Specialty re/insurer Inigo has published a pre-tax profit of $28.7m for 2022 alongside a combined ratio of 94.4%.
In its second full year of operation, the start-up led by Richard Watson, also reported growing Gross Written Premiums (GWP), which increased 95% to $801.5m.
According to the announcement, Inigo’s net assets grew from $488.8m to $641.0m, which included the injection of $150m of equity in December 2022.
As the market opportunity grows stronger, Inigo will continue to grow at pace, the re/insurer claimed. It highlighted a plan, recently approved by Lloyd’s, that would see Inigo’s GWP in 2023 grow to circa $1.2bn.
Inigo also emphasised its commitment to being focused on a limited number of areas where it sees the greatest opportunity for individual risk underwriting to outperform the cycle.
Continuing with an emphasis on leading the syndication of large commercial and industrial risks, Inigo added expert teams in Onshore Energy and Financial Institutions, which the re/insurer claims are well positioned for profitable growth.
Chief Executive Watson said: “We set the business up to focus on a limited number of areas where we saw good returns and to go deep into them, with teams who were seen as experts in their field. Our strategy in 2023 remains the same.
“This year we will add a Cyber insurance capability in response to customer demand. We will be serving the same large commercial and industrial customers we already insure, where we can individually analyse their exposure and monitor the aggregation risk.
“We do not anticipate any additional lines being added in 2023 as we build our position as a respected leader in our markets. As conditions continue to harden, we anticipate underwriting around $1.2bn of GWP in 2023, and further opportunities to grow again into 2024.”
Inigo’s cash and investments also increased, from $628.3m to $1,020.0. Last year, the re/insurer also issued two Catastrophe Bonds – Montoya 1 and 2, combined value of $225m -, which alleviated some of the need for retrocessional purchases, at a time when that market is especially tough, Inigo noted.
Also, an additional 65 new employees joined Inigo in 2022, building on progress in 2021 in pulling together a contingent of underwriters and claims teams in its core areas.
Inigo continues to invest in INsight, a team of highly versatile data scientists, seismologists, meteorologists, and climate change experts, the re/insurer added.
INsight is supported by new IT infrastructure, which has allowed diverse data to be captured and analysed, underpinning more accurate risk analysis.
“We are delighted with the progress of building our team, having established the right environment to help them flourish and the business outperform,” Watson continued. “Our Inigo INsight team is surfacing the science for ever greater understanding of the risks that we write and enabling us to embrace risks, where the market may hesitate. Using the highest resolution data our pricing and risk selection is critical both to our profitability and to our ability to differentiate Inigo.”
