Gracechurch study ranks underwriters’ credibility in the London market

Lloyd's building

Ascot chief underwriting officer Mark Pepper has topped a list of London’s leading underwriters in a study put together by Gracechurch Consulting.

The list, which is in its second year, was based on interviews with more than 500 brokers and 200 underwriters to determine which underwriters they rated as having the highest levels of credibility in the London market.

Gracechurch managing director Ben Bolton said: “We have refined the 2013 study to include the opinions of underwriters, as well as brokers. This unique approach produced a truly balanced analysis of the leading underwriters in the market. It also gives much greater insight into the variables that contribute to high performance.

“Very low investment returns and an ongoing soft market mean that the marketplace is very challenging, and yet almost every re/insurance business admits to ambitious growth plans. So underwriting is increasingly about much more than risk selection and pricing – it is about business development and building long-term relationships.

“For management that means understanding their talent pool, and then developing and augmenting it. This survey, in conjunction with our other research, provides clients with a tool to help them in that process.”

The study’s 10 highest ranked underwriters:

1 Mark Pepper – Ascot

2= Clive Washbourn – Beazley

2= Dominick Hoare – Watkins

2= Richard Trubshaw – MAP

5 Chris Jones – Kiln

6 Neil Chapman – Argo International

7 Nigel Tatlock – Liberty syndicates

8= Philip Sandle – Beazley

8= Richard Golder – Catlin

8= Richard Williams – Cathedral

Gracechurch also found that just 10 insurers accounted for 45% of all companies mentioned and that reinsurance accounted for about 20%.