personalities on 1st March 2021. Stephen Doecke was an Australian Import to the NZ insurance industry hailing from Murray Bridge, South Australia. He entered the insurance industry in 1994, first with CIC/HIH, before moving to NZ in 2001 and commencing work with PGG Wrightson Christchurch in 2002 before then shifting to Blenheim at the end of 2008 after accepting a role with Crombie Lockwood
Conal Beban, Nelson Marlborough Insurance Brokers “I met Stephen in 2012 and became fast friends with him owing to his lack of filter, ability to say the wrong thing at the worst possible time and his left field sense of humour. He was a generous, community spirited man and a passionate client advocate”.
Stephen came into his own when he established his company, Asset Insurance Partners, in 2013 with the primary focus on assisting his clients to become better business people.
Dave Penfold, PSC Connect comments “Stephen and his business, Asset Partners Ltd, was the second business to join PSC Connect back in February 2013. Stephen was highly respected by his fellow member brokers and staff alike and was always challenging us all to continually improve everything we do. I’ve often used his simple but effective Business Plan and passion to support his community as an example of what works to individuals looking to start their own broking businesses. Stephen was awarded with the inaugural PSC Connect NZ Member Broker of the Year award in 2016. He will be sadly missed by all those who knew him at PSC Connect”.
Asset Insurance Partners, driven by Stephen, established the IQM Scholarship Programme, in which he reinvested part of his brokerage earnings into hosting leadership courses in conjunction with The Icehouse. Gareth Bayliss, The Icehouse “Stephen was a brilliant man and a fantastic partner with the Icehouse. Through supporting his clients with scholarships to our programmes he has empowered many leaders in the Marlborough region. It was his passion to build better leaders because “Better Leaders Build Better Businesses and Better Businesses Build better communities”
Unfortunately in 2020, Stephen was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He fought this bravely for two years however ultimately, this necessitated the sale of his business which was acquired by Crombie Lockwood in January 2022. Laura Kidd, Branch Director at Crombie Lockwood Marlborough “When Stephen and I first started discussing the purchase of his business he made his expectations very clear. If we were going to move forward on the deal, I must accompany him on the annual Christmas sausage delivery to his clients. Quite naively, I accepted. I had no idea what I was in for.
500kg of sausages and quite a few hours in the car later, I finally understood what all the fuss was about when it came to this man. The passion he had for helping his clients, not just with their insurance programmes, but to realise their potential as business owners and leaders, was inspiring. I’ll be forever grateful for this time I had with Stephen and the lessons he taught me. His legacy lives on in all of us who were lucky enough to know him’”
Stephen passed away on the 1st March 2022 in the care of Hospice Marlborough. He is survived by his wife, Sid and boys, Owen and William. Stephen’s presence and larger than life personality will be sadly missed by us all.
