Markel to focus on recruitment in Asia in response to 35% rise in premiums in 2019

Markel is expanding and as a result is recruiting underwriters in Hong Kong, Mumbai, Shanghai and Singapore, following a strong performance in Asia in 2019.

The company reported a rise in premiums of 35 percent in local offices compared to 2018.
Its new hiring plan will focus on expanding its local teams, Christian Stobbs, managing director of Markel Asia, told SIRC Today.

“In the last few months, I have had the opportunity to interview a number of candidates and have been consistently impressed by the quality of local talent,” Stobbs said.

“During its early days in Singapore, Lloyd’s was dominated by a largely British expatriate community. Today, we are observing a shift towards a pool of local talent, and I fully expect this to continue.

“Once upon a time, a specialist insurer could succeed by sitting at a box in London, and global brokers would commute long distances to bring risks to underwriters in Lime Street. Today, that is no longer the case and we recognise the importance of providing localised solutions to our clients in the region.”

He added that while there will inevitably be risks that require London’s input, there is an increasing amount that can be protected locally.

“Markel is committed to expanding our local presence and combining it with our teams in London and elsewhere to bring the best expertise and capacity to every client,” Stobbs said.

“To achieve this, we have developed a simple global P&L to deliver across all classes, and we are already seeing a difference in the way Markel and our brokers go to market.”
Markel’s current focus in Asia is on growing its better-performing classes of business such as professional and financial risks, personal accident, marine liability and trade credit, while being more selective in areas such as hull and cargo.

“After a challenging 18 months for many Lloyd’s syndicates, we are pleased with the progress we are making as we seek to widen our audience that can benefit from Markel with Lloyd’s expert proposition,” said Stobbs.

The benefits of Lloyd’s
Markel will also be increasing its collaboration with other Lloyd’s syndicates in Asia to allow more clients to access the benefits of Lloyd’s.

“It is essential for Lloyd’s syndicates to work together and provide a syndicated proposition. Individually we may be small in the region, but collectively we harness an enormous amount of expertise and capacity to provide valuable specialist protection,” he said.

He added that communicating the strength and security of Lloyd’s is always a challenge outside London because while the Lloyd’s structure is unique and valuable, it may not always be the most intuitive.

“In Asia, we have to present Lloyd’s exceptional ability and security to new clients, although this may not be the case in London where we already have a well-established market community that is familiar with Lloyd’s,” he said.

“However, Lloyd’s possesses many qualities that position us well in Asia, one of which is our rich history. Lloyd’s is the oldest brand in insurance; it is generally accepted that with age comes experience and wisdom, and in the world of insurance, this provides a reliable source of certainty.

“Lloyd’s has been around for 350 years, and I have no doubts that it will continue to provide specialist protection for the next 350 years.”

Stobbs added that the recent and well-publicised upheaval at Lloyd’s driven by the Decile 10 review may have been interpreted in differing ways, but he believes that Lloyd’s has emerged stronger from the exercise, which is further strengthened by Lloyd’s CEO John Neal’s recent modernising blueprint.

Looking to the future, he believes the insurance industry needs to be more united in the way it communicates it proposition to brokers and clients—be that syndication, risk appetite, expertise or security.

“For many years, the industry has been rigidly siloed and riddled in its own nomenclature,” he said.

“However, other industries have shown us the benefits of addressing customers more holistically and empathetically. I recall Stephen Catlin saying in his autobiography that the likes of Google and Amazon would be looking at the insurance industry and laughing at our inefficiency and lack of technological prowess.

“I am inclined to agree with him as I do believe that there is much we can do to improve and provide better support our clients and brokers not just as individual specialists, but as a joined-up source of protection for clients and their risks.

“Insurers must provide certainty when there is uncertainty, regardless of our industry’s structure,” he concluded.