London still a key market for energy buyers: AES
London remains the number one market for many energy buyers according to Joe Meaney, vice president, global insurance and risk engineering at the AES Corporation.
Speaking at the opening panel session of the ninth annual London Power Forum, Meaney said: “If I could only go to one insurance market, I would go to London.”
He added that London’s concentration and experience made the buying process less time consuming.
The power forum was opened by Richard Foulger, AEGIS London’s head of claims, who highlighted the comparable challenges of pricing and capacity facing the insurance and utility industries.
Scott Sink, senior executive vice president, McGriff Seibels & Williams, said: “The London market is one of the best centres of innovation in the industry. When faced with a difficult risk management issue, we always come to this market because of the many innovative underwriters who can adapt to change.”
However, he also warned that “sometimes the bureaucracy of placing business in the London market becomes more trying in a soft market.”
Simon Howell, head of power and utilities placement for Bowing Marsh, added: “There is undoubtedly friction in a London market faced with a reduction in orders to competing markets. However most clients are long term and London has remained competitive in the face of this competition.”
Fellow panellist Robert Kuchinski, global property executive, AIG was more positive, saying he liked the fact that you can “insure almost anything within one square mile, and that’s one of the reasons it’ll [the London market] continue to thrive.”
Aside from how to respond to the prevailing market conditions, the issue of leaders within energy underwriting was a recurring theme, with some questioning whether there were enough underwriting leaders. Marsh’s Simon Howell paid tribute to AEGIS London’s leadership, saying that they brought needed innovation to the sector.
Neville Drew, class underwriter for utility property, AEGIS London, said: “The panel session has highlighted many of the challenges London’s utility insurance market is facing.
“It’s pleasing to see that despite these, the prevailing sentiment remains overwhelmingly positive from buyers and the industry itself.”
