a younger sister as well as two elder brothers. “I remember owners
in those days were very generous. A Coca-Cola was HK$2 and the
owners would give me HK$20 tips.”
After finishing his studies, Tommy worked for the local dealer of
Musto sailing apparel and also distributed other sailing gear and even
jetskis, selling over 100 in a year. However, when the effects of the
1997 Asian financial crisis took effect, he had to close his shop and
found himself in debt.
Tommy started working at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club,
where he met Colin Dawson, who thought the youngster’s extensive
experience in boating would prove an asset in insurance, so asked him
to join him at Heath Lambert.
Tommy’s first day in insurance was September 10, 2001, a day
ahead of the infamous 9/11 attacks. Despite the inauspicious start, he
worked at Heath Lambert until 2006 and then spent 12 years at Aon
until founding Voyager last year.
THE VOYAGE CONTINUES
With strong financial backing and Tommy’s now 18 years in
the industry, Voyager has made strong inroads into the local yacht
insurance market in a short time. “I’d say 80 per cent of the boat
dealers in Hong Kong are using our services,” he says.
Recent high-profile contracts include those for the first-ever
Pershing 140, which could arrive in Hong Kong in September, and
Ferretti Group models from Riva, Custom Line and Ferretti Yachts.
Others include an Azimut Grande 32 Metri and Sunseekers like the
74 Predator set to arrive in July and 76 Yacht that arrived earlier this
year (see OWNER in this issue).
Voyager also recently signed an MOU with the Hong Kong Cruise
and Yacht Industry Association (HKCYIA) to provide risk-management
and insurance consultation services for the upcoming Superyacht
Management Services Centre, which is a redevelopment of the Yiu Lian
and Euroasia Dockyards in Tsing Yi, and set to open in 2020.
Along with his team’s insurance expertise, Tommy is confident
of Voyager’s well-rounded offerings due to his and his family’s vast
experience of working on yachts and with the many key suppliers,
yacht clubs and marinas in the city.
“This is where we show our expertise. I know whether any repair
claim is reasonable or if a supplier is overcharging. I can also call
shipyards to prioritise urgent repairs. I’ve even helped prevent yachts
from sinking by making phone calls to the right people,” he says.
“I’m also a boat owner, so I know what owners need to look out
for and how they think. There’s no other insurance broker with my
connections in Hong Kong, plus I also have a good network in China,
Taiwan, Philippines and so on.”
In fact, one of Tommy’s next ambitions is to expand Voyager across
Asia and the move has already begun with a representative office in
Singapore. He’s looking for opportunities to expand in the likes of
Taiwan, Philippines and Thailand.
Yachting makes up the vast majority of Voyager’s business, so his
other ambition is to expand business in non-yachting sectors, which
already includes automobiles, art, wine, jewellery, financial, even
kidnapping and ransom, and now professional indemnity insurance.
“We know everyone in yachting in Hong Kong, so we can improve
here, but not by a great amount. However, we definitely can increase a
lot in the other sectors in the coming years.”
Tommy remains upbeat about his city’s own yachting market, which
has slowed due to a lack of berths. He believes there’s potential money
and interest in growing infrastructure in the city, but that government
approval remains an obstacle.
“For one, Discovery Bay is being redeveloped, while I’ve been
speaking to some tycoons and they’re interested in investing in and
building marinas. They’re even asking where they can buy land
for this, but building a marina needs approval from many different
government departments.”
Tommy may be among the most connected people in Hong Kong
boating circles, but he’s well aware of who gave him the start in the
industry and provided him with the network and support to be one of
the region’s rising stars in yacht insurance.
“Tycoons won’t do business with you unless they know you, who
you are, like some family history or connections.” And for that, he
knows who to thank.http://www.voyfg.comVoyager is managing the insurance for the first-ever Pershing 140 (left) and a new Azimut Grande 32 Metri (right), both coming to Hong KongSusie Lei and Ho Sai-lo with their third son