Insights - McGill and Partners

McGill and Partners launches new coverage regime SAIFElimits to address challenges during corporate insolvencies

McGill and Partners has launched SAIFElimits, a ready-made and self-contained coverage solution for corporate insolvency. The scheme is designed to be incorporated into any primary directors’ and officers’ (“D&O”) policy and is triggered automatically by an insolvency event.

This extension allows protection to remain in place for directors and officers for up to six years during the insolvency process. The risk of looming insolvency, even for large companies, can emerge from a seemingly clear blue sky as experienced by the directors of Carillion, British Steel, Silicon Valley Bank, Greensill Capital and others. Corporate insolvency can create or expose significant D&O coverage issues including policy expiry (leading to the inability to notify claims), limit erosion and other defects and shortcomings in the protection available to directors and officers.

D&O policies are typically purchased by a company on behalf of its directors and officers and are therefore structured on the basis that the company and the insurers are the principal contracting parties. This, together with the assumption that the company will not become insolvent, and that the policy will be renewed annually, can give rise to serious potential stumbling blocks unique to corporate insolvency confronting directors and officers when they seek access to policy proceeds.

SAIFElimits combines a unique set of claims handling, control provisions, and extensions designed both to improve coverage and to facilitate the collection of insurance proceeds by directors and officers of insolvent companies. The endorsement operates as a self-contained suite of cover whilst maintaining more favourable provisions in the base form for the benefit of directors and officers.

Karl Hennessy, Head of Specialty Broking at McGill and Partners said: “The launch of SAIFElimits addresses some of the widely recognised gaps and challenges that can occur as a consequence of a corporate insolvency. That we have been able to provide a solution further demonstrates not only the deep expertise and technical risk knowledge within the team, but the agility we have at McGill and Partners as a firm to respond with innovative, pro-active solutions for our clients.”

McGill and Partners signs heads of terms for cutting-edge new office space to cater for continued growth

McGill and Partners, has signed a heads of agreement with M&G to move into a brand-new office space in the heart of the City and London’s insurance district. 40 Leadenhall London, when completed, will be an iconic building at the forefront of sustainable workplaces where every detail has been considered to enhance colleague experiences both professionally and personally. Specifically, it will contain a state-of-the-art fitness studio, retailers, public restaurants, a wellness suite, commuter facilities and bike spaces. In very close proximity to Lloyd’s and the London market, the office is convenient for clients, colleagues, and carrier partners.

McGill and Partners will sign a 16-year lease on 43,000 sq ft of office space that represents a more than 50% increase in its current footprint, reinforcing the firm’s ambitions for long-term growth and underpinned by the acquisition of further talent. The move is expected to take place by September 2024, subject to contract.

Steve McGill, Chief Executive Officer at McGill and Partners said: “The move to 40 Leadenhall is hugely exciting for our firm. The new building is exceptional, and it will be a great place for our colleagues to work and will help support our significant growth plans going forward. Our people are our greatest asset, and we believe it is important that we provide them with world class facilities that enhances our industry leading colleague value proposition and drives teamwork and productivity as we look to deliver exceptional services to our clients.”

McGill and Partners collaborates with Renew Risk to develop bespoke catastrophe models for offshore wind portfolios

McGill and Partners, has collaborated with Renew Risk, a leading risk analytics SaaS provider for renewable energy assets, to develop catastrophe models for offshore wind portfolios.

The announcement comes as the demand for in depth catastrophe modelling increases in response to offshore wind projects venturing further into high-risk areas. Robust models will help the market better understand and quantify the risk, determine appropriate (re)insurance limits and understand aggregation across multiple windfarms in one region.

This will lead to increased insurance capacity available for the benefit of the developer, enabling (re)insurers to offer more competitive and sustainable products, and reduce their own capital requirements and volatility. Renew Risk, through the implementation of deep data science-driven patentprotected methodologies and leveraging the extensive insight from the McGill and Partners team, built an initial five models in the Oasis framework, an opensource Cat model platform, covering Northeast US hurricane, Taiwan earthquake and typhoon and Japan earthquake and typhoon. These cutting-edge models will assist in providing McGill and Partners with a fuller understanding of the natural peril risks, determining appropriate insurance limits, and grasp of risk aggregation across multiple windfarms in one region.

