As the market cycle stabilises, the industry needs to adopt a different mindset, according to LSM’s incoming Chief Underwriting Officer (CUO) for the UK & MENA, Henry Nelson.
Nelson stressed that there needs to be a “gear shift” as the market enters its next phase, with LSM’s value proposition central to its offering.
“The market that we’re trading in today needs a slightly different mindset, and that’s something that we talk to our teams about a lot.”
Nelson said that LSM would need to promote its brand proposition to clients and stress its “historic and stable” business as the market softens.
“Our underwriters need to be in hunt mode. Business is no longer just going to come to us, we need to go out there and get it,” he said.
Nelson said LSM now needs to concentrate on delivering its value proposition “as quickly as possible” to clients in an increasingly competitive market.
“If data was the buzzword of the last market cycle, I think speed is the next one.”
“The focus is going to be more on service levels, more on customer experience than it has been previously… fundamentally the rules of the game are changing.”
Insurindex view:
Henry Nelson’s affable manner belies a steely and competitive mindset; he lays out his battle plan clearly, based on superior service, a genuine shot across the bows of the competition.
If, as he hopes, LSM can deliver great service and speed at scale, it will have achieved something deeply impressive. And perhaps Henry might even want to adopt a saying from his namesake Lord Nelson;
“Time is everything; five minutes can be the difference between victory and defeat.”