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From cane paddocks to coast lines and the suburbs in between, Cairns has been home for the past 27 years.
Born in Mackay to hard working parents, I am the youngest of two. We moved to Cairns when I was just three years old to be closer to family and for my Dad to pursue his dream of becoming a cane farmer.
My career in Insurance began in 2009, shortly after graduating year 12. I started in an administration role where I fell in love with getting to know people and providing the highest level of customer service. Over the past 12 years I have worked in various roles as an Insurance Broker. I hold a Diploma of Financial Services (Insurance Broking) and was awarded young professional of the year in 2017. I have gained invaluable knowledge of the unique insurance market in Far North Queensland and have made many wonderful connections along the way – colleagues, clients, insurer’s, assessors, and lifelong friends.
I am delighted to have joined the amazing team at Astute, and I look forward to getting to know you all and building on these connections in my next role as General Insurance Office Manager. I will work closely with our team to ensure we are providing the highest level of service. We hope to take the fuss and fear out of what can sometimes be a very daunting and confusing industry.
I’m a family girl at heart who outside of work, enjoys soaking up all of the goodness that this region has to offer – camping, water skiing, hiking, swimming in the ocean and entertaining with friends in our home.
John and the team looked after us on many fronts from mortgage, superannuation and even life insurance. We even compared rates on our new vehicle lease and Astute came through better than any bank.
These guys definitely have the XFactor
After having issues with another broker and losing a settlement, we were recommended by solicitor. After speaking with Billie she was honest and open about my options. The entire process was dealt with promptly and efficiently with minimal to no stress.
I found the whole experience easy & everyone there were so lovely n friendly & also available any time to answer any questions we had.
We have been using John since we bought our first house in 2008 and taken sound advice from him in all our finance dealing ever since; which has included, opening a business, building our second house and now purchasing an investment property. We trust the advice given to us and not understanding the finance world hugely rely on the knowledge given to us in making decisions. We thank Verena very much with her patience throughout each deal and her simple way of explaining the overwhelming fluff that the banks put on paper. Johns stickmen and drawings helped us immensely 🙂 We really feel like we have actually made some good friends when dealing with Astute.
We just wanted to say thank you for all your help & hard work!
We would have been lost in this whole process without you.
Friendly and very knowledgeable. Made the whole process of getting our first mortgage easy and relatively stress free. Very prompt communication and excellent rates provided on our mortgage.
Excellent team, all staff were professional and friendly, will definitely use their expertise again and recommend to friends and family.
Gus was incredibly helpful and went above and beyond his job requirements. My partner and I were blown away with the high level of customer service and extra assistance he gave us throughout the process making the purchase of our first home a lot less stressful. Gus was prompt, professional yet down to earth and always contactable. Dan and I have already recommended his services to friends and can’t speak highly enough of Gus.
My husband and I went to Astute today, firstly met with Shae at the front reception and had a chat with her. It was lovely to chat with such a friendly happy lady who made us feel welcome.
We went upstairs and met with John Watts for some financial advice. We have known John Watts for over 10 years now, and truly admire his honesty and ‘no beating around the bush business eiquette’. We would highly recommend anyone requiring financial advice and/or a financial bank loan to not look any further than that of the ASTUTE team. 🙂 Thanks Astute….