Intact eyes global specialty insurance, can double business by 2030

Intact Financial Corporation (IFC) can leverage its recent purchase of RSA and invest further in core market distribution to double direct written premium in global specialty insurance to $10 billion by 2030, management has claimed.

The June 2021 purchase of RSA opened the door to the London markets plus the UK and Europe. Direct written premium in global specialty rose 65% in 2021, largely thanks to that gain.

The inclusion of the UK and Ireland "expands our addressable market by more than 50%," management said of what it calls "vertical export opportunities."

The global specialty market within IFC's reach across the US, Canada, Europe and the London market now sits at $375 billion, up more than twenty-fold since IFC first moved to carve out and grow the segment.

IFC is chiefly broker-reliant and will invest in distribution as a key element of growth. IFC sources $2 billion in premium to global brokers, $2.5 billion to local and specialist brokers versus nearly $1 billion from its own distribution assets.

IFC vows "continued growth of our nearly $1 billion MGA portfolio."

IFC could also move to M&A. It considers the market "highly fragmented," with the largest players at less than 5% market share. Management put "consolidate fragmented market" on its checklist of four key options for its growth roadmap.

M&A will seek to build on lines "where we can leverage our scale and expertise" and expand into "new verticals in line with our risk appetite."

IFC’s global specialty currently sports 19 lines, of which only three span IFC's four main geographies of US, Canada, London and Europe. Cyber and renewables, each currently in two market geographies, are called out for growth potential.

Throughout the growth, combined ratios should hold sub-90, management believes. The group's specialty efforts had delivered "a sustainable low-90s" reading since 2016 and even veered below 90 on the purchase of RSA.

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