With the winter Olympics drawing to a close this weekend and the World cup just around the corner, Jon Guy profiles David Bruce, one of Lloyd's leading sports underwriters.
David Bruce is Head of Hiscox’s speciality division and underwrites sporting events such as the Olympics.
The Olympics and the football and rugby world cups not only bring together the world’s most famous and highly paid sports people, but also advertisers and sponsors galore.
Specialist events need specialist cover. For David Bruce, head of Hiscox’s speciality division, the natural home for these risks is Lloyd’s.
“For the major sporting events there are three choices: Munich Re, Swiss Re and us, which I think speaks volumes for the reputation of the market,” he says. “And there is no standard policy for those who need cover. Each one is tailored individually to the needs of the client.
“There are a huge amount of things for organisers and broadcasters to think about: organisers need cover against cancellation and broadcasters need cover for cancellation and failure to transmit the pictures. There is also the possibility of pre-emption. For example, if a major politician or head of state dies, the amount of time the sporting event will have on air can be drastically reduced, and creating liability issues in terms of advertising and sponsorship agreements.”
Bruce’s success relies on close links with the client and a thorough understanding of the types of liabilities that can arise.
For sheer scale and appeal across the globe, the summer Olympics remains the biggest sporting event on the planet, and as such the placement of the risks surrounding its organisation and operation remain the sporting world’s biggest insurance challenge.
As the value of the event and the broadcasting rights continue to rise, the role of the underwriter becomes more challenging and the potential areas of exposure broaden.
Similarly, when over a million fans flock to Germany for this year’s football World Cup, few will know that every ticket purchased includes personal injury insurance. This protects them should anything befall them inside the stadium in the build up to, and during matches.
Sporting risks are varied and Bruce’s specialty division, apart from leading the market’s sporting response, also underwrites a range of covers such as kidnap and ransom, bloodstock and a US Managing General Agent (MGA) account.
Bruce’s successful career as an underwriter could have so easily been different.
“As a boy, like so many others, I wanted to be a professional footballer,” he says. “I was a decent amateur player and some of my team mates went on to be professionals.”
However, after growing up in South London and leaving school with an O-level in accountancy, Bruce headed for an employment agency, and he was sent for an interview.
“It was with Hartley Cooper, a brokerage firm which is now part of HSBC,” he explained. “I was given a job in the post room, and, after a year, I applied for, and passed my Lloyd’s examination and started work in the market right at the bottom.”
In the space of four years he was approached by Robert Hiscox to join his fledgling firm, which at the time had just 12 employees and a premium income of £4m between its marine and non-marine syndicates.
“In the time I have been there it has grown to a company which employs almost 600 staff,” said Bruce. “On average we have doubled in size every five years.”
The market and its brand continues to attract global business and as such Bruce believes the concentration of professionalism and innovation contained in the market can be found nowhere else.
Bruce has never lost his passion for football, but doesn’t regret his decision to become an underwriter. “Some of my friends did make it as professionals. But, I am glad I chose insurance.”
