XL Catlin stresses one risk appetite globally
XL Catlin’s executives are in Monte Carlo this year keen to educate clients about the group’s offering post-merger, especially its unique approach that allows cedants to access it at one point but place risk into several of its markets.
Jonathan Gale, chief executive of XL Catlin’s London operations, explained that such an approach can be more efficient for a client and save time, while allowing them to benefit from the group’s geographic reach and in particular its presence in different markets.
“The message is that XL Catlin has one risk appetite and one view of a client,” Gale said.
“They can access us wherever they want—London or Bermuda, for example—and they will find that both those hubs will have the same risk appetite and the same view on pricing. It is a question of diversification of placement but commonality of approach. That gives them immediate diversification in terms of counterparty risk and access to two different markets while dealing with the same group.”
He stresses that individual underwriting decisions are made separately in each hub. But collaboration and consistency across different accounts mean less duplication of effort and this represents a very efficient way to run the business and offer clients something different.
He said that clients had welcomed the merger between the two firms because the new entity offers greater scale, reach and a bigger capital base. Only 0.5 percent of clients have in some way reduced the amount of business they place with XL Catlin post-merger because of concerns over concentration risk.
Gale said the company was not taking anything for granted, however. “The idea has to be that 1 plus 1 equals more than 2,” he said. “We are now the eighth largest reinsurer in the world, with an exciting vision and leadership position in many fields. We want our clients to buy into our compelling vision of the future.
“But we also understand that business has to be earned. The market is very competitive at the moment and we have to earn every line from clients. We are not taking anything for granted and we need to illustrate that the combined companies are greater than the sum of their parts.”
