Data, analytics and AI driving smarter growth at Markel International – McMellin

President of Markel International says investments in portfolio analytics and AI are enhancing underwriting discipline, unlocking markets, and creating opportunities.

Markel International’s growth ambitions are clear. The global arm of Markel wants to double its premium income to $5bn by 2030, while keeping its combined ratio below 90%. For its president, Andrew McMellin, this target will be achieved through a sharper focus on data, analytics and the effective use of artificial intelligence (AI).

McMellin was the latest insurance executive to feature as a guest of the Voice of Insurance podcast, hosted by Mark Geoghegan, and produced in association with AdvantageGo.

Expanding its analytics capabilities is one way to get there. “We’ve been investing in our portfolio analytics team, and in portfolio managers who help underwriters understand the segmentation within their portfolios,” McMellin said.

That work identifies out-performance and areas needing remediation, with a key cultural shift being that underwriters now actively seek out analytics support.

“We’re not having to push anything to the underwriters – they’re pulling from us,” he said. “They want to know more, to spend more time with portfolio managers, and that goes to the heart of the entrepreneurial culture we have here.”

Local empowerment is another cornerstone, McMellin suggested. Decision-making authority has been decentralised, with shared service functions located closer to the markets they serve.

“The people in those geographies understand them better than we do at the centre. The more authority, accountability and responsibility they get, the better they behave,” McMellin said.

AI for W&I

Alongside analytics, AI is starting to reshape workflows and business development. McMellin highlighted Markel’s use of Harvey, an AI tool in the legal sector, to accelerate its warranty and indemnity (W&I) underwriting.

“It helps us ingest huge amounts of data and underwrite that business about three times quicker than before,” he said.

That speed opens new segments, he explained.

“We can now look at smaller transactions we couldn’t previously underwrite efficiently, which gives clients a product they couldn’t get before and gives us new distribution angles,” said McMellin.

In Europe, the firm is piloting another AI-driven initiative to generate new business leads. Publicly available data is scraped, matched to target products, and used to create tailored outreach to brokers and clients – including indicative pricing.

“That’s where AI is not just helping you become more efficient, but actually driving new business flow. It’s a fantastic tool and transferable across many geographies,” McMellin explained.

He sees potential for AI to support both efficiency gains and market expansion. The aim is to free underwriters and brokers from repetitive data tasks so they can focus on activities that add most value. “Anything you can do to unlock more of these value-added things is important – freeing professionals to do the deals that make the most difference,” he said.

Digitisation also plays into the efficiency equation. McMellin believes full end-to-end digital processing in fast-follow and broker facilities could deliver lasting benefits across the value chain.

“If everyone in the distribution value chain is making their returns, everyone should be happy,” he said. “We still have some way to go, but once you get to true end-to-end digitisation, you really unlock value for the client, broker and carrier.”

Data dashboards now give both underwriters and management near-real-time views of portfolio performance, rate adequacy and claims trends. Combined with regular review points, this supports what McMellin calls “trust and verify” – empowering local teams while ensuring oversight.

The endgame, he emphasised, is a consistent, sustainable profitability built on informed decision-making.

“Whilst we have ambitions to double the size of the premium business, it’s not at the expense of profit,” he said. “We’re not wedded to the top line – we’re much more wedded to the bottom line, and that’s what will guide us through the next five years.”