A consolidated approach
Ryan Specialty Group’s new partnership with healthcare and life science underwriters at Lloyd’s of London has resulted in a newer, stronger healthcare and life science underwriting facility. Intelligent Insurer reports.
"We want to be a ‘go to’ market for all healthcare professional, general and products liability business.”
RSGUM Healthcare is Ryan Specialty Group’s (RSG) medical professional liability business (Sapphire Blue) combined with its medical products liability business (LifeScienceRisk). The combination provides greater strength and capability in the marketplace and provides more predictable results for RSG’s capital providers.
“It is the first industry consolidation within the RSG Underwriting Managers platform,” said Kieran Dempsey, head of healthcare and life sciences for RSG Underwriting Managers.
“The consolidated programme provides greater capacity for our insureds and pools the expertise of many of the strongest Lloyd’s syndicates. Under this consortium approach, we provide greater capacity than available syndicate-by-syndicate and share knowledge and results across a broader Lloyd’s base.”
That broad base comprises seven supporting Lloyd’s participants: Amlin, Chaucer, Hiscox, Catlin, Ren Re, Atrium and Dale Underwriting. RKH Insurance Brokers acts as RSGUM Healthcare’s Lloyd’s broker in the UK.
“We’ve always had a strong relationship with Lloyd’s,” said Dempsey. “The vast majority of our business now is at Lloyd’s and the model at Lloyd’s suits us perfectly.”
The new underwriting facility addresses the fact that brokers have been asking RSG for industry solutions instead of small product delineation. Rather than seeking a specific product, they are looking for solutions across the healthcare spectrum.
“We are excited about the possibility of being able to offer products that span the industry, and we’re looking at possibly doing that in other areas, such as energy and property,” said Dempsey.
RSGUM Healthcare’s medical professional liability products include professional and general liability coverage for long-term care facilities, specialty hospitals, home healthcare, hospice and allied healthcare facilities. Products liability targets include branded and generic pharmaceuticals, medical products, clinical trials and nutritional supplements.
“Our coverage offerings are always evolving in response to industry changes and issues,” said Dempsey. “We address numerous issues including crisis management, cyber and social media concerns.
“Healthcare is one of the most dynamic industries in the world right now and the Affordable Care Act in the US is a major driver of why our clients buy coverage and how their industries and businesses are organised.
“There is significant M&A activity in the healthcare industry and we developed a standalone ‘Extended Reporting Period’ product to address some of the liability concerns arising out of these acquisitions.”
With its strong financial backing and significant capacity, RSGUM Healthcare tends to attract larger and more complex accounts. It is one of the few markets to provide $25 million limits, especially in the life sciences.
“We also have nine highly specialised underwriters and two actuaries supporting the initiative. Sedgwick Claims Management provides claims support and provides exceptional service and access to data,” said Dempsey.
“We hope to expand our healthcare products and continue to develop new products to meet emerging needs. We want to be a ‘go to’ market for all healthcare professional, general and products liability business.”
Kieran Dempsey is head of healthcare and life sciences for RSG Underwriting Managers. He can be contacted at: Kieran.Dempsey@sapphireblueuw.com
