UK-headquartered Howden group, a global insurance major, is betting big on the Indian market. Having entered India in 2004, the $3 billion group with $42 billion in gross written premium (GWP) and a leading independent insurance and re-insurance intermediary, is today the sixth largest insurance broker in the country. Howden India, the fully owned subsidiary of Howden group, has built a strong reputation as a specialist commercial insurance broker in key product lines including liability & specialty, health & benefits and property & construction.
Backed by about 400 employees in India, Howden, known for pursuing employee-ownership model, has expanded its base with offices in cities, such as Mumbai (HQ), Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, GIFT City, Boroda and Indore.
The company offers specialised solutions, supported by a strong backbone of technology. The company has been awarded the ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 27001 certifications for its quality and information management systems. Its risk management, reinsurance broking, insurance portfolio management and claims management services are aimed at protecting a wide range of businesses and professional service organisations.
Howden India has a big list of clients that vary in size and risk exposures. It handles over 4,500 policies for more than 1,200 corporate and commercial clients across all three verticals. The company has emerged as a market leader in introducing new products (FOSI, cyber liability and tax opinion insurance).
Having built a reputation of the most trusted insurance broker in India, the company has placed a premium of over Rs2,600 crore into Indian insurers. It is managing one of the largest property claims, worth Rs1,200 crore and is a broker to three out of the top five IT companies in India.
Also, Howden India is working with six out of the top 10 pharma companies in the country. The company is involved in metro rail projects in 8 cities, and running the travel aggregator policy for the top two market leaders in India. Moreover, it is servicing more than 1.5 million lives through health & benefits practice.
“We have set up ambitious growth plans and aspiration for India,” says David Howden, CEO, Howden group. “We want to be a leading broker in one of the world’s fastest growing insurance markets by 2026. Howden India will continue its drive for innovation and the expansion of its product offering and will continue to embed local expertise in India for the benefit of its clients. The company will execute its strategy by attracting top industry talent through an empowered and employee-owned culture that allows its people to build a business for the long-term”.
“India is an exciting market for our business,” adds Howden. “Not many markets are growing the way India is growing. Our Indian operation in the last three years, has grown at a CAGR of about 45 per cent. Importantly, all that is pure organic growth. India’s overall GWP growth is impressive. When we entered India, I think the GWP was $25 billion and, today, it is about $170 billion. Our forecast is that it would be about $420 billion by 2032. The insurance penetration in India has risen to 3.8 per cent and we expect it to go to 4.5 per cent by 2032. Against this backdrop, India is going to be a critical growth country for insurance and, hence, for our business. I think the innovation in India is interesting and that insurance can play a critical role in allowing the speed of innovation to be greater. Moreover, the globalisation of India is remarkable and, as a global broker, we can help clients expand their businesses. To me, insurance is the oil in the engine that is essential for the growth of businesses and economies”.
He started the business in 1994 originally as a wholesale broker, employing just three people. From a tiny office then in the UK, the employee-owned business has today expanded to a multi-national business with $3 billion in revenue, $42 billion in GWP and about 19,000 employees. Most importantly, it has continued to pursue its employee-ownership model and today over 6,000 employees own equity in the company.
Employee-ownership model
Today, Howden group comprises three lines of business – insurance broking (Howden), underwriting (Dual) and reinsurance (Howden Re). It is the largest insurance intermediary in Europe and one of the largest insurance brokers outside the US. Its risk management, reinsurance broking, insurance portfolio management and claims management services are aimed at protecting a wide range of businesses and professional service organisations.
“From the beginning, the driving motivation has been to build a great company that’s owned by the people who work for it,” affirms Howden. “This employee-ownership model is what sets us apart. It’s the bedrock of our culture, and the reason we’ve grown year-on-year since landing our first client back in 1994. By blending our employee ownership with external capital from aligned investors, we have supercharged our business, allowing us to step into new markets and grasp unique opportunities”. He believes that employee ownership has created a culture, where the company is driven to think big and empowered to challenge convention.
The principle of employee ownership has been rooted at the heart of Howden since it was founded in 1994. The vision has been to create a workplace where people are consistently inspired to do their best for the business, its clients and, vitally, for each other.
“Undoubtedly, our employee-owned business model is a critical differentiator in attracting the best talent from the market,” concurs Amit Kumar Agarwal, CEO, Howden India. “It aligns the goals of our colleagues with that of the firm and drives them to deliver exceptional services to our clients. Over the years, we have established a strong foothold in the Indian insurance market. India presents a dynamic and ever-evolving insurance landscape, and our focus will be on driving growth, enhancing customer experience, and contributing positively to the development of insurance industry in India”.
With over 23 years of extensive experience, including 19 in insurance and reinsurance broking, Agarwal is known for delivering innovative solutions and managing high-performing teams. His transition from banker to broker gives him a unique perspective and versatile skill set, making him a vital asset. Agarwal’s role involves global travel to engage with stakeholders and ensuring that our value proposition is effectively communicated and executed.
Howden is devising innovative and specialised solutions for Indian businesses to negate the risk arising due to political and economic volatility, cyber and information security and climate-related threats. With the rise of the internet and mobile technology, businesses are more connected than ever, but this connectivity also brings heightened risks to data security. Cyber risks, such as data breaches, ransomware attacks and cyber theft, are increasingly prevalent and costly for organisations. Data hasbecome the backbone of most business operations and as data volume grows, so does vulnerability. Here, Howden’s approach to cyber insurance is designed to help organisations mitigate these threats.
Cyber Insurance
“Cyber security is a key area for us,” stresses Howden. “We are launching a new product in India to make cyber insurance accessible for small businesses. Globally, 75 per cent of companies buy cyber insurance, but only 25 per cent of companies with a turnover below $250 million do so because it’s too complicated and they lack data. These smaller companies are the most vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Our reinsurance-backed product simplifies the process by asking three questions and obtaining the company’s URL, with the rest of the information gathered through technology and APIs”.
Howden India has also been awarded ‘Insurance Broker of the Year’ at the Assocham 16th Global Insurance Summit & Awards 2024, held in Mumbai recently. The award highlights Howden’s commitment to excellence, innovation, and customer-centric solutions. “We are deeply honoured to win the `Insurance Broker of the Year’,” says Agarwal. “With over two decades of presence in India, this acknowledgment reaffirms our commitment to delivering innovative and specialised solutions that address the evolving needs of our clients. This achievement would not have been possible without the trust of our clients, the relentless dedication of our people and the unwavering support of our valued stakeholders. We remain committed to continually raising the bar and making meaningful contributions to the growth of the Indian insurance landscape. As the Indian insurance industry is undergoing rapid transformation, Howden will strive to work cohesively with the public and private entities in the insurance sector to offer accessible and user-friendly environment for all the stakeholders.”