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“We are delighted Eric is joining us,” said Tony Lawrence, chief digital distribution officer at Rokstone. “We are an entrepreneurial, people-led business, and the launch of this exciting new agriculture division is part of our strategy to expand in North America and diversify our specialty product range. Our specialist knowledge, use of technology and approach to underwriting means we can provide broader, more relevant cover that’s quicker to secure than anywhere else.”

“I am really excited to be joining Rokstone – its entrepreneurial DNA and its focus on creating long-term value are inspiring,” Conklin said. “We’re launching this new division at such a pivotal moment in US agriculture underwriting. It is an area that has suffered from lack of innovation, and the hard market has been punishing. We plan to kick off and disrupt the underwriting approach with one of the US market’s first online quote-and-buy facilities. Rokstone has had outstanding success with this approach in the UK, where its agricultural team, iFarm Underwriting, is now the fastest-growing agricultural MGA in the UK. We plan to leverage that expertise and technical capability here in the US, and will be supported by A-rated capacity partners.”

Read next: Rokstone launches new terrorism facility in the US

Rokstone is one of the world’s largest MGAs, with offices in the US, UK, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. It currently underwrites $500 million in gross written premium in several specialty lines, including marine, terrorism and political violence, direct and facultative property, treaty property, construction and engineering, liability, and agriculture.

“Rokstone is an entrepreneurial, people-acquisitive business, and the launch of this exciting new line signifies the latest move in our group-wide strategy for considered growth,” Lawrence said. “We now have more than 150 staff group-wide, and our recruitment strategy has shown no sign of slowing down during the global pandemic. Rokstone has a great heritage with some of the market’s strongest underwriters in its specialty lines, and I’m delighted that as a group we continue to appeal to the best talent globally from across the market.”

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Global investment in the insurance technology sector totalled US$7.4 billion in the first half of 2021, setting an all-time high and exceeding full-year investment in 2020 and in all previous years, according to a report by Willis Towers Watson (WTW).

The second quarter saw 162 deals yield more than $4.88 billion in investment, a 210% increase over the same period last year and 89% from the previous quarter, according to WTW’s Quarterly InsurTech Briefing. This was largely driven by 15 mega-rounds of $100 million or more, representing $3.3 billion combined. Most of these funds were raised by later-stage players seeking expansion.

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“The Irish MGA market has been challenging in recent years due to a lack of underwriting capacity in the wake of personal injury claims inflation, broker consolidation and a restrictive regulatory environment under the Central Bank of Ireland in the wake of the 2008 financial crash,” said Keating.

“We believe that opening up our membership to MGAs in the ROI will help the MGA sector in its drive for improved standards and regulatory recognition, while helping to facilitate and encourage collaboration and new capacity into the country. The move will also enable MGAs, insurers and suppliers based in the ROI – and our UK-wide membership – to benefit from networking, events, educational forums, webinars, and regulatory support.”

The move has been backed by Brokers Ireland, with director Cathie Shannon stating that the MGAA’s efforts to improve standards “can only support our own members’ initiatives.”

Meanwhile, Moyagh Murdock, CEO of Insurance Ireland, believes the association can play a “key role” in bringing capacity to the market.

“The timing could not be better as it coincides with the recent changes to the personal injury claims landscape in Ireland,” said Murdock.

“The introduction of the new injury awards guidelines on April 24 this year is playing its part in making Ireland a more attractive place for insurance providers and although it is still early days, we look forward to the new guidelines being applied consistently across the board. We believe that the continued implementation of the Government’s Action Plan for Insurance Reform will result in a more stable sector and will reduce market volatility and bring more certainty for customers and insurers alike. We look forward to working with the MGAA and their team in the future.”

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PartnerRe Ltd has announced its results for the first half and second quarter of 2021, bannered by a return to profitability after being struck by losses last year.

According to a statement by PartnerRe, the company’s net income was US$314 million for the second quarter, compared to income of US$229 million for the same period of 2020. For the first half of 2021, net income was US$248 million, compared to a loss of US$204 million for the same period last year.

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The model of Accelerant allows it to simultaneously focus on its MGA partners and the risk bearers on the back end, backed by extensive partnerships with reinsurers as well as other risk capital forms. Since it launched in 2018, the group has gone from strength to strength, and recently expanded into the UK through its acquisition of Kinnell Holdings. The reason for this ongoing success, Radke believes, is simple – MGAs are generally treated “unbelievably badly” by their capacity providers and have seized on the opportunity to be supported and valued.

Examining how MGAs are currently being let down, Radke noted that, especially in the small commercial space, these firms are under consistent pressure because it’s almost impossible that one or another line of business is underperforming at any given point. Thus, MGAs continually find themselves under pressure from one underwriter or another and are constantly fighting the “product versus customer” conundrum.

