Marsh won't go wholesale despite E&S heat; likes holding clients close

Global insurance brokerage group Marsh McLennan cannot be tempted into the wholesale brokerage business by the hot growth streak in the E&S segment and will continue to push its clients primarily towards admitted market solutions, Marsh McLennan CEO John Doyle has said. 

“We are not looking to build a third party wholesale business,” Doyle said when asked during his company's Q12 earnings call if E&S growth meant Marsh could put an increasing portion of business through the wholesale unit it picked up with the 2019 purchase of JLT, Victor Insurance. 

Marsh will continue to work with its array of wholesale partners for niche expertise, but “generally we are preferring admitted solutions for our clients,” Doyle said, despite “considerable growth” seen in E&S. 

“It is client driven, it is about us managing the client outcomes, the client experience really as directly as possible,” Doyle said of the Marsh approach. 

Surplus lines premium in major US jurisdictions rose 14.6% in 2023 to $72.7 billion, including 32% growth in property, a dataset from 15 US stamping offices compiled by the insurance industry lobby group WSIA recently indicated.

Non-professional liability remains the single largest surplus line across the 15 jurisdictions, up 9.9% in 2023 to $24.4 billion. Surplus property is the second largest surplus line at a third of the total sampled market, showing a 32% aggregate gain for 2023. 

“We want to continue to press and make sure we can access as much of that market directly,” Doyle said.  

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