Richard Forrest Smith became chief executive of ECIC – a specialist insurer for the contracting sector – last year, having spent his entire career at the firm, where he began as a junior claims handler.
In September, it was revealed that Markel is set to buy the business from its current owner, EC Insurance Holdings.
Insurance Business spoke to Forrest Smith about the impending deal, his journey to becoming CEO, and the challenges of Solvency II and GDPR.
How did you get your start in the insurance industry?
I applied for a job at ECIC in 1985 and haven’t looked back. In those early days I was part of a claims team responsible for assessing and settling credit insurance claims for the schemes we wrote for members of the Electrical Contractors’ Association. At that time, our contractors’ business was written through Underwriting Managers in the City, however by the late 80s, the decision was made to bring these skills in-house, and I was part of the small team that made this happen.
Exposure to claims gave me a fantastic grounding in general insurance. Developing ECIC’s business as part of the underwriting team was great – it gave me a different perspective on client requirements, brought me into contact with brokers and reinsurers and really spiked my interest in technical underwriting, which helped enormously with my
CII studies at that time.
How did you get to your current role?
I became ECIC’s interim CEO in April 2016 when my predecessor retired and I was appointed to the role permanently in July 2016. Prior to taking the CEO role, I was ECIC’s chief underwriting officer. I had been a director of ECIC for almost 10 years and also sat on the board of the group’s specialist intermediary business, ECIS. Having worked my way up from junior claims handler, to underwriter, to business development, to CUO - it really enabled me to get under the skin of the business.
In my opinion, insurance companies don’t ‘grow their own timber’ to the extent they used to, which is a shame, and I have certainly benefitted from the investment ECIC has made in me over the years.
Solvency II was a massive project for a company of our size, but was immensely valuable in developing my understanding of other aspects, such as risk management, capital, reserving and business strategy. While it was a challenging time, looking back it really helped to equip me for the responsibilities of CEO.What does your job entail on a day-to-day basis?
As the CEO of a Solvency II insurer, much of my time is spent ensuring the business is appropriately governed and our committees operate effectively. I have functional responsibility for underwriting and reinsurance and spend a lot of time on these areas, splitting my time between our Sevenoaks head office and our City-based underwriting and sales office. I enjoy engagement with our brokers and coverholders, and like to work closely with our underwriting and relationship teams to improve our proposition and develop new opportunities.
What are the most challenging aspects of your job?
I really advocate working for a niche insurer as it exposes you to so many different aspects of the business – there’s really never a dull moment. Ensuring that the business is appropriately resourced can be challenging, particularly given the timeline and complexity of new regulations such as GDPR. I am fortunate in that ECIC has an experienced and committed senior management team that ensures we meet these challenges. This is such a dynamic market, challenges arise every day, it’s how you deal with them that makes the difference.
What has been your career highlight?
Having the opportunity to drive the business forward as CEO has been fantastic, both personally and professionally. Over the years there have been many highpoints: securing an A-rating from AM Best in 2011, and being part of the team that sold ECA’s Lloyd’s MGA and Corporate Member stand out. They really extended my experience and were hugely important for the business. In September 2017,
EC Insurance Holdings agreed to sell ECIC to Markel. This is a fantastic move for the business and its people and, given its strategic significance, certainly my career highlight to date.
What is your focus for the future of the business?
Without doubt, it is growing the business as part of Markel when the deal completes. Markel’s resources will allow us to improve our customer proposition, and we’re now working on a range of enhancements that will see us roll out new and improved products across our various customer lines over the next few months. I believe ECIC will excel as the preferred provider for members of the ECA and the other affinities and schemes we work with.
What are your hobbies outside of work? What would you be doing if you weren’t in insurance?
My hobbies usually involve two-wheels. I enjoy mountain biking (though don’t do enough of it) and my wife & I currently have five motorcycles in the garage: Three Triumphs, a Benelli and a Harley. And of course, there’s travelling – not always on the bikes. I come from a creative family: one brother is a product designer, the other is a story-board artist, currently working on the next Wonder Woman film in Los Angeles. I’m not as talented as they are, but if I wasn’t in insurance I’d like to have engineered or designed things – not necessarily motorcycles!
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