aws-admin, Author at Pro Global

London, 7th April 2021: Independent global managing general agency (MGA) incubator platform Pro MGA Solutions (‘Pro.MS’) is delighted to announce that it has engaged with smart home insurance expert Hiro.

Hiro is a game-changing home insurance product designed to work with customers to proactively mitigate the risk of suffering loss incidents. Hiro encourages customers to engage in preventative maintenance tasks through gamified in-app mechanisms; customers are given discounts on smart technology to protect their homes, and rewarded for the technology they already have in place.

An independent business within global re/insurance outsourcing and consulting specialist Pro Global Holdings Limited (‘Pro’), Pro.MS provides an entrepreneurial environment for ambitious underwriters and distributors to support their growth.

The platform encompasses a comprehensive range of services, enabling Pro.MS to design with each MGA cell a support structure suited to their particular needs and geared to growing the business through the incubation period.

Hiro will utilise Pro.MS’s licensed platform to launch, with ongoing regulatory and compliance support from Pro.MS’s in-house expertise.

“As people start thinking more about how to protect their contents with technology, we are seeing that reflected in their choice of cover. The idea of actively protecting your home and belongings is very persuasive – and even if you’re fortunate enough to never need to claim on your insurance, you can check up on your home from anywhere in the world.

Customers see the everyday value with a hybrid technology and insurance proposition like this, versus a traditional “paper” policy, and get more of what they really want from insurance. We, in turn, reduce our claims costs, revolutionise the value proposition for home insurance and drastically improve acquisition, retention and customer lifetime value.

Following our successful crowdfunding at the end of 2020, Hiro is now ready to develop and commercialise an insurance product that will fundamentally disrupt the market, and we are delighted to be working with the experienced team at Pro.MS to deliver this.”

“What impressed me about Hiro is what they’re doing is completely different from the ‘sell it and forget it’, traditional approach to home cover. From our side, we’re here to help with corporate and regulatory compliance as Hiro looks to make in-roads into the home insurance market, as well as working with capacity providers, providing governance and controls to ensure that underwriting management is at the highest standard, as well as further business development and marketing advice and support.

Using technology to maximise efficiency and develop new opportunities is absolutely central to the Pro.MS proposition as well, and we are very pleased to be working with Hiro – a business with huge potential.”

Pro MGA Solutions (‘Pro.MS’) is an independent Multi-Territory MGA incubator platform providing an entrepreneurial environment for ambitious underwriters who want to make a difference. Its USP is applying innovation with focus on achieving each MGA clients vision through shared purpose and aligned business goals.

The Pro.MS platform encompasses a comprehensive range of services, enabling the team to design with each MGA client a support structure suited to their particular needs and geared to growing the business through the incubation period. Specialist services supporting business growth include capital investment for early stage and subsequent development; acquisition (where required to complement organic growth); capacity providers that support the aligned interests; and a structured approach to introducing new business opportunities.

Pro is a leading international consultancy and service provider that focuses on delivering flexible outsourcing solutions for live and run-off business, operational consultancy and audit services exclusively to the global insurance industry.

Founded in 1993, Pro has some 160 clients spanning the global insurance market, including insurers, reinsurers, brokers, lawyers and corporate investors.

The company has over 500 employees around the world, with recent geographic expansion in Germany and North America. Pro has offices in London, Cologne, Zurich, New York and Buenos Aires, all supported by regional delivery centres, enabling Pro to act for clients across multiple markets, cultures and territories.

The audit conducted an on-site visit and gathered information through workshops and interviews as well as follow up emails and phone calls as required. Underwriting data and bordereaux were provided in advance of and during the site visit. The review objectives were:

London, 14 January 2021: Global re/insurance outsourcing and consulting specialist Pro Global Holdings Limited (Pro) has announced the appointment of three new industry experts for its independent Managing General Agent incubator subsidiary Pro MGA Solutions (Pro.MS).

New to the team are Richard Fricker, who joins as Head of International Operations; Sonia Stanton, who joins as Compliance Manager; and Samantha Game, who joins as Account Manager.

Richard Fricker – a senior insurance market business leader – has more than 30 years’ experience and holds a successful track record in business change and development. Throughout his career, Richard has led and shaped teams across different geographies and disciplines including a London treasury function and establishing underwriting offices in various global locations. Richard joins Pro.MS from Vibe Syndicate Management, where he was Head of Project Management for just over a decade.

Meanwhile, Sonia Stanton is an insurance and compliance expert joining Pro.MS from AA UICL in Gibraltar and having previously worked for Red Sands Insurance Europe and NFU Mutual. Sonia has an established financial industry career spanning more than 15 years. She brings with her experience in claims, underwriting and risk management – all key skills which will help her fulfil her new role as Compliance Manager.

