Arch Insurance announced an investment in Archipelago Risk Services, an insurtech founded by former Aon executives Angus Simpson and Richard Coleman.
Image: Arch invests in Archipelago Risk Services. Photo: Courtesy of Cytonn Photography/Unsplash
Archipelago is a personal lines managing general agency supported by underwriting capacity from Arch Insurance (UK).
Archipelago is claimed to underwrite only intermediated business. It is also touted to use a new business model that combines the latest technology and primary data sources with a flexible multi-cover policy and better pricing options.
The company will distribute its products in the UK covering home, motor, travel, pet and residential investment property through wealth managers and selected personal lines brokers.
Its trading system has been developed to transform business of personal lines by supporting distribution partners to grow and manage their client accounts through automation. It can reduce the burden and cost of administration and compliance, while enhancing customer services by minimising policy application question sets and offering digitization option to clients in the claims process.
Arch Insurance International CEO Hugh Sturgess said: “Our investment in Archipelago allows us to offer an innovative and differentiated way to serve mid- to high-net-worth individuals in the UK. Archipelago is the newest part of our overall UK growth strategy.”
Archipelago CEO Angus Simpson said: “We founded Archipelago from our desire to improve personal lines for everyone involved. In creating our new platform, we re-examined every part of the business model and, crucially, the service to our distribution partners and their clients.”
Last November, Arch Insurance agreed to acquire McNeil & Co, a specialized risk management and insurance player, based in New York.
Founded in 1989, McNeil has a consultative approach to managing risk for its clients. Its operations include more than 1,300 retail agents in the US and claims to have produced $153.7m in premiums for Arch Insurance in 2017.
After the acquisition, McNeil will operate as an independent entity, supporting Arch’s program division. The transaction was closed in December, after securing all the closing conditions including regulatory approvals.