Traditionally, the catastrophe risk to offshore windfarms has been quantified with general rules of thumb for different regions, or by modelling the risks as onshore. To date, there are no commercially available models for offshore windfarms in the areas of interest where many offshore assets are increasingly being built, frequently in areas that are highly exposed to natural catastrophe perils.

McGill and Partners commissioned the project with Renew Risk, working closely with the firm to develop the models and are the first in the market to license the models.

Tom Sexton, Partner and Head of Renewables, Power and Energy at McGill and Partners said: “There has been a pressing need for a custom-built offshore wind catastrophe model to accurately assess the probability of loss for this rapidly developing asset class in high-risk zones. These models will assist both offshore wind clients and insurers to access more efficient risk transfer capital. They will enable insurers and reinsurers to price coverage more accurately, understand asset class aggregations, and assess offshore wind’s impact on other lines of business – previously inaccessible insights. This will give insurers and reinsurers the confidence to provide greater capacity at more appropriate pricing levels to our offshore wind clients in high catastrophe zones.” Dr

Catherine Tillyard, Partner in Treaty Reinsurance at McGill and Partners added: “McGill and Partners is also part of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, something we’re immensely proud of and that shapes how we look to develop our business. Without sufficient insurance, offshore developers are unable to access credit for these large-scale projects. These catastrophe models provide all parties with a more accurate assessment of the risk, enabling such projects to become a reality – crucial if we are to transition to renewable energy sources.”

Ashima Gupta, Chief Executive Officer at Renew Risk, said: “Offshore wind plays a pivotal role in the transition to a renewable energy economy. But as the industry witnesses a surge in new projects located in regions susceptible to natural disasters, it is important to have robust risk models which will allow (re)insurers to appropriately assess the risk of these billion-dollar assets constructed in the deep sea. With our state-of-the-art data science-driven risk models, we can enable our clients to thoroughly assess the intricate risks associated with natural disasters, thereby instilling the confidence needed to furnish these projects with precisely tailored insurance coverage. By offering this robust risk management solution, we are actively contributing to the progress towards a greener and more sustainable energy landscape.”

Dr Joshua Macabuag, Chief Product Officer at Renew Risk, said: “Renew Risk brings the best in Engineering and risk modelling to provide risk analytics designed and built specifically for renewable energy. McGill and Partners have been the ideal collaborators, resulting in the world’s first commercially-available catastrophe models built from the ground up specifically for offshore windfarms. We look forward to continued collaborations to provide leading risk analytics for renewables, and accelerate the transition to a renewable energy economy.”

McGill and Partners expands its reinsurance offering with the opening of Swiss and German offices

McGill and Partners, has expanded its reinsurance offering with office openings in Hannover, Germany and Zurich, Switzerland, further strengthening and supporting its strategy to develop its specialist reinsurance broking capability to match its European clients’ needs.

These new offices will focus on facultative reinsurance and, as with all teams at McGill and Partners, they have deep expertise to tackle a broad range of reinsurance solutions.

Paul Summers, Partner and Head of Facultative Reinsurance, said, “These new offices are an exciting development for McGill and Partners as a whole, but especially for the facultative reinsurance team. By opening offices in Zurich and Hannover, we will be closer to the capital providers and to our reinsurance clients in the region, ensuring we are able to be nimble and create solutions and service propositions for whatever circumstance clients require.”

McGill and Partners’ German team will be led by Ulrich Moeller, who has over 30 years of experience, has worked for Guy Carpenter, Aon, Junge and Hannover Re. Nicklas Heger will also be part of the team and was previously at Guy Carpenter designing and placing high-profile European reinsurance risks. The team in Zurich includes Antonio Simone, who joins from Guy Carpenter having previously spent 24 years at Swiss Re; Vito Modugno, who has also worked for Guy Carpenter and Swiss Re, and Arjan Tichelaar who also joins from Guy Carpenter having previously been at Aon.

