The Client
Hampden Risk Partners (HRP) is a Lloyd's syndicate backed predominantly by capital from Hampden Agencies, the largest members' agent in the Lloyd's market. Chris Sharp, the Active Underwriter for the syndicate, had been tasked with driving future profitability and strategic growth within its ‘Intelligent Follow Only’ framework.
The Problem
HRP did not have an underlying underwriting system and wanted to align with Lloyd's Pricing Maturity framework before submitting a plan for the 2023 underwriting year. The timeframe was very tight as Lloyd's regulators were setting business plans 3 months after development started - any other underwriting system would have taken too long to implement. The system needed to have Excel models embedded in the Cloud and integrate with external data from the LMA as well as HRP's policy administration system.
An advancement with Lloyd’s Pricing Maturity framework can bring benefits in terms of growth and capital requirements, so was considered a material strategic goal to HRP.
The Solution
Optalitix Quote was chosen as the HRP underwriting workbench. Following initial design discussions, it was implemented in under 2 months in which aligned with the 2023 planning timetable. The system was used for pricing new 2022 risks accepted and renewals of the existing business.
Quote allows any model to be used in the platform to price risks, reducing rekeying and improving the accuracy and consistency of pricing. The system uses claims performance to automatically check portfolios to improve rating decisions. The system is no-code, allowing non-developers to use the system and ensuring rapid deployment including setting authorisation levels and creating underwriting workflows. It links to LMA claims data, ensuring algorithms can be run in real time to assess risks and manage portfolio variances.
The Benefits
- Optalitix Quote allowed HRP to demonstrate to Lloyd’s a significant progression in their underlying systems and controls for pricing, underwriting and managing risks.
- HRP experienced a significant loss ratio in 2022 (estimated 15% reduction from 2021). It is likely that 2023 will deliver significant profitable growth assuming this continues.
- HRP also plans to expand their premium written in 2024, and the improved governance and oversight from their underwriting workbench gives them a significant advantage. Given the hard insurance market currently, it is likely to deliver improved profitability for shareholders.
- HRP has submitted a plan that supports 44% growth in written premiums for 2024 and is expected to continue a sharp growth trajectoryfor future years.
Optalitix Quote allows us to price and analyse business in a consistent and auditable manner with the added governance that cloud-based systems provide. I have been impressed by the speed of implementation as well as the extensive actuarial and insurance knowledge they bring to our partnership.
Chris Sharp, Active Underwriter - Hampden Risk Partners
Dani’s actuarial experience and passion are key. He is a strong advocate of innovation, optimism and communication, both within the team and for the clients. Dani’s ability and experience with data ensure that we always maximise value and efficiency for every project, enabling us to unlock hidden value for the clients business.
