Straight Answers at a Premium in US Insurance Market

FARMINGTON, Conn., March 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Five years ago today, underwriters at Beazley USA Services Inc., a subsidiary of Beazley Group, one of the largest insurers in the Lloyd's market, bound their first professional liability policy on US soil.  Beazley's locally underwritten US business has since grown to more than $370 million in annual premiums and Beazley's US underwriters bound more than 24,000 policies last year.

On March 2, Beazley chief executive officer Andrew Horton will formally open Beazley's newest US offices - 17,000 square feet of space at Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan, designed to accommodate 75 underwriters and claims service professionals.   Unlike most insurers, Beazley does not have a 'claims department' segregated from underwriting.    

Beazley has prospered in the US with an approach that has long found favor with large scale US clients insuring with the Beazley syndicates at Lloyd's in London.  To gain traction for its US operation, Beazley has been able to point to its Lloyd's track record.  The Beazley syndicates insure a third of the Am Law 200 list of the top law firms in the United States; more than half of the top 50 US architectural and engineering design firms as ranked by Engineering News-Record; two thirds of the top 25 global software and software services companies as ranked by Software Magazine; and four of the top 10 'Honor Roll' US hospitals as listed by US News and World Report.

"Our idea was to bring a style of underwriting that had served us very well in London to the US," said Mr Horton.  "We knew from our discussions with brokers in the US market that above all they wanted straight answers from their underwriters.  For a broker time is money.  They wanted to work with empowered experts who could respond quickly and wouldn't waste their time."

'Straight answers' became Beazley's marketing tagline in the United States as underwriters moved swiftly to develop promising markets.  Early growth came from the architects and engineers (A&E) professional liability team, which added more than 5,000 firms with fees of less than $3 million apiece to Beazley's client roster.

More recently, significant growth has come from the TMB (technology, media and business services) team, which has ridden a wave of demand for data breach insurance.  This protects organizations such as retailers and healthcare providers from the loss or theft of personally identifiable customer data, such as credit card details and health records.  Beazley was a pioneer in this market and its new flagship product, which responds to information security breaches, pays for credit monitoring – among other services – for up to two million affected individuals.

Most of Beazley's growth in the US has been organic but last year the company expanded its commercial property business through the acquisition of First State, a well respected underwriter of surplus lines commercial property risks.  The First State team, which Beazley had reinsured for two decades, contributed $93.9 million to the total $370.7 million written by Beazley's US underwriters last year.

Note to editors:

Beazley plc (BEZ.L), is the parent company of specialist insurance businesses with operations in Europe, the US, Asia and Australia.  Beazley manages five Lloyd's syndicates and, in 2009, underwrote gross premiums worldwide of 1,115.5 million pounds Sterling.  All Lloyd's syndicates are rated A by A.M. Best. 

Beazley's underwriters in the United States focus on writing a range of specialist insurance products.  In the admitted market, coverage is provided by Beazley Insurance Company, Inc., an A.M. Best A rated carrier licensed in all 50 states.  In the surplus lines market, coverage is provided by the Beazley syndicates at Lloyd's.

Beazley is a market leader in many of its chosen lines, which include professional indemnity, property, marine, reinsurance, accident and life, and political risks and contingency business.

For more information please go to: www.beazley.com

SOURCE Beazley plc