Steve McGill, Founder and CEO of McGill and Partners, said: “We are excited to be expanding our European reinsurance offering and increasing our presence in the reinsurance market on the continent of Europe. We have become known for our talent acquisition strategy and as we build these teams, we will continue to carefully handpick the right colleagues. The German and Swiss teams are led by local industry experts with decades of knowledge and experience to support our European reinsurance growth strategy. I’m excited to see what success we can achieve in the coming months and years.”

McGill and Partners now has a presence in the UK, US, Bermuda, Australia, Ireland, Germany and Switzerland. The new offices build on the success of our current platform and come after three years of strong international growth for the firm, including significant talent acquisition.

McGill and Partners announces new appointments as it continues to drive its growth agenda

McGill and Partners has announced several important leadership appointments within its US operations. Karl Hennessy, who currently leads the Global Specialty Insurance teams in London, will be appointed CEO of McGill Global Risk Solutions LLC, the US insurance and reinsurance business, and will move to New York from London, subject to visa approvals.

He will be supported by John Judice, who is appointed President of the US business with immediate effect and will be responsible for driving sales and business development activity across McGill and Partners’ specialty insurance platform.

Warren Mula will remain Chairman of the US business. Nirali Shah has been appointed Head of US D&O and to further support Business Development activity in the US, Daisy Jackson has been appointed Partner, Business Development, and will move to New York from London, subject to visa approvals.

Alyssa Gerardi is appointed as Steve McGill’s Chief of Staff and has moved from New York to London. As Karl transitions to the US, his previous responsibilities will be taken over by our Chairman, John Lloyd.

McGill and Partners works closely with many leading high-quality retail and/or wholesale brokerage firms and/or (re)insurers as well as global clients and their captives to deliver superior solutions and services to this segment.

Specifically, the focus of the firm is on the design structuring and placement of world class (re)insurance solutions, particularly for larger or more complex clients.

Steve McGill, CEO of McGill and Partners, said: “Since we launched four years ago, we have developed a value proposition and business model that is highly differentiated, enabling us to deliver industry leading organic revenue growth. The US is the most important (re)insurance market in the world and these leadership changes are designed to reinforce our commitment to the US market, for the benefit of all our trading partners and clients.”

Kings Cross Steelers and ELRFC Vixens ruck and roll with McGill and Partners’ partnership

McGill and Partners will continue to sponsor the Kings Cross Steelers and ELRFC Vixens, the world’s first gay-inclusive rugby union club, for another two years. The firm first began backing the club two years ago, during which time both teams have seen numerous successes.

Gus Fraser, newly elected Chair of the Kings Cross Steelers said: “As a player and club captain I have seen first-hand the impact our partnership has had on the ability of the club to deliver on the pitch. Ensuring we have professional coaching, physio, and equipment support, in a long league and competition year, has led to the results we have seen. Now as Chair of the club, having the partnership of McGill and Partners in our shared campaign for inclusion in business, sport, and society is invaluable and I look forward to what we can achieve next.”

Stephen Cross, Group COO, and Head of Strategy & Innovation at McGill and Partners said: “Team spirit is at the heart of McGill and Partners. We strongly advocate for a fully inclusive workplace which is why the partnership with the Kings Cross Steelers and Vixens was a great fit for us. We’re able to cross business with sport and share mutual values regarding the greater need for diversity and inclusion in sport and more broadly. I’m so impressed with the success of all the teams at Kings Cross Steelers and I have no doubt the success with continue into the next season.”

A full list of the winning matches is below: –

London Pride 7s 2021 and also placing in the Top 4 in 2022

Bingham Cup & Hoagland Cup Ottawa 2022

Union Cup & Union Plate Birmingham 2023

In addition, the teams have taken part in the following LGBTQI+ inclusive tournaments:

1st XV – Counties 2 Essex Level 8 RFU League finishing 3rd in the league.

2nd & 3rd XV – Essex Merit Table levels 4 & 5 respectively

4th XV – IGR (International Gay Rugby) Southern Development League.

East London RFC Vixens also competed in the Women’s NC1 East League finishing mid-table.

McGill and Partners expands structured solutions team

McGill and Partners has expanded their structured solutions team with the hire of new partner Dan Cordina. His appointment supports the continued build-out of McGill and Partners’ growing structured solutions practice, providing bespoke reinsurance solutions to clients’ most pressing capital and earnings requirements.

