SURF’s up! Hiscox London Market launches new flood protection product for higher value and bespoke property risks
Hiscox London Market’s Tom King – Flood Line Underwriter, and Chris Oldfield – Senior Underwriter, discuss the launch of the new SURF flood product – exploring how it plugs a gap for distribution partners and clients looking for cover for larger commercial and residential flood risks in the US, and why Hiscox is well placed to fill this need in the market.
Q: What does SURF stand for?
A: Tom King: “We’re always looking for ways to fill gaps in the market and develop new options for our distribution partners and clients, which is why we have developed SURF – which stands for 'submitted, underwritten, rated, flood’. It’s a product, available now for our distribution partners, that has been designed to provide flood cover for higher value commercial and residential properties in the US, where we see an unmet need within the London market.”
Q: Doesn’t Hiscox already offer a market-leading product for US flood cover?
A: Chris Oldfield: “Our API-driven digital platform FloodPlus caters for smaller residential and commercial risks. It’s hugely successful and has helped us to build the biggest flood book in the London insurance market, but we realised we also needed to offer our distribution partners an insurance solution for the risks that fall outside the underwriting parameters of FloodPlus and are perhaps not big enough to come to London via the open market.”
Q: So, what sized risks are you looking at for SURF?
A: Chris: “Typically SURF will look at commercial and residential flood risks with values of between US$5 million and US$50 million per single risk. However, where risk exposure is spread, we can look at schedules of US$100 million plus. Equally we will consider risks as low as US$1 million where there are the right justifications.”
Q: What does SURF bring that’s new?
A: Tom: “SURF broadens our existing flood offering by considering limits, territories and structures that are beyond the scope of FloodPlus while still leveraging its analytics, aggregation controls and pricing discipline. It enables us to support our distribution partners with bespoke, individually underwritten specialist cover that brings all the benefits of the London insurance market to our insureds.”
“By overlaying human underwriting judgement over our existing flood models, SURF helps us to meet the insurance needs of a wider number of businesses and homes across the US who would benefit from the flexible terms and conditions, and bespoke limits that only London can offer.”
Q: What does SURF offer for your distribution partners?
A: Chris: “SURF offers a great solution for brokers and coverholders who would like to submit individual or portfolio risks to the Hiscox flood team outside of FloodPlus. We can offer genuine underwriting flexibility beyond the outputs from the models, which means we will consider risks with a loss history or location that could be struggling to find the right cover.”
“SURF provides our partners with more options for their clients while providing those clients with the bespoke limits, coverage and well-rated financial security that come with a London market policy.”
Q: How is Hiscox well placed to offer a product like SURF?
A: Tom: “We're underwriting SURF alongside our large, established and well-spread FloodPlus book, which not only helps to provide the data and analytics we need but also gives us balance to our portfolio, meaning that we can look at the larger risks that sit outside the modelled parameters of FloodPlus and leverage the team’s extensive underwriting experience and judgement.”
Q: What are your ambitions for growth in this area?
A: Tom: "There is huge potential to grow this area of our flood business, and we aim to be the leading market in London for US risks of this size looking for flood cover. In tandem with FloodPlus, it means we can offer more cover in more places throughout the US and gives us a real point of competitive differentiation in the flood insurance market, without compromising the quality of our book.”
“This year, we are proud to be celebrating ten years since we bound our very first Hiscox FloodPlus policy, so it’s fitting that a decade on, that entrepreneurial fire still burns bright and we continue to innovate to deliver more flood protection options for our partners and clients.”
