Science meets art: Holborn bets on analytics and leadership to shape future

Against a backdrop of increasing volatility, Holborn is doubling down on its commitment to applied analytics and a next generation of leadership capable of leveraging such techniques for the benefit of its clients. Here, Tim Releford, executive vice president, explains how.

Key points:
Analytics and risk models key
But models must be challenged
Science meets art serves clients

As the reinsurance sector grapples with ever-greater volatility in the underlying risks it needs to understand, price and cover, Holborn is investing further in ever deeper analytical capabilities: in terms of technology and models as well as the leaders equipped to use them. It believes this investment, combined with its unique philosophy and ownership structure, can give it a durable, competitive advantage.

Certainly, that is the view of Tim Releford, executive vice president and head of Applied Modelling at Holborn and one of its senior leaders tasked with guarding and directing the 105 year-old broker’s future. 

Releford’s service department, called Applied Modeling, is tasked with using all available models and data (vendor and inhouse) to generate strategies and solutions that are unique to individual clients. His mission is to create something that adds value to clients – but which is also easy comprehensible and implementable.

As losses from secondary perils, such as severe convective storms (SCS) and wildfires escalate and strain the industry’s ability to understand risks, Releford he argues that insurers should bring a healthy level of scepticism to their interpretation of third party catastrophe model output and be adaptable and open to using multiple sources of information to stress-test the same.

“There’s real value and learning in challenging models,” he told APCIA Today. “All parties benefit from a meeting of minds between cedants, modelers and reinsurance underwriters to make sure assumptions reflect reality. Brokers can play a key role in facilitating this.”

That also means bespoke solutions, not transactional placements. Holborn’s answer is Applied Modeling: a suite of bespoke analytics designed to stress-test portfolios and probe for vulnerabilities that generic models often miss.

“All parties benefit from a meeting of minds between cedants, modelers and reinsurance underwriters”

At the edge of analytics

Holborn describes its Applied Modelling service as a way of blending deterministic and stochastic scenarios with real-world stress tests. Its aim is to uncover  the full range of potential scenarios to inform the most fitting comprehensive risk management strategies.

From unmodelled floods to earthquakes in unexpected regions to devastating wildfires to the escalating challenge of SCS, its focus is on helping clients better understand concentrations of risk and capital resilience under extreme shocks. It is a capability that has quickly become a strategic differentiator, Releford believes.

“Holborn combines advanced catastrophe modelling with client-tailored solutions, grounded in real-world data and forward-looking strategy,” the firm notes in its broking philosophy. The emphasis is on using analytics not as a compliance tool, but as a strategic driver of programme design.

Holborn’s model is perhaps also unique in that it looks to blend its corporate ethos of continuity with one of analytically-driven change. Unlike its rivals, due to it being privately-held and 100% owned by its employees though an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), it has no reason to chase growth. Instead, the broker highlights long-term relationships and what it describes as institutional memory as a source of strength. 

That ethos runs through its approach to client programmes: rather than resetting terms at every renewal, Holborn revisits past decisions and adapts incrementally. The evolution of its analytics capabilities is designed to complement, not replace, that culture, Releford insists.

Signalling the future

For some two decades now, Holborn has been steered by the steady hand of Frank Harrison, its chairman and CEO since 2005. The broker has always highlighted the importance of teamwork over that of an individual. But more than ever, new leaders are stepping forward – and indicating both the company’s continuity and future direction.

Releford’s role as a senior leader within the company perhaps signals where its future lies. His emphasis on understanding the detail and variety behind the risk models available, paired with a pragmatic broking mindset, reflects the balance Holborn is aiming for as the risk landscape shifts around it: it is very technically advanced, yet still driven by long-term relationships with clients, reinsurers and employees.

For US insurers, that mix may be increasingly attractive. Catastrophe losses are rising, the regulatory spotlight is intensifying, and capital providers demand more transparency. Brokers that can challenge assumptions, explain exposures and structure resilient programmes are in high demand.

The importance of Releford and his service department inside Holborn suggests the firm is preparing for that environment with leadership that can bridge technical analytics and client-focused broking. Its trajectory is clear. By investing in applied analytics and elevating leaders such as Releford, and others, Holborn is betting that the future of reinsurance broking lies in combining science and art: rigorous modelling, questioned assumptions, and the trust that only continuity can deliver.

Frank Harrison, chairman and CEO, and Tim Releford, executive vice president, can be contacted at frankh@holborn.com and timothyr@holborn.com respectively.

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