This is a very big year for Creechurch as it is our 20 Year Anniversary!
We have been celebrating across Canada! If you were not able to make it, please read the speech below from Phil Baker, President of Creechurch Underwriters. Creechurch looks forward to many more years of providing clients with quality products and services.
Good Evening Ladies and Gentleman.
Thank you for joining us on this special occasion, our 20th anniversary. I would just like take up a few minutes of your time, but I will keep it short so we can get back to enjoying ourselves.
I thought I would tell you about Creechurch’s past twenty years through my own experiences. But there are many of us here who will have other great stories and I hope you’ll hear a few more throughout the evening.
In 1996 a new Managing General Underwriter (MGU) was born. Searching for a name, London seed investor, Cooper Gay, suggested a London street name to give it that British feel and in fact, suggested the street on which it was located, Creechurch Lane and so Creechurch International Underwriters was born. [The “international” always seemed to me to be a bit over the top so finally last year, with our rebranding initiative we dropped the “international”.]
Almost twenty years ago, as underwriter trainee at another insurer, I received a call from a head hunter to interview for a role at this company with a very strange name. I wasn’t going to attend as I had no interest in underwriting churches but as the interview happened to be in the same building, I took the elevator up a couple of floors and gave it a shot.
Only a year old at the time, Creechurch’s office space was just a little rough with second hand furniture and not enough computers, desks or phones. But at 27 years old, with nothing to lose, I accepted the eventual offer from this start-up MGU (I didn’t even know what an MGU was!). My first day I was told I’d be sitting at the boardroom table and would share the phone with reception. I would literally have to get up and drag the phone over to the table!
The early years were a struggle of course. (I eventually did get a desk and a phone!) but we started to grow. Not many underwriters would consider technology business in the days leading up to Y2K and so we saw an underserved industry that a niche market could serve. And over time Creechurch became one of the leading underwriters of technology and biotechnology risks, a reputation I think we still have to this day. Many of our competitors are not other MGAs but rather large, multinational insurance giants. Going head to head with the “big guys” has always been a part of our ethos and this will never change.
Well, how that scrappy start has grown. Since its founding in February of 1996, Creechurch has underwritten over half a Billion dollars in premium. And we’ve done so at a loss ratio, of, well, one that would astonish (and dismay) some of our competitors. But it certainly pleases our insurer partners.
A few years later, I decided that Creechurch just wasn’t’ big enough for me, so I moved on but it was a tough decision. The culture of Creechurch has always been a bit like a family (dysfunction and all) and I did wonder if I might one day return…
In the years that I was gone, Creechurch continued to thrive. Creechurch quickly became a formidable force in the specialty underwriting segment, gaining a stellar reputation in both Canada and London as a market of choice for emerging technology risks.
Well, a few year later, then president, Anne Coppens called to see if I would consider returning as part of the succession plan. I was doing well in my current role and the idea of leaving a large company with countless resources to go back to Creechurch was strange to me. But again, I thought I’d give the company with the funny name another go. I don’t regret it for a second. I returned to a much more “mature” company – with a solid insurance delivery platform, strong products, knowledgeable underwriting and an unmatched service level that is the envy of our competitors.
As you know, one of the things Creechurch offers is not just solid product offerings but the backing of some the strongest Insurers in the world. We are proud to represent the Lloyd’s name as well as that of Liberty International and, more recently Inter Hannover. Within Lloyd’s, the Creechurch brand is strong.
But one thing you may not know is that the underwriters that support us have been with us from the beginning. In many cases the names of the syndicates have changed but the people have not. In each case, many of the people at these syndicates signed our very first binder agreements twenty years ago and have signed every single one since. We are lucky to have them as insurance partners and we look forward to another twenty years of working together with them.
Creechurch is now an established managing underwriter, we have many new competitors in our specialty space. Growth is tougher in the market these days but we still produce stellar underwriting results and have had solid growth again in the past few years. The next 20 years look very bright for Creechurch indeed. We will continue to create new products, expand our reach and of course do it all with unmatched underwriting and service.
We can not do all this without you, our brokers. Creechurch, a small company would not exist without the support of our broker partners, over 900 brokerages across the country. Many of you have been along for the ride, placing your trust in us to insure your precious insureds.
You have made us better underwriters and we are eternally grateful for your support and trust and we will continually strive to retain that trust and support.
2016 admittedly started off in an unusual fashion for Creechurch. Rumours of the sale of Creechurch ceased to be rumours. Our London holding company was selling our direct parent, Swett & Crawford and Creechurch along with it (though Thompson’s headline of “Creechurch on the Block” was not exactly accurate).
S&C had every intention of hanging on to its most profitable underwriting unit, regardless of who its buyer turned out to be. Well, long story short, so did Cooper Gay, and as the seller, they got the last word. And so, Creechurch remains part of a very strong international insurance entity, Cooper Gay. With strong new leadership who is committed to the continued success of Creechurch, we are delighted with this outcome.
So what does the next twenty years have in store for Creechurch? For certain, I can say it will still be offering great innovative insurance products at competitive terms with a superior service offering.
At the end of every quarter we get together to share updates and in particular pass on the “Kudos” we have received. Those comments from you, our brokers praising our underwriting staff and more often, our policy issuance team. I call them the “wow!” emails and we get a lot! So many that we only have time to acknowledge but a few each time. But we appreciate the feed back from you and I know the team will continue to earn them from all of you.
Creechurch would be nothing without our extremely dedicated staff. I am continually amazed and heartened by the loyalty, skill and dedication they demonstrate every single day and I’m sure you’ll agree.
And one more time, a final thank you and a toast to you, our broker partners. On behalf of everyone at Creechurch – thank you for a wonderful 20 years!
Phil Baker, President
For pictures, go to the Creechurch Facebook Page at: https://www.facebook.com/creechurch/
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