He might have spent three decades serving the accident & health (A&H) insurance market but Jay Hamilton (pictured) can attest that no two days, let alone two years or two decades, are ever quite the same in this fast-evolving corner of the insurance ecosystem. It is this dynamism that first caught his attention, noted Hamilton, who joined AXIS almost 14 years ago and was appointed global head of A&H insurance in 2018, and it’s also what has held his attention over the years.
“If you had told me 20 years ago that I’d be insuring the first civilian crew onboard a spaceship going to the International Space Station, I’d never have believed you,” he said. “We’re insuring e-sports, drone racing and amateur sports, and volunteer firefighters. In North America, we even insure dogs and cats! A&H is so eclectic and diversified by nature because it’s always changing. And it’s an exciting time to be in A&H because as the world changes, we pivot to change with it.”
Looking back, Hamilton highlighted how rewarding a career in the A&H insurance market has proven to be and the incredible viewpoint it gives of how society is evolving – and the risks and opportunities that presents. It’s a fast-moving market, he said, and every different geographical region or segment in which AXIS operates is impacted by a range of considerations.
For instance, in North America, with healthcare inflation in the US impacting major medical coverage, AXIS’s supplemental healthcare insurance products and services are proving a game-changer, helping bridge the gap for individuals in the consumer space as well as employee groups. The US is also subject to inflationary pressures around veterinary costs, so pet insurance is now a market segment where lots of players are seeing double-digit rate rises.
“Pet insurance is relatively new but it’s a market that’s growing at about 20% a year,” he said. “It’s interesting to see the evolution in rate because, in the early days of pet insurance in the US, it was all about the policy count for a lot of startup players. But, over time, the market has really pivoted to more bottom-line profit and making sure these providers can play in the insurance space over the long haul.”
Another area of interest to Hamilton and his team today is the proliferation of e-sports, which exploded in popularity during the COVID period. AXIS is actively looking at products and services to go alongside the health considerations linked to e-gaming – among them repetitive motion and carpal tunnel syndrome, and mental health implications. E-sports is a big business, commanding major contracts and endorsements and hosting thousands of attendees in huge venues.
“There’s now an insurable interest there,” he said. “And the marketplace is looking for the insurance industry to step up, and to provide the right coverage and benefits to gamers. Another trend we’re seeing is the rising popularity of drone racing. It’s easy to think about drone racing as somebody sitting down with a remote but again it’s a big business; there was even a world championship in Dubai where an 18-year-old won a quarter of a million dollars.
“Also, we’re seeing the emergence of drone racing with individuals actually sitting in the drone itself, it’s like Formula One but in the sky. So, we’re looking into that and assessing it as an emerging risk and an emerging niche for us. This is the kind of thing that keeps me excited, it never ceases to amaze me what unique new risks we face from day to day as things evolve and emerge.”
Given the inherent complexities at play in the A&H insurance market, AXIS is working closely with its broker partners to understand what they and their clients need. Evaluating what brokers are looking for from their insurance partners, Hamilton noted that it fundamentally comes down to underwriting expertise.
“When we first built out A&H for AXIS 10-plus years ago, we hired talented individuals who had 15, 20-plus years of experience,” he said. “We have a very strong bent on underwriting expertise because underwriting a diverse and eclectic portfolio requires a certain skill set. I would also say we focus on providing the broker community with a high level of customer service. The team and I spend a lot of our time flying out to meet our strategic partners to ensure we continue to provide that level of service.
“We’re committed to that in all its forms. For us, it’s not a matter of days to turn around an opportunity but, where possible, a matter of hours. We’re committed to understanding the needs of our strategic partners and their customers. We’re willing and able to have candid conversations with our coverholders and our programme managers in order to build a longer-term relationship or bond.”
The A&H insurance team measures its relationships in years not months, he said, and has celebrated its 10-year anniversary of working with several of its broker partners. The key to those relationships is trust, which is grounded in transparency. Looking to the year ahead, he noted that continuing to expand and build strong working relationships across the marketplace has pride of place at the top of his agenda.
In addition, 2024 is a year of further cementing AXIS’s position as a global A&H insurance distribution channel. For instance, two years ago, the proposition expanded into the Australian travel business and it’s now looking to further expand its travel footprint in Canada and the US. Further diversification is on the cards as seen by its move into the pet insurance portfolio in November 2020 – which is a growing segment in North America, and is an area for opportunistic expansion in London.
“As we look forward, it’s really doing a lot of what we’ve done in the past,” he said. “It’s about continuing to maintain our existing relationships while building upon new relationships. And those new relationships could be driven either by product expansion, new services that we bring to the marketplace, or it could be geographic expansion. But underpinning it all is our commitment to long-term partnership where there’s a high degree of transparency and a high level of trust.”