Working alongside Stanton and Fricker as part of the newly expanded Pro.MS team is new Account Manager, Samantha Game. Samantha has amassed more than a decade’s experience working in the financial sector and brings with her skills in insurance underwriting and BAU process developments. In addition to these vital attributes, Samantha has expertise in developing core business infrastructure, including operational systems, MI platforms and claims management.

The trio of new recruits reflect the accelerated expansion of Pro.MS and pave the way for its continued growth across the UK, Europe and the US.

“I am delighted to welcome our latest new recruits to the Pro.MS team. Over the last year we have been embracing global growth, and as we head into 2021, we expect to see this success continue – an ambition which our new team members will play a vital role in achieving.

As an independent MGA incubator platform, we are known for our ambition to provide a unique, innovative and entrepreneurial environment for our underwriters.

Our three new team experts will undoubtedly help us uphold and grow our company’s high reputation, as they too endeavour to ensure we remain at the forefront of our offerings, as we continue to drive growth across all our products and services in the coming year.”

“Pro MS has a great reputable standing in the market with unlimited growth opportunities, which makes me extremely excited to be part of the team.”

“It’s an exciting time to join the team as we seek to build on recent successes and realise the ambitions to operate in new markets and territories.”

“I am delighted to be a part of the MGA team at Pro. The team are consistently focussed on bringing exciting new models to the insurance market, it’s great to be working with such a forward-thinking organisation.”

Founded in 1993, Pro has some 160 clients spanning the global insurance market, including insurers, reinsurers, brokers, lawyers and corporate investors.

The efficient management of run-off portfolios enables insurers to put all their focus on live business. Pro’s Group Head of Claims Richard Lawson shines the light on this vibrant and valuable sector.

Sometimes the run-off / legacy insurance sector seems to make headlines for all the wrong reasons: when an insurer goes into administration, or stops writing a line of business, the headlines often include words like “failure”, “market exit” and “closure”.

Fair enough, but we feel our corner is a glamorous corner of the re/insurance market, and we absolutely reject any notion that legacy is bad news.

In fact, taking a proactive approach to the management of legacy and run-off liabilities by combining deep expertise in legacy claims management with specialist claims technology can free up millions in reserves and help insureds receive claims payments more efficiently.

The real headline is that the estimated value of non-life runoff liabilities in 2019 US$800 billion, according to the 2019 PWC runoff survey – and this figure looks set to grow further in 2020. A proactive approach to the management of these liabilities can significantly improve an insurer’s capital position and bottom line.

Pro has over 35 years of expertise managing complex legacy portfolios for some of the world’s largest insurers, and our team is trusted around the world with the reputation of leading brands as we efficiently manage large historic claims.

With current legacy liabilities under management of over £7 billion, Pro is the only full service legacy provider – allowing you to put your focus back on live business. Get in touch to find out more.

The terms Legacy and runoff are often used interchangeably, but do describe different aspects of the orderly closure and effective capital management of a book of insurance business.

Legacy: refers to older long-tail portfolios, often with 30-40 year claims horizons. Typically managed by carriers who continue to write the same business today.

Runoff: refers to discontinued business – i.e. a closed book of insurance business with no live policies sold. This could be because the business in question has gone into administration, lost a client, or otherwise ceased trading.

Legacy liabilities are transferred or acquired in run-off transactions, allowing their original holders or underwriters to achieve finality on those books of business.

Pro Insurance Solutions Senior Claims Managers Iain Turnbull and Alan Metzger enjoy a lively discussion with The Voice of Insurance podcast host Mark Geoghegan, exploring the potential impact of COVID-19 on the claims environment. The podcast also features an introduction with Pro Head of Claims Richard Lawson.

In the days before the first 2020 lockdown, 45 new firms were incorporated with the word ‘Corona’ or ‘COVID-19’ as part of their name, including “COVID-19 Virus Compensation Ltd”, “Coronavirus Claims Ltd” and “Coronavirus Compensation Ltd”.

Clearly the compensation firms feel there is strong potential for claimants facing losses as a result of the pandemic crisis, but how is the insurance industry looking at the issue?

In this podcast, Mark leads a varied discussion with Pro’s leading claims experts, covering the potential long and short-tail public liability impacts of COVID-19, exploring the types of claims currently being seen, the defences being used and what can be expected to come through in the future.

From an employers’ liability and public liability perspective, COVID-19-related claims will come from a wide range of sources, although not all will have merit.

It is also clear that COVID-19 is going to have a significant impact on the future disease claims environment, in particular issues over long COVID-19, causation, possible interactions with other conditions, and knock-on impacts on treatment delays for other illnesses.

