Bitesize InsurTech: Supercede

February 13, 2021 Dougie Willins

Supercede, formerly Riskbook, is a digital reinsurance placement platform that connects brokers, reinsurers, and cedents.

Supercede’s end-to-end SaaS platform, first launched in 2019, enables brokers to list risks and underwriters to browse programmes that meet their risk appetite based on factors such as geography, product type and size of premium base. Last year, the platform was approved by Lloyd’s as a recognised e-placement system. This marked the first time that brokers from any firm could use a single tool for global reinsurance placements.

Supercede was born out of the frustrations its co-founders experienced in their previous broking and underwriting roles. Their frustrations centred around the collection of consistent and reliable risk data and the continuous face-to-face networking required to successfully place risks.

Both saw an opportunity to make the process more efficient by developing a digital reinsurance network where risks could be searched and filtered by underwriters, underpinned by the consistent collection and preparation of submission data.

The recently rebranded Supercede platform mirrors the following three key elements of a typical outwards reinsurance placement:

• Pre-placement data preparation and validation enabled by Supercede’s platform includes a new analytics proposition for automating and validating submission packs to reduce delays, costs and enable more time to focus on the reinsurance purchase strategy.
• Secure placement platform for the sharing of treaty, facultative and retro risks between brokers and reinsurers. This feature is free to use for all stakeholders under the revised Supercede business model. This platform allows reinsurance brokers to easily manage and share submissions with wider target markets, and reinsurers to price risks faster and track signings across a rapidly growing collection of global brokers.
• Post-placement reporting processes enabled by easy-to-use APIs that drastically reduce re-keying data into multiple systems and provide improved data consistency. This makes it easy for IT and Operations teams to generate real-time reports for compliance and management controls.

Supercede also offers a means for discovering other reinsurance professionals around the globe through its online networking tools. Users can build profiles and use the platform’s built-in direct messaging capabilities to reach out to new connections.

The company has ambitious growth plans and over the next 12 months will roll out its platform globally to reach more cedents, brokers and underwriters seeking to digitise their reinsurance placement processes.

The Oxbow Partners View

Reinsurance placement has lagged behind other areas of the market in adopting modern technology. However, the Covid-19 pandemic may prove to be the pivotal event in digitising many of the inefficient processes that have plagued this part of the industry.

When Lloyd’s of London closed its doors in March last year it was the first time that brokers and underwriters were forced to adopt new digital methods of placing business. The Future at Lloyd’s initiative subsequently sharpened its focus in April by prioritising the development of its next-generation placement platform PPL.

The pandemic is therefore likely to be good news for Supercede. Its new platform is an attractive proposition for market participants and not only for digital placement. Its ability to standardise the collection and validation of pre-placement data has the potential to reduce significantly reduce reporting risks and save costs. Compliance functions will also benefit from a digital system of record and reporting features.

It remains to be seen whether the recent digitisation is a sign of permanent change or if the market will revert to its traditional face to face approach when times allow. However, perennial industry cost pressures and demand for robust data solutions will play in favour of Supercede and its diverse range of solutions.

Want to know more? View Supercede’s profile on Magellan, Oxbow Partners’ comprehensive InsurTech database

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