Sompo: APAC growth will be “disciplined, targeted” as rate pressure builds 

As delegates gather in Singapore this week for the 22nd Singapore International Reinsurance Conference (SIRC), commercial P&C carriers in Asia Pacific face softening pricing and the question of where to grow next.

For Sompo Asia Pacific, the answer lies in integration. Paul O’Neill, president of commercial, said the carrier’s priorities over the next 12 to 24 months centre on building “a more integrated and differentiated commercial P&C business across APAC”, with the ambition of becoming one of the region’s leading commercial and speciality carriers.

“Growth is important, but it has to be disciplined, client-relevant and underpinned by the right people, processes and underwriting approach.”

Paul O’Neill

President of Commercial, Sompo Asia Pacific

“In a region as diverse as APAC, success requires both local relevance and regional depth,” he told (Re)in Asia. That means “closer proximity to clients and brokers in each market, while delivering the technical expertise, capacity and consistency they expect from a leading commercial and speciality carrier”. 

But O’Neill was clear that scale is not the objective in itself. “Growth is important, but it has to be disciplined, client-relevant and underpinned by the right people, processes and underwriting approach.” 

Rate pressure “varies considerably” 

That discipline is being tested. O’Neill confirmed Sompo is “seeing increasing rate pressure across a few renewal portfolios in APAC”, though he stressed the picture “varies considerably by product, geography, risk quality and loss experience”. 

Rather than chase volume, the carrier is giving underwriters a defined map of where to grow, where to apply tighter risk selection, and where “adjustments help ensure pricing, terms and conditions are commensurate with the underlying risk”. “Our approach is to remain disciplined and focused on building a sustainable portfolio over the long term,” he said. 

Capacity gaps in emerging exposures 

Where O’Neill does see room to deploy capacity is in the fast-moving exposures that dominate broker conversations across the region: data centres, infrastructure, power, renewables, cyber, supply chain disruption and climate resilience. 

“These are complex and evolving exposures, and in some areas the market is still working through issues around accumulation, modelling, claims experience and the appropriate level of capacity,” he said. 

Data centres illustrate the challenge. Investment is pouring in on the back of digital infrastructure demand, “but these projects also create new challenges around power, water, construction costs, operational resilience and concentration of risk”. In renewables and the energy transition, clients “need capacity, but they also require insurers who understand both traditional and emerging risks”. 

Sompo’s response is to provide capacity “where we believe the risk is well understood and appropriately managed”, O’Neill said. But the carrier also wants to add value beyond traditional risk transfer. That means risk engineering, claims expertise, portfolio insight and “the ability to look across multiple lines of business to help clients build greater balance sheet protection and financial resilience”. 

Australia build-out continues 

The most visible expression of the strategy so far has been in Australia, where Sompo hired a nine-strong underwriting team across property, casualty, financial lines, energy and construction in April, based in Sydney and Melbourne. Appointments in aviation, property and financial lines have followed elsewhere in the region, and the Singapore hub has added aviation and construction capabilities in recent years. 

“Australia is a very important market for us,” O’Neill said, pointing to Sompo’s presence there since 1970 and “significant opportunity given the level of investment in natural resources, data centres, infrastructure, energy and construction”. 

The hiring is not finished. “We also expect to continue building areas such as marine, claims, operations and technical underwriting support where we see the right opportunities,” he said. 

Group appetite is there, but disciplined 

Asked whether the Sompo International group has handed APAC more capacity, O’Neill said: “We do have appetite to grow in APAC, but that growth will remain disciplined, targeted and aligned with our underwriting standards and business priorities.” 

He described a structure of “strong local teams, supported by regional and global hubs in Singapore and London”, and flagged the group’s substantial consumer footprint in the region as a longer-term opportunity to serve clients “from SME and mid-market businesses to complex corporate and speciality risks”. 

“APAC is not one market; it is a collection of markets with different cultures, regulatory environments, client needs and distribution dynamics,” he said. In terms of product pipeline, O’Neill framed 2027 as a year of consolidation around “a more sustainable, client-centric and technically strong commercial portfolio”. 

Talent development, digitalisation and adaptability are the recurring themes. “These are ongoing priorities that will shape how we underwrite, manage portfolios, respond to clients, and deliver products and claims service,” he said.