In our brand-new series, we chat to the people who make up the OneAdvent team and learn a bit about what makes them tick!
This time we speak to Roberto Murru, Head of Financial Lines. Roberto recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of our financial lines MGA, so we wanted to share more about this specialist area of the market.
What was behind your decision to launch a financial lines MGA?
I’d spent nearly 30 years in financial lines underwriting, and I’d always wanted to do it, but in many ways, it was a case of ‘right place, wrong time’ as I went to market during a capacity crunch. It actually took me over 8 months to secure capacity which came in the form of a $5m line from IGI, shortly followed by three other major facilities.
Though distribution was a lot easier when we launched in 2019, I was committed to building a strong book, which is reflected by our outstanding returns to capacity providers. Often there’s a temptation to quickly build a book to meet external targets, but as a new business we wanted to be picky, only taking on risks that we’d carefully reviewed and priced to ensure we could maintain a strong underwriting performance for our carriers.
Why did you choose OneAdvent to support the business?
OneAdvent offers all the support and services we needed to drive the business forward. We have built excellent relationships with the team and trust them to help us grow our business quickly and sustainably.
What major changes or trends have you seen in the financial lines market over the last 5 years?
It’s far more competitive now than when we launched five years ago. We’ve seen more markets come in and it’s important to stand out for the right reasons. We don’t chase prices, we are committed to providing fast service, superior underwriting and we nurture really strong broker relationships.
There’s a lot of opportunity for growth in emerging markets, however it’s vital that we work closely with knowledgeable brokers in those countries.
What’s next for you?
Our ambition is to secure Lloyd’s capacity in the coming years, but it can be tricky to get a lead line in this market. However, I’m confident that the relationships we build through OneAdvent will help us to achieve this ambition.
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