Energetic, disruptive, passionate, nimble
Four months since the creation of Howden Tiger, amid increasingly challenging market conditions, TigerRisk founder Rod Fox details the qualities that will set the broker apart as two complementary businesses combine.
Energetic, passionate, nimble, cohesive, complementary, collaborative, disruptive. Those are just some of the words Rod Fox, founder and executive chairman of TigerRisk Partners, uses to describe what his firm has in common with Howden, its soon-to-be long-term partner since the firms signed a $1.6 billion deal in June.
Commonality is good in any relationship. Fox is excited. But he appreciates there are differences—and that is what makes it even more interesting.
One word that does not translate is sport. Fox and Howden CEO David Howden both like sport in general—it’s an effective mechanism to unite people in a way that little else does. Another example of a perfect cultural fit between firms and big personalities. Actually, not in this case. Fox likes American football; Howden likes horses and rugby.
But beyond linguistics and marketing speak, there are tangible similarities and differences to consider in a merger such as this.
An ideal is little crossover in terms of clients and business activities but a similar culture. That is what Fox sees—and that is why he is confident that Howden Tiger, as the new reinsurance broker will be known, has the potential to disrupt the reinsurance brokerage world for good.
“The cultural fit is outstanding, but the firms are very complementary in their offering,” Fox says.
A sneak preview: more exclusive content and interviews inside
A sneak preview: more exclusive content and interviews inside
Hurricane Ian adds fuel to the US P&C fire
Hurricane Ian will add more fuel to the fire already raging in the US property-catastrophe market, says Swiss Re’s Keith Wolfe.
Hurricane Ian will add more fuel to the fire already raging in the US property-catastrophe market, Keith Wolfe, president, US P&C at Swiss Re, told APCIA Today.
Wolfe explained that multiple macroeconomic factors had already impacted the supply-demand imbalance in this part of the reinsurance market over the last six to 12 months. Losses from Hurricane Ian will only accelerate some of those dynamics.
“Prior to Ian’s formation and landfall, there was already skyrocketing inflation, which was starting to put serious pressure on property lines in terms of replacement costs,” said Wolfe.
“That created a timing issue around things being underinsured and what they’re really worth when they are damaged and repaired and replaced.”