“The second thing is every MGA is inconsequential to every capacity provider because of the way that the market [works], where you’ll have five or six syndicates on a binder,” he said. “So the easiest thing in the world to do is just nonrenewal [when there’s a problem] – there’s no sense in working to fix the relationship as it’s not big enough. So you have this incredibly brittle relationship, where the MGAs are treated somewhere in between incompetents and criminals by their capacity providers.”

Even look at the Lloyd’s set-up, Radke said, where MGAs have to audit their accounting and underwriting twice a year. It’s hard to imagine any other situation where, twice a year, a third party comes into your business on the premise that you are breaking your contracts.

Accelerant is changing that conversation by applying simple common sense to the relationship. He highlighted that this means embracing the fact that supportive relationships are the key to long-term success and prosperity. Accelerant wants its MGA partner relationships to be big, to be long-standing and to be founded on the premise that neither party can afford for the other to fail.

Read more: Pro MGA Solutions CEO discusses the evolution of the MGA sector

“We are in this for the long term,” he said. “And the way we manage that is multi-faceted. Firstly, we say ‘we want to write all your business, 100%’. Of course, there are some occasions where we don’t do that because there’s a mitigating reason, but our philosophy is, we want the diversification of their entire book, because history has shown that’s more profitable than trying to pick particular lines or particular products.

“Secondly, we say ‘as long as your behaviour is appropriate, your loss ratio is appropriate and you are completely transparent with your exposure data, we are happy to give you a five-year commitment of capacity. And that’s usually the point where the MGA stops listening to our other benefits and just start smiling.”

It makes such a difference for the senior people in the firm to get to spend their time on the business as opposed to in London, trying to get their binders renewed, he said. The time sink of that renewal is incredible, so to have the chance just to focus on brokers, producers and customers means the world to these professionals.

“It comes down to a few solid values that our parents could have taught us if we had listened,” Radke said. “That is to treat people like adults, to give them accountability, and trust, and then have the technology and [data analytical tools] in place to follow up and make sure that they’re living up to that trust.

“And then on the other end, just play with a fair deck of cards, where you’re not withholding information. If you share openly with partners and treat partners like partners, so they can participate in the entire probability distribution, then you’ve created a revolutionary business completely fueled by technology and data and underpinned by incredibly strong relationships. And that’s only by following the lessons that we were probably all taught when we were eight years old.”

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Lloyd’s has announced the appointment of Vicky Carter as deputy chair of Lloyd’s Council, effective Sept. 1. Carter will be the first woman in the company’s 335-year history to hold the post.

Carter has been an elected member of Lloyd’s Council since 2019 and has worked for the Lloyd’s market for 40 years. She began her career in medicine before moving to reinsurance broking in 1980. Carter joined Guy Carpenter in 2010 as vice-chair of international operations and, in 2018, she became chair of Global Capital Solutions International. She also holds positions on the company’s board and executive committee.

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Kevin S. Ingram (pictured directly above), executive vice president and chief financial officer, a 31-year company veteran, has been promoted to senior executive vice president and chief financial officer. He will continue to oversee the company’s financial and risk management operations. He started at FM Global in 1990 as an associate controller, and has since held positions including treasurer, finance director and senior vice president of finance. Ingram will report to Roberts effective Aug. 1.

The following appointments will take effect Sept. 1:

Deanna Fidler (pictured directly above), senior vice president and chief human resources officer, will become executive vice president and chief administrative officer. She will be based in FM Global’s corporate offices in Johnston, R.I., and will oversee human resources, diversity and inclusion, strategy and business enablement, and the FM Global Academy. Fidler joined FM Global in 2018. Previously, she served as chief human resource officer for T. Row Price. She has also held leadership roles at Aetna. Fidler will report to Robert.

Randall E. Hodge (pictured directly above), senior vice president and chief underwriting officer, will be promoted to executive vice president, staff insurance operations. Hodge, a 31-year company veteran, will be based in FM Global’s Johnston corporate offices and oversee underwriting and reinsurance, engineering and research, FM Approvals, claims, client service and marketing, and data analytics. Hodge joined FM Global in 1990 and has served in several roles, including field engineer, account manager, and Atlanta operations manager. He will report to Roberts.

George J. Plesce (pictured directly above), senior vice president and chief client experience and sales officer has been named executive vice president, US, Latin America and sales, with oversight of regional insurance and engineering operations and global business development. Plesce, a 30-year company veteran, will be based in the Johnston corporate offices. He joined the company in 1991 as a senior account representative. In his new role, he will report to Ahnell.

James R. Galloway will continue as executive vice president, overseeing FM Global’s international operations and AFM, a division that provides commercial property insurance for the middle market. He will also assume responsibility for the company’s Canada and specialty industries division. Galloway will report to Ahnell.

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Specialist insurance group Beazley Plc has bounced back – posting a US$167.3 million (around £121.6 million) pre-tax profit for the first half of 2021. The corresponding figure in the period ended June 30, 2020, was a loss before tax of US$13.8 million.