Dan brings with him extensive experience in the European (re)insurance transactions and restructuring space, gained during more than a decade at a Big 4 accountancy firm. During his career he has successfully executed various economic and legal finality solutions, including traditional legacy reinsurance deals, as well as the sale of a specialist legacy carrier to Private Equity, and several Part VII Transfers.

Dan is a qualified Chartered Accountant, a member of the Insolvency Practitioners’ Association and the Joint Insolvency Examination Board. At McGill and Partners Dan will be leading retrospective reinsurance and legacy transactions for risks attaching to old underwriting years, providing capital relief and financial certainty for McGill and Partners’ clients. He will report to Andy Hill and joins on 1st January 2023.

Andy Hill, Partner in Structured Solutions at McGill and Partners said: “Dan is another strong hire as we continue grow the Structured Solutions team at McGill and Partners. He has extensive experience in the legacy space and is well known and well regarded as a highly skilled and effective operator. I’m excited to welcome him to the team and for what the year has ahead.”

New exclusions clarify what constitutes uninsurable risk in cyber attacks

“There’s been a lot of confusion and concern about new war clauses on cyber policies; while exclusions are never a cause for celebration, adding clarity to coverage can be. Long a murky topic, these changes may usher in a new understanding of the line between insurable and uninsurable risk in the current cyber market”

The line between insurable and uninsurable risk where conflict between sovereign states involves cyber-attacks has long been difficult to discern. An important element of cyber coverage has been the agnostic approach to threat actors (including state sponsored/executed attacks), but combined with the war and terrorism exclusions in policies, questions remain as to when a cyber-attack becomes an act of war, and thereby uninsurable. The recent War and Cyber Operation Exclusions introduced by the Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) have been designed (with best intention) to better insulate the cyber market from specific systemic risk emanating from the use of cyber-attacks in the course of war/conflict. War exclusions are commonplace in existing cyber policies (and have been for numerous years), but certain coverage conditions (i.e. carve backs for Cyber Terrorism) have long caused uncertainty as to what is an acceptable level of risk/impact the market can bear where there is far-reaching impact for state-sponsored cyber-attacks.

The LMA has introduced four versions of the War and Cyber Operations (LMA5564 – LMA5567) which will be mandated across any cyber policies written by a Lloyd’s syndicate from Apr 1 2023. As should be expected with any new clause, there are various iterations in the market to further clarify position and ensure the language is fit for purpose (both for carriers and insureds alike) – but, there are common provisions across all versions for uniformity in position:

1. War (whether declared or not) is excluded from coverage – this is a continuation of the existing coverage position: war is not an insurable risk in the cyber market.

2. Exclude state-sponsored cyber-attacks that significantly impair (1) ability of state to function or (2) security capabilities of state (“impacted state”) – arguably, this is the delineation that has been missing in the cyber market; a more definitive response to “what constitutes uninsurable risk that may or may not be considered war?

3. Clarity regarding coverage for computer systems located outside of an impacted state – serves to limit the exclusion to that which has been deemed uninsurable by virtue of the “war threshold” established above. This provision is an important recognition that there may be other impacted organisations that exist outside of the intended targeted state.

4. Robust basis for attribution agreement regarding state-backed cyber-attacks – This is a significant change to the functionality of cyber policies – up to now, the policies have been agnostic as to threat actor with coverage attaching whether the threat actor was state-sponsored or not, though it is important to note this position in the context of the war exclusion remained largely untested and confusing. Attribution as an explicit coverage determinate is a new position and again seeks to create a clearer position on what constitutes uninsurable risk that may or may not be considered war.

It is important to note (1) this directive applies only to Lloyd’s of London Syndicates and (2) while markets must adhere to the provisions above (1-4), there is still flexibility for risk appetite and differentiation (for instance, allowing coverage for assets outside of the impacted state). Though the directive does not extend to the full cyber market, it is a clear indication of the direction the market is moving and similar clauses should be expected in the broader marketplace.

