Market shifts support launch of new agencies: Rhodian

Shifts in the insurance cycle are providing an environment conducive for the launch of new underwriting agencies that can provide additional products for brokers, newly launched incubator firm Rhodian says.

Rhodian Co-Founder and CEO Simon Lightbody says capacity is starting to become more available following the recent hard market but the pathway to setting up agencies has become more difficult since a wave of new firms launched some two decades ago.

“We haven’t had a large number of agencies started in the last five or six years,” Mr Lightbody tells insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“But I think the environment is becoming more conducive for people to think about it, if you provide a vehicle that allows them to step from an employment environment into a self-employment environment.”

Rhodian, in which US-based specialty wholesale distributor Amwins has taken a minority stake, is providing a suite of support services including legal and compliance, finance, data analytics, capacity management and marketing to provide a faster pathway for start-up agencies to enter the market.

The firm will take an equity stake in supported agencies, with the level depending on the scenarios, and will provide the Australian financial services licence for the start-ups, which will operate under their own separate branding.

Rhodian will be building agile systems and ensuring agencies can continually innovate to stay ahead of the curve, Mr Lightbody says.

“Underwriting agencies are facing continued challenges around managing the changing environment of regulation and compliance, understanding the power of strong technology and positioning themselves to access the broker distribution channels,” he says.

“Knowing how to structure your business for today is no longer sufficient, you need to be able to structure a business that is resilient to continual change and has the systems and frameworks to flex and absorb this change.”

Rhodian’s co-founders are Mr Lightbody, Chief Underwriting Officer Peter Takos and COO Tessa Chirnside.

“Underwriting agencies are playing an ever-increasing role in delivering strong insurance products to Australia’s broker networks,” Mr Takos said.

“Part of our focus is to match both domestic and international capacity with the strongest agency product offering, ensuring the evolving needs of broker clients can be met in a sustainable way.”

Amwins, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, operates through more than 155 offices globally and handles premium placements in excess of $US29 billion ($43 billon) annually.

“Amwins brings significant expertise and experience in the development of an MGA network to the table,” CEO Scott Purviance said.

“Alongside shared cultural values and an independent structure, this partnership provides access to qualified capacity across multiple product lines, putting Rhodian in a prime position for accelerated and sustainable growth.”