NEWS
ReFlex Solutions considers insurtech innovation
Technology is at the heart of ReFlex Solutions’ approach, says its CEO.
Bermuda-based ReFlex Solutions is acting as lead broker for a US insurer offering protection to home buyers from drops in the value of new home purchases, something its founder says is just one of several innovations the broker is working on.
ReFlex founder Neville Ching, whose firm operates as a broker but also works with insurtechs coming to market, said Home Value Lock is a policy being distributed by US real estate agents. It protects homebuyers for the loss of up to 10 percent of their value if a local event such as a school or business closure occurs.
The programme uses local home value indexes down to county or town sizes to assess values, rather than depending on national or regional indexes, Ching said.
ReFlex will broker to reinsurance companies and the product differs from mortgage reinsurance, Ching said.
“It offers similar combined ratio returns of 30 to 40 percent but considerably reduced and different catastrophe loss scenarios because the coverage type is market price, not individual credit risk,” he told Monte Carlo Today.
“The insurtech business behind the programme is backed by financial services and real estate businesses in the US with strong initial wholesale distribution relationships.”
Ching said the insurtech has its own Bermuda captive insurer participating with a target of more than $100 million of premium to write over the next three years.
“The coverage type is market price, not individual credit risk.”
Neville Ching, ReFlex Solutions
ReFlex is also working with a new insurance company in India, which is focused on offering tech-driven solutions to Indian farmers.
“The technology that has been developed after a decade of operating in the field is set to revolutionise the underwriting, monitoring and distribution of agricultural risk throughout the sub-continent,” Ching said, adding it is supported by a growing network of sales and service agents on the ground.
He said the new ventures are an addition to ReFlex’s support to established clients.
“The hard market is offering opportunities for a new type of brokerage that has technology at its core combined with deep broking knowledge and expertise”.
“Reinsurance buyers need help to find coverage in challenging market conditions, and we respond to that demand with a blend of traditional reinsurance, capital market solutions, and other new alternatives.
“Increasingly the one-size-fits all model is outdated, and creative and tailored solutions are required,” he added.
He predicted pricing would be stable in the renewal season, assuming no major event occurred.
“Put simply, reinsurers and insurers have started to charge a proper rate for the job,” he said. “They have recalibrated their portfolios to navigate around volatility. I think we will see some upward momentum on casualty,” he concluded.
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