As these clauses are the first iteration (and yet untested), challenges to the applicability of the exclusion in any given circumstance are very likely to occur. One such likely challenge will be proving attribution – attribution (and acceptance) can be very difficult and absolute certainty in attribution may not be feasible (especially based on public information that can be used as evidence).

While these terms may appear daunting, the goal is to provide additional clarity of coverage in a world that is increasingly reliant on technology.

McGill and Partners has been working closely with clients to help guide them through this first step in what is likely to be a long road of policy language development, helping to provide more certainty of coverage where the exclusion is involved, ensuring cover under their programs is as broad as possible in the current market.

In a world that is increasingly more reliant on tech it can be hard to decipher whether a policy offer you the coverage you need. McGill and partners works closely with clients to help guide them through what is likely to be a long road of policy language development to ensure the coverage you need is the coverage you get, whether the exclusion is involved or not.

Gender pay gap report 2022

We have set out to be intentionally inclusive, whether that’s in life experience, background, race, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or neurodiversity and are proud of the work we are doing in this space.

Recognising that sameness breeds sameness and that there is strength in breadth, we are committed to having a diverse and engaged workforce.

This report sets out our 2022 Gender Pay Gap reporting information for McGill and Partners UK. 2022 marked our third full year of trading and we have continued to build the business at pace, in accordance with our core principles of the Contract of Trust and being intentionally inclusive.

We are mindful of our Gender Pay Gap and that we need to continually work towards having greater female presence in senior roles within our firm. We are proud to have won the Insurance Insider Honours Award for Diversity and Inclusion in 2022 and are committed to continuing to be Changemakers in 2023.

You can read our full report here: 2022 Gender Pay Gap Report – McGill and Partners.

Parametrics create certainty for clients, ensuring quick recoveries post-catastrophe

The simple, binary structure of the product enables capital providers to confirm pay-outs faster than traditional (re)insurance products.

Parametric (Re)insurance is an indexed based product that offers recoveries based upon pre-defined trigger events (peril, location and severity). At McGill and Partners, we structure each contract on a bespoke basis to reflect the needs of our clients – we look to understand and mitigate the inherent basis risk in these products and believe they offer an attractive and complimentary alternative option to our clients.

Parametric products are a powerful mechanism when fast and efficient recovery is needed or is preferable – the speed of pay out can mitigate or reduce loss development thereby having a positive effect for the insured.

Capacity for structured products is flexible – meaningful limits are available to address the larger capacity challenges of our clients but also as the structuring costs are not onerous it can also be used to efficiently address smaller challenges.

The binary process, which provides clarity on loss and speed of payment, is very attractive to both insureds and cedents – certainty of position is attractive to both buyer and seller.

The parametric product creates certainty for the client and eliminates questions on whether certain assets or underlying coverages are within scope, something very topical during covid. Parametrics can often be structured and placed with minimal information and therefore underlying assets are not questioned.

For example, if a retail client suffered no Property Damage in an earthquake but suffered a Business Interruption loss due to closure of stores, the client could receive a pay-out if the severity of the earthquake was triggered.

We are currently working with clients on products that would recover in another Pandemic or suffer losses from ongoing global uncertainty.

In 2021, there were number of events including Winter Storm Uri, the European Floods and finally Hurricane Ida, which triggered more interest from clients, who sought more index-based products for Catastrophe perils. Technology Platforms and MGAs are focussed on live, as well as historical information, which is generating more robust data and enabling McGill and Partneto create more bespoke and effective structures to recommend to our clients.

New capital is also seeking more ways to get closer to the original risks and the product takes it either onto the Insurance programme or one step back via Reinsurance. Certain capital is seeking ESG focused products and as these programmes are aggregated and tailored to class and territory, the product can be tailored to the non-traditional carriers.

McGill and Partners has established a core working group, encompassing colleagues from a multi-class background from our Insurance, Reinsurance and Capital Market teams. We have been working with both Insureds and Reinsureds, either securing single peril coverages on Insurance programmes, or designing bespoke Parametric coverage across Cedent portfolios.

McGill and Partners are perfectly positioned to advise on this product, as the firm works across a single P&L, providing access to clients and capacity across all teams. It enables a unique perspective on structuring, with full support from our Catastrophe and Actuarial modelling teams.