According to research by Insurance Insider, however, there is no indication in the data that this holds true – at least for the Lloyd’s businesses which launched between 2011 and 2020.
Analysis by this publication of 31 start-ups which launched over this 10-year period showed that – to date – these businesses have recorded a combined ratio of lower than 100% only a fifth of the time: in just 32 of their combined 157 financial years of operating.
Moreover, in year four onwards – from which point a Lloyd’s start-up is conventionally expected to overcome earnings lag and counter start-up costs – the syndicates in this group have made an underwriting profit in only 25% of their financial years.
That figure is roughly in line with the proportion of the cohort which was able to turn a profit in either year two or year three (21%).
Of course, it is worth emphasising that many of these businesses which launched in the 2010s were met with unfavourable market conditions while still immature in their development.
For example, the 14 syndicates launched during the 2013-17 period – the deepest throes of the soft market – have only turned an underwriting profit in 18 of their 84 combined financial years to date.
This trend falls against a background of wider underperformance at Lloyd’s, with the marketplace reporting four years of consecutive underwriting losses between 2017 and 2020.
Even after adjusting for the effects of wider market factors, however, this entire cohort of 31 start-ups has on the whole failed to produce consistent levels of strong performance.
Comparing their underwriting performance in each year of operating to the Lloyd’s aggregate combined ratio in the same period, these businesses have outperformed the market less than a fifth of the time: in only 29 of their combined 157 financial years of operating.
What’s more, only 20 of the syndicates in this cohort are still active and underwriting new business, with the other 11 – including short-lived businesses such as Victor 2288 and Pioneer 1980 – having gone into run-off or merged into other syndicates.
Many of these businesses started building books of business as Lloyd’s sank into a deep soft market, and none were able to reach the scale needed to outweigh expenses or bring either the capabilities or line size required to be relevant to distribution partners in an over-capitalised market.
There have been criticisms levelled at the Corporation that during this soft market phase in particular, it permitted too many new entrants into 1 Lime Street which did not bring additional value to the marketplace – only additional competition.
However, it is worth noting that of those syndicates that remain active, a small number have been able to buck the trend and consistently outperform the wider market.
One such business is Ark’s Syndicate 3902. After recording a combined ratio five percentage points higher than the Lloyd's aggregate in 2017 (its first year of operation), the syndicate has recorded a lower CoR than Lloyd's in four consecutive years – including a result of 82.1% in 2021.
Probitas 1492, meanwhile, both made an underwriting profit and outperformed the market aggregate for the first time in its third full financial year, and has continued to do so since. Apollo’s ibott Syndicate 1971 has also outperformed the wider market after its initial loss-making launch year in 2019.
Cat-focused Nephila 2357, which launched in 2013, ran profitably straight from inception, although predictably it followed the fortunes of the cat market – making underwriting losses for the years 2017 to 2020.
The 2021 start-ups
In general, however, these outperforming businesses are the exception rather than the rule – and the overarching trends for Lloyd's start-ups over the past decade throws the future fortunes of the 2021 start-ups into focus.
The four businesses have already reported 2021 numbers, outlined below.
This cohort already has an advantage over its predecessors, having launched into a far more robust rating environment. However, there are also so distinguishing features of these start-ups which mean they may benefit further in their build out stage.
Both Ki 1618 and Inigo 1301 were granted among the largest year-one stamps at Lloyd’s to date – giving both a leg-up in scaling their businesses.
Among the cohort of 31 2011-2020 syndicates this publication analysed, only AIG's high-net-worth Syndicate 2019 wrote more gross premium in its first year.
Both Ki 1619 and Inigo 1301 have also had permission to double premium for the 2022 underwriting year, as revealed by this publication in December.
Such swift growth – from an already high baseline – would mean both syndicates outpacing the majority of recent Lloyd's start-ups as they scale up.
Among the 2011-2020 cohort analysed by Insurance Insider, the median Lloyd's start-up only doubled its annualised year-one GWP in its third year of operating.
Of particular interest to the wider market will be the performance of Brit's algorithmic syndicate Ki 1618 over the next few years, given its claim that it can operate a low-cost model via its proprietary platform and technologies. (See our previous analysis of Ki’s first-year performance here.)
Meanwhile, CFC 1988 – which launched in July last year – is a virtual syndicate with no full-time staff, which should also give it an efficiency gain compared to other traditional Lloyd’s start-ups.
The syndicate was established to house approximately 20% of the MGA’s existing portfolio and allow capital backing from ILS and pension fund money.
Mosaic also plans to use its Lloyd’s vehicle as a centrepiece to syndicate business with an array of partners – meaning to an extent it is differentiated from other traditional Lloyd’s start ups.
This publication has previously explored how in its ambitions to bring new capital and new businesses to Lloyd’s, the Corporation has permitted an array of niche or purpose-focused vehicles as entrants – moving away from the types of traditional launches we have seen in the past.
It remains to be seen whether that shift will also put an end to the start-up underperformance the market has witnessed over the past decade.
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