upward
About Upward

Why we started Upward.

We started Upward with a simple belief: those with the most to protect deserve better. Significant homes, collections, vehicles and family businesses require advice that is personal, considered and experienced. But the process behind that advice should be simpler, more efficient and easier for you.

So we built a different kind of brokerage — where experienced judgement and modern technology work together to deliver a more precise and personal insurance experience.

Our founders
Brad Melman, Co-founder of Upward

Brad Melman

Co-founder

Brad has spent more than a decade building and leading insurance businesses. He co-founded and led a specialist underwriting agency backed by Hollard, Macquarie Bank, and Steadfast through to its acquisition by an ASX-listed company in 2024. Earlier in his career, Brad advised Australia's leading insurers on strategy at Strategy& and practised corporate law at Norton Rose Fulbright.

Brad founded Upward to bring a more modern approach to insurance broking for the families and businesses with the most to protect.

Luke Kelly, Co-founder of Upward

Luke Kelly

Co-founder

Luke is the Managing Director of DKG Insurance Brokers, the family-founded firm that has served clients for more than 50 years. He spent nearly a decade leading DKG's operations across technology and finance before taking the helm, and has since helped build a series of specialist, technology-led insurance ventures within the DKG Group.

Luke brings his deep experience in insurance, technology and building businesses to Upward.

Part of the DKG Insurance Group

New name.
Deep foundations.

Upward is a venture of the DKG Insurance Group, established over 50 years ago. That backing means our clients get the best of both worlds: the focus and attention of a specialist practice, with the licensing, compliance, claims capability and market access of an established group behind it. When you need to claim, there is a whole group standing behind your broker, and a family firm's habit of looking after people for the long run.

50+
years of DKG behind us
2
founders, both operators
1
licensed group
1%
Our pledge

We donate 1% of our profits to Our Big Kitchen — the Sydney community kitchen that turns donated food into meals for people doing it tough.

Begin the conversation.

Whether you're reviewing existing cover or starting fresh, we'll give you a straight answer about what you have, and what you need, and what it should cost — even if the answer is that you are already well covered.

We reply within one business day.