Gross written premium, meanwhile, grew 22% to US$2.04 billion; net earned premiums, 14% to US$1.39 billion. Earnings per share stood at 18.9 pence, or 24 cents. Additionally, Beazley reported a combined ratio of 94% for the six-month span.

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Furness, who has held the role of chief operating office at Covéa Insurance since December 2019, was formerly claims director of the company and its predecessor Provident Insurance. Discussing his appointment, he paid tribute to Reader and highlighted that the firm was “extremely grateful” to him for the legacy he leaves within Covéa.

“I’ve worked with him for 18 years and he has been a brilliant leader of the business and, from both a professional and personal perspective, I will miss him greatly and wish him all the very best for the future,” he said. “Taking over from James is an absolute honour.”

Furness noted that he had been with Covéa for many years and that it is a company he loves and believes in. The business has an “agreed and progressive” strategy in place, he said, backed up by great people and he intends to continue to propel this forward, together with the rest of Covéa’s team.

Commenting on his decision to step down, Reader said that after nine years as CEO, he decided that now is the right time to hand over the role. It had been a privilege to lead such a great business, he said, and he is very proud of all the team has achieved together.

“Covéa Insurance has an exciting future ahead of it,” he said, “and I’m delighted to be handing the baton on to Adrian, who I’ve no doubt will be a more than worthy successor.”

Meanwhile, Covéa Insurance’s chairman Dominique Salvy added: “While the board of directors and our shareholder regret James’s personal decision to leave, we respect his choice. We are grateful for his leadership of the company throughout his tenure, which has delivered a solid strategic positioning for the business and has helped navigate the unprecedented challenges brought about by the pandemic.”

Salvy said he believes that, going forward, no-one is better positioned than Furness to continue to guide the business and build on its strengths and that the board wishes him every success. 

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Among these future leaders is Miranda Mote (pictured), claims manager at Talbot Jones Ltd, who only joined the insurance broking sector in March of last year, but has already made tremendous waves. She counts herself among those who “fell” into insurance, she said, having graduated in 2017 with a degree in philosophy and taken an initial role in a claims management company.

While that wasn’t her dream job, she said, it did give her a taste for insurance and, after 18 months, she applied for a role with Talbot Jones, which was seeking a recent graduate who would be willing to undertake professional qualifications. Since she has joined the firm, Mote has successfully completed her Cert CII and is now embarking on a Master’s degree, supported all the way by the firm’s co-founders, Clare and Richard Talbot-Jones.

Read more: Clare Talbot-Jones discusses her recent TEDx talk

“To be recognised with this award, is just lovely, that Clare and Richard thought to put my name forward is so nice. But then there’s such a focus on people at Talbot Jones,” she said. “The MSc that I’m doing is very focused on leadership and strategic management, and I’m very much an aspiring leader, so I think a lot about that and about the kind of leader I want to be.”

What sets the senior team at her firm apart, Mote said, is their excitement about the work that they do, and their enduring commitment to constantly achieving more. The Talbot-Jones’s are about non-hierarchical leadership, she noted, and they go out of their way to ask the opinion of the team before making decisions. That kind of ‘servant leadership’ matches up to her own ethical values and to see it played out at a business level is very rewarding.

Read more: Touchstone Underwriting MD on driving professionalism through qualifications

Being recognised for the role she is playing in promoting professionalism, both through her certifications and her role as a committee member of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA), has given Mote food for thought about what insurance can offer young talent. She recalled back when she took on her first role how her peers were surprised that she had taken on such an entry-level job.

“I think there’s a sense of people wanting the sort of perfect job that’s going to tick all their boxes,” she said, “but having a more realistic approach allows you to explore something that you might be interested in and you might not. Thankfully, for me, insurance was something that I ended up wanting to have a career in, but that [flexibility] is important because there’s probably no such thing as the perfect job.”

For Mote, it was the atmosphere and people involved in the broking industry that drew her in and she encourages other young people to explore opportunities they have not previously considered. In turn, insurance businesses must meet the expectations that young people have from their place of work she said. And, from looking at her peer group, Mote noted that there is a strong sense that young adults are looking for a safe harbour. They want a sense of belonging, particularly given such increased remote working which is making that harder than ever to achieve, especially for larger firms.

“And people often talk about making a difference, and there’s no doubt that’s really important to young people,” she said. “When I think of my own role and what it means to receive a really good review, it’s so nice that people go out of their way to tell you that. People these days love to feel that they are making an impact.”

Having worked at Talbot Jones and seen for herself what it means to be supported, Mote noted that she understand how imperative it is that companies validate and encourage their people. People want recognition and affirmation, she said, whether that’s for extra hours or extra work, or simply for a job well done. That kind of appreciation is becoming an expectation, particularly for younger people, and firms need to understand that recognition is the key to making people feel valued for the job that they do, and to helping them see the impact that their job is having.

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