Irish specialist SME insurance MGA, iSure, has launched a Professional Indemnity (PI) facility with a €2m primary and a €3m excess of loss limit.
Josh Smith, who has 14 years of PI underwriting experience has been appointed as the lead underwriter on the facility for iSure. He is Rokstone’s specialist PI underwriter and has served as the Head of PI at Rokstone.
Smith joined Rokstone earlier this year and following the successful PI launch in the UK. With capacity coming from Great American, Rokstone is now ready to expand this line of business to Ireland.
Avril Cox, Senior Underwriter and Director at iSure is managing the division in Ireland and is supported by Emily Cook, Underwriting Assistant.
Sean Murray, Chief Executive Officer of iSure, commented, “We’re delighted to launch this PI facility as we continue to expand and diversify our portfolio. The launch comes at a time when professionals are struggling to get affordable cover in Ireland. Despite rates for PI softening significantly in the UK, rates in Ireland remain relatively high.
“Securing this capacity, despite the very real challenges in the market, is testament to the confidence our carriers have in our expertise and unrivalled access to actionable data and technology. We also don’t suffer the same legacy issues as the composite insurers, which means that we can be nimble, innovative, and ultimately more competitive.”
Smith, added, “As we slowly emerge from a long hard market cycle, brokers and their clients looking to secure vital PI cover have suffered from a lack of capacity and punishing premiums. We are well aware that the market is clamouring for quality PI cover like this but we intend to take a careful and measured approach to the growth of the PI book, working initially with only a selected number of our existing broker partners.
“In time we plan to extend the distribution, but our approach will be measured. It is an interesting time in the PI market, with current rates transitioning out of its hard market phase in certain sectors and products. There are clear signs of softening after a long hard market cycle; we’re seeing broader wordings being reintroduced with some exclusions being removed and more favourable pricing, but the market is still restrictive in certain sectors and rates still profitable.”
iSure is part of the International Speciality (Re)Insurance MGA Rokstone, which draws on A+ (Standard & Poor’s) rated capacity from Great American International Insurance (EU) DAC, the facility is for professional and financial lines risks.
Based in Cork and Cavan and authorised and regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, it currently insures more than 12,000 businesses in Ireland.
iSure is part of Rokstone, it serves as a specialist MGA serving the needs of international (re)insurance brokers in specialty lines business. It currently underwrites $1.5bn gross written premium in several specialty lines including Property, Power Generation, Marine, Aviation, Agriculture, Construction & Engineering, A&H and Liability.
