due diligence

Staying true to the provision of bespoke insurance services, Aquarium supports general insurance brokers and other insurance intermediaries in what is a niche profiling and due diligence area.

The current availability of surplus capital in the financial markets has seen a steady increase in new insurance market participants all of whom are looking to claim their slice of a growing insurance pie. While many of these new players (insurers and Managing General Agents) may be well credentialed businesses that have been established by seasoned industry figures, there are others that are more questionable or less transparent on face value.

The European insurance markets in particular bring with them distinct challenges with the various countries’ regulators adopting differing approaches on disclosure requirements, solvency measurement and the overall framework that market participants operate within. Unique to Europe, Freedom of Services (FOS) provisions allow regulated insurance participants to freely write business within Europe as a whole. This brings with it challenges in instances where an Irish domiciled insurance broker may be looking to access non-Irish European markets but lacks the comfort or clarity in terms of establishing an actual trading relationship.

In order to help satisfy the broking community as to the credibility of any given player, and more so those that are not Lloyds backed or S&P / AM Best rated, Aquarium works in conjunction with the entity (for and on behalf of the broker) to profile and conduct a due diligence review of their business. These reviews focus on a number of areas including financial health; risk management and governance; product offerings; claims management; actuarial; security and other.

Armed with this information, brokers and other intermediaries are better positioned to make more informed decisions with a view to satisfying themselves as to that market’s credibility in support of their client’s insurance purchasing needs.