After initially facing delays, court systems have now accelerated their digitisation process and remote cases are being heard – Pro’s experts are watching closely and advising where possible.

There is a long way to go on the COVID-19 claims journey, but Pro’s experts emphasised that the most important aspect is to continue to treat all meritorious claimants fairly and to process claims as quickly and efficiently as possible.

London, 7th January, 2021: Global re/insurance outsourcing and consulting specialist Pro Global Holdings Limited (‘Pro’) today announces the expansion of its services within Latin America with the opening of a wholly owned office in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Brazil Office Manager Juan Pablo Bragadin – who has been a Pro Representative in Brazil since 2015 – will report to Martin Smith, Pro’s Head of Latin America. The new Brazil office will offer services to the local re/insurance community across Pro’s underwriting, claims, technical accounting, auditing and outsourcing verticals.

The Brazil team have already been awarded their first project working on a third party authority (TPA) run-off project for international legacy specialist Quest.

Pro’s new office in Sao Paulo adds to the company’s growing presence in the region, which includes its Latin American headquarters in Buenos Aires, Argentina as well as representative offices in Puerto Rico, Peru and Colombia.

“We are delighted to work with Pro Global in Brazil hoping that this transaction will be the first of many in a new territory for Quest Group.”

“I’m delighted to be announcing the further expansion of our Latin American capabilities into Brazil, where we have had a representative office since 2015 and have now formalised our presence with our own office. Juan and his team will continue to grow Pro’s capabilities in the largest re/insurance market in the region, supporting our clients with expert local insight as they adapt to remote working conditions and navigate wider economic challenges and a rapidly developing regulatory environment.

There is no one size fits all approach to the re/insurance markets in Latin America – each country has different regulations and cultural approaches to conducting insurance business, as well as their own macroeconomic challenges, that make having local expertise critical to supporting clients on the ground.

We are laser focused on supporting our clients in managing their outsourcing requirements.

With thanks to more electronic and digital processing we are able to improve processes, workflows and productivity as well manage legacy portfolios promptly and efficiently.”

Founded in 1993, Pro has some 160 clients spanning the global insurance market, including insurers, reinsurers, brokers, lawyers and corporate investors.

The company has over 500 employees around the world, with recent geographic expansion in Germany and North America. Pro has offices in London, Sundern, Unna, Zurich, New York and Buenos Aires, all supported by regional delivery centres, enabling Pro to act for clients across multiple markets, cultures and territories.

London, 8th October 2020: Global re/insurance outsourcing and consulting specialists Pro Global Holdings Limited (‘Pro’) today announces that Mike Mackenzie will join the company as Head of UK Specialty Claims at the start of 2021, Richard Lawson now becomes Head of Claims, and Chris Buer is appointed as Head of Marketing and External Communications.

“Mike Mackenzie further strengthens our SME capabilities and claims operations at an opportune time as we look to grow our UK claims presence, and he will assume full responsibility for our EL/PL claims offering at a time of significant expansion. We still have to also ensure that we develop our market profile in a consistent way and therefore Mike, coming from a legal background with over 20 years’ experience of dealing with claims and litigation for a variety of organisations including solicitors, insurers, brokers and third party administrators, is an ideal appointment to safeguard this within the claims vertical.

Since April this year Richard Lawson has been covering the Head of Claims vertical alongside his role as head of Client Engagement, and going forward I am pleased to confirm that he will now lead the claims team on a full time basis. Richard has been with Pro since its formation and he is a perfect choice to see that our claims function remains at the forefront of our offering as we drive growth across all our products and services.

The appointment of Chris, who joined us earlier this year from his role with PPL at Lloyd’s, having previously worked at market associations LIIBA and LMG, is well suited for the role given this relevant experience. His London market credentials of promoting the market, its branding and positioning within the UK and worldwide will serve him well as he looks to develop and drive the profile of Pro Insurance Solutions by working with all business divisions to market our product and service offerings on a global basis.”

“I am very pleased to be taking on the important claims role full time as the company moves forward with these new appointments and when our clients are currently experiencing a significant increase in claims volumes and our expert teams are in high demand. The appointment of Mike to join the claims team is a critical one to ensure our continued success and strengthening of our SME capabilities and claims operations, whilst Chris’s experience will help guarantee that our messaging and product offerings are consistent across all verticals.”

“This opportunity with Pro is for me a natural and challenging development of my career path. I have worked in the claims space for 20 years, specialising in legacy claims since 2005. During that time, I have led significant organisational transformation programmes. Pro’s reputation, expertise and focus on service excellence precedes them, they are a leader in the field. I am excited to be joining such a strong team, at a time of considerable expansion, and I am very much looking forward to taking up this role.”

