NEWS
IGI: an ‘undervalued’ powerhouse with Europe in sights
Despite market cycles, we excel at capital strategy but don’t get enough credit: CEO Jabsheh.
“There is no secret recipe to a low combined ratio. The key is to stay disciplined, stay prudent, focus on the business that makes sense and have the strength and ability to walk away from the business that doesn’t.”
That is the message of Waleed Jabsheh, the chief executive of International General Insurance (IGI), who is pleased with his results. In the second quarter, the company posted a 73.5 percent combined ratio and a 36.1 percent return on average equity.
Speaking to Monte Carlo Today, Jabsheh said: “Our performance remains consistent, irrespective of the market cycle. Underwriting results have been very healthy, beating expectations both internally and externally. But we are expected to be good at it. There’s nothing unique in what we do.”
While he is happy with IGI’s underwriting performance, the company’s capital management also contributes, he notes. It launched a new capital management strategy just over a year ago, which included a share buyback programme.
“We are expected to be good at it. There’s nothing unique in what we do.”
Waleed Jabsheh, IGI
“I don’t think we get enough credit for how good we are at capital management. We’re still undervalued as a company,” Jabsheh said.
Looking ahead, he expects IGI to remain focused on short-tail and reinsurance lines, where it sees the most buoyancy, and also venture into more specialty reinsurance areas such as marine, political violence and cyber, where it is seeing attractive opportunities.
“The conditions we’re seeing now are the best we’ve seen in the history of the company—more than 20 years,” Jabsheh said. “A lot more business is becoming attractive to us. Our capacity has become more in demand, and we’ve been able to capitalise on that.”
He added: “We’re seeing business we’ve fought to see for the last five to 10 years, and now it is coming to us without our even having to ask for it. It’s a sign of where the market is.”
“If you’re a player in the space, cyber has to be on your radar.”
Wary on cyber
Cyber is a line that IGI is keen to explore—but the CEO is cautious.
“Cyber has always been on our radar,” Jabsheh said. “But we’re not going to go in there with a bang or a splash. We’ve chosen the reinsurance route for a modest entry into this space.”
Explaining his rationale, he added: “Cyber is the fastest-growing market out there, and it will be one of the biggest down the line. So ultimately, if you’re a player in the space, cyber has to be on your radar and will have to be part of your portfolio.”
Among a “smorgasbord of opportunities”, as Jabsheh puts it, IGI is also looking at further growth in the European market.
“Our US footprint is too small, so that’s a naturally growing area for us. The Asian market is showing signs of opportunity, where historically it’s always been very competitive. So we’ve beefed up our team out there as well.
“We have an operation in Malta and we have acquired an MGA in Oslo. Europe will be a big focus for us in 2024 and onwards,” he concluded.
Images, from top: Shutterstock / dencg