Howden crafts innovative platform to ‘transform’ London’s oldest specialty class

International insurance broker  Howden has launched the industry’s first digital trading platform that it claims will “transform” the oldest and “much slower” specialty class in the London market, which today bound its first risk in the open market.

xTrade Cargo is said to be the “first end-to-end digital trading platform” dedicated to marine cargo business. The platform, which is recognised by Lloyd’s for e-placement and will conform to the CDR data standard, is expected to be rolled out across all specialty lines.

Howden said a panel of 20 leading carriers “with access to the largest and most complex cargo risks in the sector” have so far signed up to the platform.

Cargo re/insurance has been written in the London market since 1686, but  Howden says “it has been much slower than other classes of business to adapt to technological change.”

The new initiative is designed to provide an easy to use digital architecture and settlement system enabling insurer participants to collect, share and integrate standardised risk data into their own pricing and modelling systems.

As a result, carriers are able to undertake a faster and more in-depth analysis and quoting of risk, leading to a more accurately priced and efficient trade, whose cost benefits can be passed onto the end client. The broker explained.

Howden currently transacts gross written premiums of $160 million ([c.10%] of the total cargo market in London, which it aims to grow to $200 million by the end of 2022.

Jonathan Eaton, head of cargo and stock throughput at  Howden Specialty, said: “xTrade Cargo is a defining moment in the history of London’s oldest specialty class. In a market that has historically struggled to effectively adapt to the technology revolution, we have identified a line-specific digital trading platform where we can exchange data with carriers to help them bind complex open market business seamlessly. We’re delighted that a large group of leading capacity providers have been attracted by the significant pricing, speed and efficiency opportunities, the benefits of which can be passed on to their end clients.

“xTrade Cargo embodies our commitment to use digital technology to connect our clients to our markets and as the industry continues to grapple with how to meet complex risk solutions whilst reducing frictional costs, we’re excited by the potential of this platform and in time, applying its principles to other specialty lines that are in major need of transforming.”

Paul Hillier, managing director of  Howden’s xTrade platform, added: “As a Group, we have made significant investment into our digital capabilities to create data-driven solutions for our clients.  We are working with a growing number of insurers to achieve this and xTrade Cargo is the next step in our strategy to roll out digital trading across all specialty classes. By delivering structured risk data to insurers in a format they want, our ambition is to become the broker of choice in the emerging digital marketplace.”

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