In September 2023, Markel Insurance made a decisive entrance into the Australian market, launching offices in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. At the time, Rory Morison (pictured above, left), Markel International’s managing director in Australia, emphasized the company’s commitment. “Yes, we’re here for the long term,” he said.
Two years on, Markel says its Australian ambitions are bearing fruit. Andrew McMellin (pictured above, right), president of Markel International, told Insurance Business that progress has been “tremendous,” citing $80 million in gross written premium (GWP) for the last financial year. While this figure is modest compared to established competitors, McMellin noted it “surpassed what we thought we’d be able to do.” The company now aims to reach $200 million in premium in Australia within the next three to five years.
Markel has introduced more than half a dozen insurance products for Australian brokers, including professional indemnity, financial institutions solutions, cyber, and, most recently, marine cargo coverage. Unlike some larger insurers, Markel’s strategy behind these offerings is to employ local underwriters with real decision-making authority. Morison described this as “empowered underwriters on the ground.”
This local empowerment extends to claims handling – a key concern for brokers. McMellin said, over the last two years, brokers and their clients have seen a difference in Markel’s responsiveness, particularly in claims. Many insurers and underwriting agencies in Australia rely on claims authority based overseas or managed by third-party administrators, which can lead to delays. Markel, by contrast, empowers its local underwriters with claims authority. “We always said [local empowerment] was an important part of the proposition,” said McMellin.
Markel’s Australian operation includes claims specialists in professional indemnity, financial institutions, and casualty. “That was really key to make sure that we got the proposition to clients and brokers,” said McMellin. “The brokers and the clients have seen and that’s showing the credibility.”
The decision to establish three offices was also about recognizing regional differences within Australia. “The way that we set up in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, was recognizing that, like a lot of countries, there’s a regionalization to the marketplace,” said McMellin. He added that this approach has been well received by brokers.
Markel’s Australian growth is part of a broader Asia Pacific strategy. “We’ll do just around, 275 million US dollars [of premium] this year in Asia Pacific with a runway of up to US$500 million [premium] over the next three to five years,” said McMellin. For context, QBE Insurance Group’s Asia Pacific GWP is reported at more than US$17 billion (2023).
Despite the current soft market, Morison and McMellin said Markel is not chasing growth at any cost. “We’ve been very specific about who and how we want to trade to ensure that the service levels match the decision-making capability,” said Morison. While some insurers use soft market conditions to grow aggressively, Markel has “stuck to ‘quality risk.’”
More broker offerings are on the horizon. “There are lots of options to deliver the model that has been successful so far and we just want to replicate it in different products and potentially in different segments going forwards,” said McMellin.
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