McGill and Partners expands auto-follow facility capacity to 25%

Specialty (re)insurance broker McGill and Partners will expand the capacity of its digital cross-class auto-follow facility, Auton, following a successful first year in operation.

The firm said its maximum capacity will increase from 20% to 25% for all eligible lines of business.

Follow capacity refers to additional insurance capacity provided by a ‘follower underwriter’ that follows the terms, price and conditions set by a lead underwriter, which is often accompanied by lower transaction costs.

The practice is one of the core ways that Lloyd’s syndicates work together on a single insurance placement.

McGill and Partners said the Auton facility, led by Beazley’s Smart Tracker Syndicate, “continues to be backed by a panel of Lloyd’s insurers, benefiting from Lloyd’s strong financial market ratings”, and would allow underwriters to “dynamically flex line sizes, enabling them to tailor their participation to their own underwriting appetite”.

Increased capacity

In its first year of activity the facility achieved an average indexation rate of over 75%, which combined with the successful launch of Auton Green – which covers onshore renewable energy risks – encouraged the firm to increase capacity limits.

Mark Gregson, head of digital solutions at McGill and Partners said: “The success of Auton in its first year is a testament to our digital innovation and the strong collaborative partnerships we have with our carriers, which have been key to the facility’s ongoing improvement.

“The increase in capacity is a direct response to the appetite of our carriers and clients who are looking for a more efficient, effective and streamlined placement process.”