“I am delighted with my appointment and excited to be taking on the position. Pro has an excellent name in the market but with increasing competition and offerings from other sources it is becoming vital to further uplift our global marketing and communications.”

Mike Mackenzie joins Pro from Municipal Mutual Insurance Ltd where he was the Claims and Reinsurance Manager. He moved from the legal profession and began his career in the insurance industry in 2003 and has held a variety of claims roles for Country Mutual Insurance Brokers, Davies Group, Zurich Insurance Company and BAI Claims Services Limited. Mike has degrees in politics and law and also holds Chartered Insurance Practitioner status.

Richard Lawson has been with Pro since the very start, having begun his career in claims with English and American, becoming Group COO in the late 1990s; he was then seconded to Swiss Re in 2006 for four years to work on the integration of GE before returning to Pro as UK CEO. He led the development of Pro Consulting Services, before taking on the role of Global Client Engagement driving strategic developments during the last few years securing significant claims outsource contracts.

Chris Buer began his insurance career as a Business Analyst at Lockton in 2005 before taking on a seven year role at LIIBA as an associate Director, where he formed part of the core team that conducted a market wide research initiative entitled “London Matters” which assessed the competitive position of the London market by capturing comprehensive data in order to analyse its position in the global (re)insurance market, through buyer behaviour interviews and data modelling. Following this he was employed at Lloyd’s working on behalf of the London Market Group, and then subsequently as a Senior Manager working with a board of 15 London market CEOs on market growth initiatives before joining Pro at the beginning of the year.

Founded in 1993, Pro has some 160 clients spanning the global insurance market, including insurers, reinsurers, brokers, lawyers and corporate investors.

Exploring the radical changes afoot in the MGA arena of the market, what the current challenges and opportunities are, and how Pro MS. is positioning its strategy for the future it was a lively discussion. During which the topic of risk capital evolution in a harder market came up…

Mark asked, “We’re in a hardening market, is there still demand from insurers to start MGAs as they did before, or has the harder market made them more conservative?”

“I think that the MGA of the future has got to demonstrate a true alignment with their risk capital partner. And there’s nothing better than actually bearing some of the risk yourself – there’s a number of different models out there at the moment that those organisations can embrace. I think the traditional model of sourcing risk capital and getting 40 points plus is no longer in existence, you have to demonstrate true value and true alignment.

And those are the sort of MGA opportunities that we want to be associated with – those that are shaping the sector by thinking differently.

Interestingly I think what we’ve been going through in the last few months is the reality that you don’t actually need to be based in an office in order to trade, you can work remotely.

MGAs have always been masters at being able to work remotely due to their structure, the technology and efficiencies they embrace. I think it’s driving the entrepreneurial underwriter to consider MGAs, and likewise we’re seeing a lot of risk capital looking to embrace MGAs in a more innovative way.”

Pro Global CEO Steve Lewis catches up with leading independent insurance journalist and Founder of the Voice of Insurance Mark Geoghegan.

During the wide-ranging discussion, Mark asked where Steve thought the core competence is of re/insurance businesses, and how they can benefit from outsourcing.

“I think it’s up to every insurer, reinsurer, broker, MGA, to assess what they consider core to themselves, and where ultimately they believe they can build a differentiating capability and the application of skill.

They need to focus on what they can genuinely be good at. And the view of what is differentiating capability continues to evolve – particularly in the last decade with the rise of insurtech.

And that’s allowed different participants in the market to become much more granular in the way they componatise the value chain and determine which elements of it they believe they can add the greatest value to, and ultimately where they feel they will get greater value with partnering capability where others bring more to the party.

I think that becomes the skill – blending that partnering of capability for enhanced performance. Particularly with the ever increasing use of technology, partnering with the right capability along the value chain is actually one of the skills of businesses today.

Pro is ultimately focused on providing a combination of services, a number of those are focused on how to lean your operations, and a number are about enabling capability. And it’s that combination that allows us to partner to allow our clients to focus.”

The Pro Group includes companies authorised and regulated in a number of jurisdictions including the UK that operate under the Pro Global Brand (with the exception of Pro MGA Global Solutions Ltd and its associated companies). Pro Global Holdings Limited is a holding company, registered in England and Wales, whose registered office is Southgate House, Southgate Street, Gloucester, GL1 1UB (Reg No. 10532385).

Pro MGA Global Solutions is a trading brand of Pro MGA Solutions Limited which is a company incorporated and registered in England and Wales, whose registered address is One America Square, 17 Crosswall, London EC3N 2LB (Reg No. 10575665) with its principal place of business (office) at 18 King William Street, London EC4N 7BP. Pro MGA Solutions Limited is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 770419).

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