Certa Specialty Limited has been launched by Dan Lott (pictured above) in collaboration with Markel International and Certa Insurance Partners, aiming to provide consultancy services for managing agents and Coverholders in the delegated authority sector of the Lloyd’s London market.
The consultancy will provide services across the delegated authority lifecycle, including oversight frameworks, managing general agent (MGA) build-outs, branded capacity management, compliance, and drafting of binding authority agreements.
Its scope also covers onboarding processes, capacity deployment through consortia, and governance improvement to meet regulatory requirements.
The launch comes at a time when the Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) has introduced new model profit-commission clauses designed to address disputes and offer greater flexibility for managing binding authority agreements in lines with long-tail exposures such as personal accident and health.
These changes aim to better align profit-sharing mechanisms with the realities of claims development over extended periods, offering a more predictable structure for both carriers and Coverholders.
Market dynamics have also shifted in MGA onboarding, with carriers such as Allianz placing greater emphasis on robust due diligence before granting binding authority. This heightened scrutiny includes deeper reviews of governance structures, risk-management frameworks, and the quality of data and reporting capabilities.
For firms like Certa Specialty, this trend underscores the importance of helping new MGAs meet the increasing standards that carriers are now demanding during the approval process.
David Sawyer, managing director – professional and financial risks & cyber at Markel International, said managing agents are facing demands to develop proportionate and future-ready oversight frameworks.
“Managing agents are under pressure to deliver proportionate, future-ready oversight frameworks. Certa Specialty will help cut through the complexity and build programmes that efficiently work for carriers and Coverholders alike,” Sawyer said.
Certa’s broader group activities have also been expanding, with Certa Insurance Partners having opened a new office in Germany in early 2024 to grow its European tax-insurance operations. The move was intended to strengthen its footprint in continental Europe and extend its capacity to service specialist tax risks across different jurisdictions.
The launch also follows Markel’s October 2023 acquisition of a 49% shareholding in Certa Insurance Partners Limited and TLI Certa Europe GmbH.
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