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Ornella Underwriting updates its own products in Applied Riskhandler

Brokers can refer and bind out-of-appetite risks in their own system, which has generated new business for the MGA.

Challenge

A new product that needed more control

Ornella Underwriting is an established Irish managing general agent (MGA) that has distributed products and solutions on behalf of market-leading insurers through the Applied platform since 2013. 

When Ornella set out to deliver a new product for homeowners in Ireland, the Applied team guided it to Applied Riskhandler for the flexibility it needed to build, distribute and maintain new products. 

Risks outside its underwriting appetite caused further delays. “When a broker had a risk we didn’t normally cover, they had to call and ask whether we could take it on,” said Brian Hughes, Director of Underwriting. “If we could, writing the policy was a slow, manual process. Mid-term changes and renewals meant even more manual work and phone calls.”

Cornmarket, Wexford

Headquarters

12 Years

As an Applied Customer

Additional Info

Employees: 40
Offices: 1

“If we need to make a change, we can just go straight on to Applied Riskhandler and release product updates live.”

Brian Hughes

Director of Underwriting, Ornella Underwriting Ltd.

Solution

Rate, appetite and referrals under Ornella’s control

Applied Riskhandler supports rapid product innovation and underwriting controls for full-cycle rate, quote and bind. “It allows us to manage rate and appetite ourselves,” said Hughes. “If we need to make a change, we can just go straight on to Applied Riskhandler and release product updates live.” With those controls, Ornella’s customers always get its most up-to-date products, pricing, and risk selection. 

Referrals now happen in the system as well. “But with Riskhandler, the broker can refer the risk within the system and if it’s acceptable to us, we can write that risk as normal,” Hughes explained. “And once the policy is accepted, the broker can make policy changes with automatic acceptances and Ornella has a full record of the referral process available within the policy record.”

How Applied Riskhandler helps

Ornella builds products, sets its own rate and appetite, and handles broker referrals on one platform without outside change requests.

Product updates go live

Ornella’s underwriting team changes rates and appetite directly and publishes updated products to brokers straight away.

Referrals inside the system

Brokers send out-of-appetite risks for review in the platform rather than by phone, and accepted risks are written as normal.

A full referral record

Every referral is stored on the policy record, and accepted policies take mid-term changes with automatic acceptance.

Results

Less manual work and more referred business

With product changes under its own control, Ornella saves time and goes to market faster. 

The new referral process is easier and less time-consuming for Ornella’s staff, and it has brought in business. “The broker is more likely to refer the risk to you if they can bind it within their system rather than having to go to the trouble of phoning so that’s generated business,” said Hughes.

Additional resources

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