Hamilton CEO echoes Duperreault’s message
As carriers reassess their priorities and refocus on making underwriting profits, the use of technology and data science will become key to achieving this, and give companies with these capabilities an advantage, Pina Albo, chief executive of Hamilton Insurance Group, told Baden-Baden Today.
As the January 1 renewals approach, Albo said there is an increased focus from carriers on their bottom line and making an underwriting profit. After many years of rate decreases, she noted, carriers are now acting.
She said an increasing number of carriers are exiting certain lines of business, while others are looking to become more client-focused and relevant to their needs, for example by bundling their capabilities and offerings.
Concurrently, Albo said, there is increased momentum around data science and technology, and an understanding of the urgency to modernise businesses. New technology can be leveraged to make carriers more efficient, while data science can be used to ensure decisions are more informed, she said.
Echoing the mantra of her predecessor, Hamilton founder Brian Duperreault, Albo, eight months into the position, stressed that the use of technology and data has become a key distinguishing factor for re/insurers—and it remains at the core of Hamilton’s strategy.
“I joined Hamilton because its mission was writing the future of risk and because its strategy was to build a diversified insurance company that leverages data science technology on both sides of the balance sheet,” she said.
“Our mission and strategy are unchanged. We’re now building on the foundation laid in Hamilton’s first years by pursuing organic and inorganic growth.”
Technology and data science are central to almost all aspects of Hamilton’s strategy. “In the industry there is an increased awareness of the fact that technology is necessary in our business,” said Albo.
“We use it in every other business, we expect it when we buy something, and insurance is no different.”
In the US, Hamilton Insurance is eyeing opportunities in the small commercial market. This generates some $150 billion in premiums but, as a fragmented market with no dominant players, it is ripe for transformation, Albo believes.
Hamilton is targeting this space through Attune, a digital managing general agent (MGA) owned by the company, affiliates of Two Sigma Investments (Hamilton’s largest shareholder) and AIG. It is focused on transforming the small commercial segment by using data science and technology, fully automating the rate/quote/bind/issue process.
Albo believes Attune will transform the small commercial space, as it is able to transact business using technology and data science seamlessly, allowing carriers to make better informed decisions more quickly.
Elsewhere in the business, Hamilton Re chief executive officer Kathleen Reardon is leading the creation, with requisite regulatory approvals, of a US reinsurance platform. Albo said this will give it access to additional business that doesn’t make its way to London or Bermuda, and a larger talent pool in the US, which represents a real growth opportunity for the company.
“There is $40 billion in ceded premium that never gets to Bermuda; this will give us access to that,” she said. “We will start small, and grow as opportunities arise. There is no pressure at all to grow quickly in the US.”
Albo reiterated the company’s commitment to Lloyd’s and her support of the market’s ongoing profitability review. Hamilton entered the Lloyd’s market through its acquisition of Sportscover in 2015, taking over the distressed syndicate. Its book of business comprises about 80 percent speciality insurance business and 20 percent specialist reinsurance business.
She believes the key to the transformation of Lloyd’s will also be technology. Lloyd’s is in the process of implementing the London Market Target Operating Model, a core component of the market modernisation proposal set out by the London Market Group. It is designed to make business easier to do in the London Market, locally and globally.
Albo said Hamilton has already made great progress with its Lloyd’s operations.
“When we bought Sportscover, we started with essentially no legacy systems or legacy mindsets,” she said. “We were able to build an end-to-end paperless system in our syndicate that transacts faster than any other platform in Lloyd’s.”
This system leverages the same Hamilton Analytics Risk Partners platform technology that Hamilton Re uses for underwriting, risk management and portfolio optimisation.
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