Livestock insurance – it rarely makes the headlines but much like the farming industry itself, those operating in this niche sector are working steadily to keep the supply chain moving. For Robert Wells (pictured), senior underwriter – global livestock at Markel International, who has worked in the realm of managing livestock risks for almost two decades now, there’s a lot to recommend about working in the space.
“I work within the underwriting team at Markel, where we focus on livestock risks (globally) and as the leading insurer of the Markel Livestock Consortium, a shared risk solution in the London market for the livestock industry,” he said. “As a senior underwriter for global livestock at Markel International, my role is to support our various partners so that, together, we can continue to provide leading insurance products to support the livestock industry.”
Exploring what sets life and work in the livestock landscape apart, Wells noted that the sector is quite complex and has various niche risks. Akin to many industries, he said, the farming market is changing and developing worldwide. One of the exciting things about it is the contrast between the growth in the number of smaller organic farms and the larger farms. Both models are as interesting as the other, but it provides a great diversity of insurance product requirements.
“One of the key areas of my role is to spend time with our customers to better understand their needs and gain insights from them to provide the best insurance solutions possible,” he said. “Taking time to really understand the challenges they face allows us to continue to drive product innovation in the insurance market and keeps us at the front of customers’ minds.
Given the variety and complexity of the risks that the sector contends with, Well said, Markel focus its attention on areas where it can provide the most value to insureds, distribution partners and consortium members. He said that the insurer counts itself as “incredibly fortunate” to work with brokers and insureds who are looking to form long term partnerships.
“We are not looking to be the cheapest market,” he said, “but we do want to bring the most overall value and so, we feel we can only remain relevant in the market if we lead and move forward within it.”
Given their role, Wells and his team are always on the lookout for the changes on the horizon which will create issues for their broker partners and insureds. Examining some of those key concerns as they stand, he noted that the livestock market has faced several challenges in recent years. Similarly, he said, to most classes of business, years of softening rates has had an impact on the livestock market.
“Following the coronavirus pandemic,” he added, “there has also been a realisation within the insurance and reinsurance market that disease is a significant threat. For example, there are reports citing that African Swine Fever (ASF) caused between 30% and 50% of the Chinese pig population to be lost, which has reduced the capacity available in the market.”
In light of this issue, Wells said, Markel has leveraged its position to try and help support the market by creating the Markel Livestock Consortium. Markel, together with its consortium members: TMK, Liberty Mutual, Beazley Faraday and Hamilton, created a US$30 million any one location limit with one single underwriting point of contact. This, in turn, has allowed the firm to create products and schemes to a scale that was not possible before.
“The main objective going forward with the Markel Livestock Consortium,” he said, “is to work closely with long-term partners, by bringing innovation and scale to the livestock market.”
