When wholesale brokers look for Excess and Surplus Lines (E&S) markets to cover property risks, there's no question underwriting expertise, pricing and a customized, nimble approach to writing coverage are of paramount importance. Transparency and integrity also weigh heavily in deciding with which company one should partner. Wholesale brokers want to know they aren't working with a company that's also targeting business from retailers. That's because in today's competitive wholesale insurance market, relationships matter, with brokers valuing a company whose complete focus is in the wholesale arena, independent of competing or conflicting arrangements. One such firm since opening its doors in 2006 has made an impact in the wholesale sector by making the type of coveted, trusted relationship wholesalers welcome a cornerstone of its business proposition: Boston-based Avondale Insurance Associates is a property E&S Underwriting Management Company that delivers world-class underwriting capital to the United States wholesale broker community. Avondale is wholly owned by Bermuda-based AVOCA Insurance Holdings, which invests in and manages Specialty Lines Underwriting companies in the United States. The Carvill family, along with several key employees, is proud to own and operate AVOCA.Andy Carvill, Group CEO, explained, "At Avondale we're committed 100% to wholesale brokers. We believe in the U.S. wholesale community and that
our success is symbiotic with their success. With an exclusive focus on property business, we believe this makes for an uncomplicated business proposition. We only write property and we only write with our wholesale partners, so if we want to continue growing, we had better prove a major asset to our producers."
Avondale underwrites a broad range of occupancies, providing coverage on All Risk, Fire, Wind and Quake policies. The company operates in all 50 states, with an emphasis on states exposed to catastrophic losses. Avondale caters to small to middle market firms, with a focus on primary and full-limit business on Total Insurance Values (TIVs) of up to $250 million. The company deploys a normal maximum line of $25 million for any one risk, but has the capability to also write up to $75 million, depending upon the account.
"We team with more than 350 wholesale producers at 126 wholesale offices across the country," says Peter Coghlan, President/CEO and founder of Avondale. "In many cases, our underwriters throughout their storied careers have worked with individual wholesalers for 25 to 30 years, underscoring the longstanding trustworthy relationships that define Avondale. Our wholesale partners are our clients. If we can help them drive growth we believe it will allow us to continue the sharp growth we have enjoyed in recent years."
Underwriting Experience
Avondale's success is also supported by its belief in bench strength as it relates to underwriting the business. "The risks posed within this arena are quite diverse and challenging, and the need to work with very experienced underwriters who understand the exposures and know how to strategically shape coverage is absolutely critical," Peter says. "Our wholesaler brokers know that when working with an Avondale underwriter, they are dealing with a true E&S expert who can guide them through the coverages, crafting tailored endorsement language and binding difficult occupancies."
In fact, the careers behind Avondale's leadership detail decades of deep E&S underwriting experience. Peter is a 40-
year veteran himself, having spent the majority of his career working in the E&S arena with former First State Management Group. Avondale's senior underwriting team, led by John Argos, CUO, and SVPs Broderick Whitaker and Donna Howe, has in excess of 100 years of combined experience.
Avondale's underwriting acumen is not only evident by their experience but also by their approach to writing risk. With Peter at the helm, Avondale's management and its growing team of underwriters have adopted the same ideals and principles that made First State one of the most revered E&S companies in the U.S. "Our underwriting appetite would be best described as thoughtful," explains Peter, "based upon continuity and the solid execution of coverages, limits and deductibles. We never expect to be a ‘hot' market for any given class. We expect to be a viable market for business that fits our appetite, offering complete continuity through each market cycle. We want our wholesale brokers to rely upon us just as they did in the past."
"It's important to us that our clients can take their relationship with Avondale to the bank over a period of years and know that when the market invariably hits a crisis point again, we'll be there for those partners that have supported us. This commitment is endorsed by our capacity partners who year on year have extended additional authority and support to us," emphasizes Andy.
Avondale's sophisticated underwriting entity utilizes RMS as well as proprietary cat modeling and metrics technology developed internally, but, as Andy is keen to note, "Our underwriting is not model-driven." Fundamentally, Avondale underwrites based on decades of experience in this complex insurance space. "We don't lose sight of the fundamentals of an account and the producer and deal at hand dictate our response not the modelled output," he says. "It's still a relationship business handled by people. We are very careful to work with our clients and look to be flexible and sensible in how we underwrite. You can see that by our strong hit ratios with producers placing business aligned with what we are looking to write."
Service Experience
In addition to Avondale's underwriting approach and bench strength, the company recognizes how vital best-in-class
service is to its wholesale clients, including the ability to transact an extraordinary volume of business "Our underwriting talent is supported by proprietary, state-of-the-art submission technology, which allows us to work through a tremendous pipeline of business opportunity," notes Peter. "Without fail, our clients will receive immediate feedback on a given risk regardless of whether or not it fits our appetite. They can be assured of rapid response times so they know where they stand on a potential deal. Critically, we clear every account to the first of our producers to submit. Only one producer gets the Avondale quote. If a risk fits our appetite, we do everything in our power to present our client with the most viable opportunity to secure that piece of business."
The company's culture is rooted in continually seeking to improve their ability to perform. "We are constantly looking to add or train more high-class underwriters, expand our capability, increase capacity, and leverage technology to further advance the ability to service our client's submissions."
In the past 18 months alone, Avondale increased its quoting footprint by 60% and is looking to make a similar step change in 2017-2018. "Our growth is underpinned by a submission count that has risen sharply in the past two years and we will end 2016 with in excess of 40,000 submissions having been cleared to a producer and handled by the team," adds Andy.
"At the same time, we have expanded the insurance carriers that support Avondale," Peter notes. "We have a minimum criteria of A.M. Best "A" markets, and our portfolio includes some of the largest specialty companies in the world. We conduct business from a position of strength and continuity, supported by companies with the capital and surplus to move forward with us and our clients for decades to come."
More on AVOCA and Avondale
Avoca Insurance Holdings is an independent, privately held company that invests in and operates underwriting management companies in the United States. The firm has operating subsidiaries in Chicago, Boston, Hartford and Manchester, NH, as well as Satellite/Home offices located in Walnut Creek and Woodland Hills, CA; Dublin, OH; St. Louis, MO; New York, NY; Somerset, NJ; Springfield and Ludlow, MA.
The company maintains underwriting contracts with a significant number of Lloyd's Syndicates as well as leading domestic and European capacity providers.
Contact:
Avoca Insurance Holdings:
Andrew Carvill
209 S. LaSalle St., #503
Chicago, IL 60604
PH: 312 416 1550
Avondale Insurance Associates:
Peter Coghlan
2 Oliver St., 7th Floor
Boston, MA 02109
PH: 617 531 5522