Jonny Strickle, group managing director of Pelagos Insurance Capital Limited, said Fidelis Insurance Group’s rebrand was taken from the word “archipelago”, meaning a group of interconnected islands, and reflected its role as a capital allocator, bringing together a number of long-term, meaningful underwriting partnerships.
Speaking to Reinsurance News during a visit to Pelagos’ Bermuda headquarters, Strickell said the archipelago concept reflects the business in a number of ways. For example, it has three offices: Ireland, the UK and Bermuda, each representing an “island”. Additionally, its capital allocator role positions underwriting partners as interconnected islands, connected to Pelagos’ central platform.
“We’re like a central island with a lot of different market access points that connect us through different lines of business and different ways that we want to go to market,” Strickell explained. “We feel like the name really reflects what we’re trying to achieve as a unique capital allocator. It’s something we came up with internally and we feel like it captures our values from a lot of different perspectives.”
He noted that the name change has always been part of the company’s history and the timing reflects a meaningful shift in its business portfolio.
He added: “We are a specialist capital allocator that builds resilient, high-performing portfolios by integrating strategic capital and specialist underwriting expertise – and we like to say we have made important connections in the specialist risk space.”
Strickle went on to explain that last year was the first time the group had moved away from the Fidelis Partnership as its sole source of business in a meaningful way.
He explained: “As we announced on our last earnings call, we have added mid-single digits of new underwriting partners and this has become a meaningful source of business for us. More than half of our growth last year actually came from new underwriting partners. We have always known that we needed to change our name. The new name reflects who we are and this seemed like the right time for us to make this change.”
“As I said, we are expert capital allocators, deploying capital to the right risks at the right time through the right partners. We focus on the most compelling opportunities, connecting capital with high-quality underwriting partners to build a resilient, high-performing portfolio.
“We then focus on building long-term relationships with best-in-class underwriting partners to create differentiated, diversified portfolios. By taking leading positions, we shape structure, pricing and terms to drive profitable growth throughout the cycle.
“We also leverage outward reinsurance to strengthen our risk profile, improve margins and improve capital efficiency, optimizing portfolio performance through disciplined execution and strong relationships. Essentially, we bring together a connected community of expertise, uniting teams who share our pursuit of excellence.”
He also highlighted how Pelagos is launching a new brand while maintaining continuity of trust with underwriting partners, brokers and clients.
“In terms of underwriting partners, it’s very important to us that we have very deep relationships with all of them. We want to work meaningfully with a handful of partners rather than go out and get hundreds of partners. Because of that, it’s easier for us to maintain deep relationships with them.
“In our industry, one of the main points of contact with the market is the broker. The business we get through partnerships is concentrated among a small number of brokers and fewer senior brokers. This makes communication easier and ensures the right people understand the message,” he said.
Strickel further emphasized how the company prioritizes building meaningful, long-term relationships with a small number of partners.
“Over time, these will be some islands that make sense. In terms of us deploying capital, we want to do it long-term and have partners work with us for many years. We build that into our partnerships, negotiate multi-year arrangements. For the Fidelis partnership, it’s a 10-year rolling binder. Some others have rolling arrangements as well.
“What we can do is move capital between partners based on where we see the best opportunity. If one partner sees strong growth, we can allocate more capital there over a period of time. If that eases and another opportunity arises elsewhere, we can reallocate accordingly,” he explained.
He went on to note that Pelagos’ core strength is that it doesn’t require many partners, allowing a lot of time to be invested in them.
“It also means that every opportunity is reviewed by the entire management team. New partners are checked by the underwriting team and many opportunities are passed on before progressing further. We then have a team that assesses the risk, determines how it fits into the portfolio, and assesses the economics and pricing. This is then sent to the entire management team, including myself, the CEO, the CFO and the chief risk officer, so that we can review it and adapt to the opportunity.
“It gives you confidence that you can be involved in something at scale, and I think partners really value that. You can do most of the things they’re trying to do, and do it for the long term if the circumstances are right. Typically, in our industry, you get a one-year deal and have to come back and ask again the next year.
“Once we have that belief, we can offer something on a rolling basis over a multi-year period. We can also do things that are more customized to meet the actual needs of our partners rather than needing to fit into a broader market model. All of those things – our engagement, flexibility, scale and multi-year approach – are what our partners find most valuable.”
Strickle stressed that Pelagos can see a clear path to organic growth without stepping out of its comfort zone. He emphasized that the company will not add new business that it is not familiar with, such as casualties, but will operate in areas it is familiar with.
Strickel noted, “I think our risk profile will change slowly over time. So, for example, we don’t write any casualty business. I don’t think that will change tomorrow and will change slowly as the market develops.”
“The new partnership gives us a different entry point into the market. So you might own real estate in California, say, with the Fidelis Partnership Partnering, writing on an excess and surplus basis, and then we might add a new partner that has better access to the recognized market or niche market in California. So it looks like you’re writing the same business through two different partners, but that’s not the case. You’re writing complementary portfolios based on who has the best opportunity to enter that market. I think it’s a matter of layering on our existing existing partners rather than expanding or changing our risk profile.”
“Essentially, we are committed to building partnerships, rigorously selecting risks and working closely with the portfolios and people we support. This allows us to adapt to the changing risk landscape and deliver lasting value to brokers, clients and investors,” he said.
Strickel concluded: “We’re at a stage in the market right now where even if you’ve built a great business, it’s very difficult for a lot of companies to explain how to grow that business profitably over the next few years. We do think we’re uniquely positioned to do something different.
“Being able to stay in your comfort zone when the market struggles while growing in the coming years — that’s really what we’re most excited about and proud of.”
