Biba 2025: Sompo aims to double underwriting headcount in regional presence push

Sompo has revealed that it is aiming to double its underwriting headcount outside London over the next two to three years.

Speaking to Insurance Times at the Biba Conference on 14 May 2025, Allan Murley, head of UK distribution at Sompo, outlined that the insurer was committed to regional growth and raising its profile among UK brokers.

It wants to add more underwriters across the UK to help expand its visibility, although Murley insisted that the firm would not rush its expansion.

He said: ”We’re here for the long-term and we’re here to grow – and we’re here to make a difference.

“It’s very easy for people to say, ‘We want to get bigger.’ The reality is we’re going to grow in a structured way. We’re not going to rush into it.”

“We’ve always had brilliant underwriters – now it’s about having a strategy behind how we engage and grow with our partners locally.”

European expansion

Sompo’s approach in the UK draws from lessons learned during its expansion into European markets, such as France, Germany, Switzerland and Spain.

Murley said the firm is replicating its European model of starting with “a blank piece of paper”.

“In Europe, we’ve started with a blank piece of paper,” he said.

“We do our due diligence – we don’t rush in. And when we know it’s the right thing to do, the business backs us and invests.”

“That’s what we’re doing in the UK now. We’re saying this is the right thing to do – and the business is saying go, make it happen.”