Kuhn stresses profit discipline as Westfield Specialty trims property and builds in E&S

Westfield Specialty launched in July 2021 and has rapidly added depth and scale, with the acquisition of Lloyd’s syndicate 1200 from Argo Group in February 2023.

“We’ll finish this year close to $1.8bn in gross written premium,” Jack Kuhn (pictured), president of Westfield Specialty told GR. “We’ve been profitable in 2023 and 2024, and we’re hoping 2025 will be just as strong, depending on the wind season.”

Reinsurance is a developing strand for the group via the Lloyd’s platform, with an initial focus on marine and energy, but with a current focus on how to broaden out that strategy.

For now, he is largely a buyer of reinsurance in what many describe as a steady market.

“If it’s another benign wind season, that could mean further pressure on rates for 2026, but I’m not hearing a major softening on any one line,” he said, speaking to GR at RVS 2025.

Catastrophe exposure is anchored in London direct and facultative (D&F) business, under head of property, international, Richard Wood and a US excess and surplus (E&S) property portfolio managed by Andy Hendrix, with reinsurers “pretty happy” with recent results.

On merger activity, Kuhn notes a return to the market rumour mill following Sompo’s acquisition of Bermuda-based Aspen announcement, but says he prefers organic growth at present.

“I wouldn’t say it’s front and centre for us. We’ve been focused on building out teams organically rather than a sizable acquisition,” Kuhn said.

Another big talking point in the run up to renewals, the casualty outlook remains nuanced, given different classes and territories offsetting one another.

“We have a sizable E&S casualty portfolio, and it’s performed well. When people talk about ‘casualty’, it’s a very big pot: some subsets are challenging; others have been performing well,” he said.

Political violence is not one of the larger lines within Westfield’s portfolio, although Kuhn suggested this growth area has seen increased D&F capacity and growth.

“We’re hoping that capacity is being thoughtful. Exposure has radically changed since 2021, and the geopolitical landscape is generally more volatile than it has been,” he said.

Capacity has been repositioned across the book with discipline in mind, Kuhn emphasised.

“We haven’t written as much on the property side as we had previously planned,” he said, citing broader terms and some rate give-back towards cedents.

Growth has instead come through US E&S casualty, financial lines and cyber, he revealed, while the Lloyd’s syndicate’s property book has grown more cautiously.

Recent US renewal-rights deals in management liability and financial institutions were “accretive”, he suggested.

He has a selective approach in mind. “The interesting feature is you’re picking and choosing what you want to renew. You’re not taking the entire book or the legacy claims,” Kuhn said.

Strategy remains clear in negotiations with brokers and reinsurers, he stressed.

“The biggest thing to keep in mind, with the changing market cycle, is that our strategy is focused on profitability first, rather than top-line growth. We’re not driven by the top-line. It’s about demonstrating you can be profitable through an entire market cycle,” he added.