Maritime Insurance

New Swedish Club chief plans to trya new tack

Rhodin wants insurer to focus more on business developmentand marketing. THE Swedish Club, the mutual insurer based in Gothenburg, gets a change of leadership at the end of this month when Lars Rhodin becomes managing director nofollowing the retirement of Frans Malmros.

Mr Rhodin has promised a strong focus on marketing and business development as he sets his own organisation in place.

“I think we have a very good starting point with a strong brand name and we get recognition for strong values, our business model and what we have achieved in the past in terms of services to members on both hull and P&I,” he said.

So, for the Swedish Club, it is now a matter of taking these tangible and intangible assets and moving ahead; especially in the hull insurance market, where the challenge comes from under-pricing, according to Mr Rhodin.

Outgoing managing director Frans Malmros announced earlier this year that the club will cut back its hull costs as it looks to reverse a $2.3m loss recorded last year, suggesting that a further reduction of hull and machinery cover is planned. Statistics released by Cefor, the Nordic marine insurance association, show that hull claim costs rose 86% last year.

“Underwriters have been too focused on increased values on ships and we have kept premiums abreast of escalation of values while at the same time the claims landscape has changed, driven by the good shipping market, the increase in steel price and reduced availability of shipyards and spare parts,” Mr Rhodin told Lloyd’s List, adding that claims inflation in hull insurance runs at much higher figures than it did in the past.

“We are getting to grips with exposure, increasing it as needs be and refining our risk profile,” he added.

Mr Rhodin, currently deputy managing director, takes over the helm on July 1 and will help open a new chapter in the Swedish Club’s history.

The profile of the Swedish Club within the international maritime market is already high, and for Mr Rhodin the organisation will put more emphasis on some of the products that are not directly related to marine insurance but on maritime improvements such as a maritime resource management programme, an operating system for ships’ officers that helps improve efficiency and safety, taken from the airline industry.

“This is how we create our contribution to the industry,” said Mr Rhodin. “We get into the root causes. It is all a matter of management of resources, management of information and interaction and machine and human colleagues. It is all to do with the human element. We developed this programme ourselves and we now we have 30 licensees around the world”.

Mr Rhodin was, however, tight-lipped over what plans he has to develop the Swedish Club once he takes over the reins.

“It is too early to say yet,” he said. “We are shaping the organisation now and I am setting my own organisation.”

The club has already employed a new director to undertake business development. Henric Gard, formerly of Willis marine insurance, will have the responsibility of developing the club’s global marketing activities.

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