Honesty, Integrity, Understanding and Service
Glynn Howell brings over two decades of insurance industry experience to Ag Guard, having held senior leadership roles across New Zealand’s insurance sector. Glynn’s career spans commercial broking, underwriting, and executive management, with a strong focus on supporting regional and rural communities.
Before joining Ag Guard as Country Head for New Zealand, Glynn spent 19 years at IAG, including key leadership roles at both Lumley and NZI. Glynn is known for building strong broker partnerships and delivering meaningful outcomes for clients. At Ag Guard, Glynn’s leadership is focused on aligning closely with the broker market and championing solutions that meet the evolving needs of New Zealand’s agricultural communities.
Glynn is an alumnus of Victoria University of Wellington and a Senior Associate of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance. Outside of insurance, Glynn is a former first-class cricketer, having represented Canterbury and Wellington as a wicketkeeper-batsman—experiences that have shaped Glynn’s team-first mindset and leadership style.
Based in Christchurch, Glynn is proud to contribute to the growth and sustainability of New Zealand’s agricultural sector and is excited to support Ag Guard’s mission of delivering innovative insurance solutions for rural communities.
Matthew brings over 30 years intermediated insurance experience to Ag Guard, spanning broking, underwriting and product management with extensive experience in primary sector underwriting. Matthew is particularly passionate about customer outcomes including enterprise risk management and dispute resolution having served on senior leadership teams in New Zealand and Australia.
Matthew also has a wealth of experience in developing underwriting rules for connected platforms and process improvement. Born and raised on the East Coast in Tairawhiti Gisborne and living in central Waikato, Matthew is a proud supporter of regional New Zealand and the agricultural sector.
April is a highly experienced insurance professional with over 20 years in the industry, specialising in underwriting across personal lines, commercial, and—most recently—the rural sector. For the past four years, she has focused exclusively on rural underwriting and account management at CPF, supporting our brokers and New Zealand’s agricultural community with tailored, practical insurance solutions.
In her role at Ag Guard, April will be working closely with our key partner NZI to deliver responsive cover for a wide range of farming operations. She has built strong broker relationships and combines technical expertise with a practical understanding of the challenges faced by New Zealand’s agricultural communities.
With nearly two decades of experience in the insurance industry, Sorcha Weston is a highly skilled and customer-focused underwriting professional. Currently serving as Business Development Manager at Ag Guard, Sorcha brings deep expertise in commercial insurance, broker relationship management, and strategic portfolio growth. Her career spans roles in rural & commercial underwriting, business development, and account management, with a strong track record of delivering results and fostering long-term partnerships.
Sorcha is known for her analytical acumen, technical proficiency, and commitment to excellence. Her hands-on experience working with brokers and clients across New Zealand’s rural sector has shaped her practical, relationship-driven approach, and is committed to delivering tailored insurance solutions that support the resilience and growth of rural businesses. Outside of work, Sorcha is a talented skier, keen horse rider, and proud mum of two.
Rhiannon is an experienced agricultural insurance professional with over seven years in the industry. Ag Guard’s resident half Aussie/half Kiwi, originally from Sydney, she spent a decade in Palmerston North, New Zealand, living and supporting her family on her family’s dairy farm before returning to Sydney in 2022. Throughout her career, Rhiannon has held diverse roles spanning sales, underwriting, technical underwriting management, product management, leadership, and process improvement. Her deep-rooted passion for not only Australia’s, but New Zealand’s, Rural community stems from both her agricultural background and strong ties to the dairy farming sector. In her current role at Ag Guard, Rhiannon has responsibility for the technical underwriting and product management functions, ensuring innovative and effective insurance solutions for the Agricultural Insurance Industry.
Ag Guard was founded in 2013 by Alex Cohn who has been involved in the agricultural insurance markets since 2003. He has deep experience establishing and scaling successful agricultural underwriting agencies and insurance brokerages.
Alex saw through his exposure to the insurance broking market, an opportunity to deliver rural insurance products via smarter and more efficient technology platforms and in 2019 he partnered with Ben Ko and private equity partners BP Marsh to convert Ag Guard from a brokerage into a specialised underwriting agency vehicle.
In 2021 Ag Guard signed a long-term partnership with Elders Insurance and QBE and is proud to be working with 2 of the leading providers of agricultural insurance in Australia. Alex, Ben and the team are excited to work with leading local insurer, NZI, to deliver best in house products, technology and service to the insurance broking market in New Zealand.
Ben oversees the finance and operations of the business while providing actuarial support for Ag Guard’s product offerings.
