Welcome to Part 3 of our Eliot Insights Series, where we explore the issues, trends, and leadership themes shaping the insurance industry.
In this edition, we sit down with Andrew Martin, Consultant, to discuss the evolving E&S market and what today’s dynamics mean for senior hiring and leadership.
Andrew shares how market pressures, shifting risk profiles, data and analytics capabilities, and new expectations around talent are influencing what organisations look for in their E&S leaders. He also highlights the behaviours that set truly exceptional leaders apart, how firms are adjusting their recruitment strategies, and what boards should be asking as they look ahead.
Question 1
In 2025, the E&S market is characterized by pressure on casualty, NATCAT, exposure visibility, and data analytics. How is that influencing what companies are looking for in senior roles?
AM: What we’re seeing is a desire to appoint talent into businesses that is ready to meet the moment. Amidst all of these pressures that exist, there’s also a pretty significant amount of opportunity in the market to be creative. And with that in mind, there’s adaptability. To address those challenges is important. So strategic capabilities to take advantage of the opportunities and maximise profitability is where many of our clients are focused with their senior hires, in areas where there’s pressure or even just increased attention on a particular class or segment, like casualty for example. Organizations want to ensure that they have a safe pair of hands in the driver’s seat.
Question 2
What behaviors or mindsets separate good from the great E&S leaders?
AM: A relationship orientation is pretty critical, going beyond transactional relationships one might think of as having with trading partners. But great leaders who have made careers in the E&S market are almost always just as great at networking as they are at the technical aspects of their roles. And what I mean by that is not necessarily networking in that traditional sense, but pretty much the way someone shows up in any professional setting. That could be the way that they show up as a leader, or the types of questions that they’re asking in a town hall, or even how thoughtfully you might respond to a colleague. It all affects your reputation, and people will remember how that made them feel. And that’s what ultimately is seen as indicative of a great leader.
Question 3
How important are skills such as data fluency, risk modeling mindset, or program governance in your recent placements for E&S senior roles?
AM: Very important. Companies that are able to leverage these technical skills are getting ahead of competitors by significant margins. I don’t necessarily think we’re seeing the same phenomenon in the E&S space that exists in the tech sector in terms of inflated salaries or anything like that. But individuals who are able to blend the technical E&S skill sets with technological skill sets that are emerging are able to take the business a step further based on those skills that are in such high demand. And from a risk or governance standpoint, leaders who are able to utilize the work that they’re doing, or their teams are doing, and are able to better support business growth, making the connection between that output, are really in demand as well.
Question 4
When a firm is hiring a senior leader in E&S, how much weight do you see given to industry domain expertise, E&S-specific, versus general underwriting leadership?
AM: I think that industry domain expertise within the E&S space is given a pretty significant amount of weight because there is a certain amount of specialism that is required with the risks that often make their way to the E&S market. So individuals who have proven successful within that technical landscape are often seen as being able to be successful in that area again. And the relationships that are forged with individuals who also operate within that very specific area of the market are seen as integral to the continued success of an organization.
Question 5
How much does remote or hybrid management capability factor into E&S roles, especially given global platforms and distributed underwriting?
AM: At a very senior level, I think some form of comfortability with remote management is expected in the current market. It’s not necessarily unique to the E&S space, in my opinion, but it’s no secret working models have shifted, and many of our clients are taking very different approaches to their workplace or work environment. But even in instances where in-office cultures are the norm, teams will often still be spread out across the country or even around the world. And so, individuals who are able to think holistically about their organization and team, and foster a shared sense of purpose and accountability within those types of work environments, are often successful.
Question 6
How are firms adjusting their recruiting strategy for E&S senior leadership? Are they looking externally more, specialty carriers, MGA, or growing talent internally?
AM: I think it’s organizationally specific. I think the thing that I would point to as being a through line, though, is that there is a degree of intentionality and resiliency that organizations are starting to put into their succession planning efforts because it’s integral to organizational sustainability broadly. The insurance industry is facing a shortage of entry-level or up-and-coming talent. So as a result, a lot of organizations are needing to go external in order to replace talent at that leadership level. So, succession planning is definitely starting to become a huge focus for a lot of E&S carriers.
Question 7
Are you seeing a premium in terms of compensation and perks for leaders who can span both traditional underwriting and new capabilities such as analytics, automated workflows, and data governance?
AM: To a certain extent, yes. It’s an interesting dynamic because those types of skill sets are incredibly in demand. And some familiarity across a number of areas is growing to be more and more important, particularly as there are a number of smaller start-up-type MGAs and other organizations that have been developing over the last several years, where individuals need to be able to wear multiple hats, be highly entrepreneurial, and augment their existing skill set with other areas that they might not have had to within a larger carrier or work environment.
Question 8
What role does diversity, equity and inclusion play in senior hires in E&S? Are companies actively changing the leadership mix?
AM: I feel very fortunate to work within an organization that employs a DEI lens as a central pillar of our business model and the services that we offer to our clients. So when an organization utilizes Eliot Partnership, that mindset is built into the fabric of what we do and continually owned and improved, because we could always be better at it. Today, I think that these same sorts of commitments vary greatly, organization to organization. But I do think that a number of organizations that choose to work with a firm like Eliot Partnership use us because they have a similar view of DEI as being an integral part of setting an organization up for success, sustained success, and building a business culture. And I do think that a number of the organizations that we work with in the E&S space have shared that they are as committed to that effort as we are.
Question 9
With younger talent, digital natives entering E&S becoming increasingly important, what do you see their career path toward senior leadership being, and how are search firms influencing that pipeline?
AM: I think we’re seeing organizations starting to make an effort to understand the generational values that exist for entry-level or more junior talent. It’s just different than people who might be in the leadership roles today. But some of the things that are able to be upheld and attract individuals to the E&S space are the creativity that exists within this area of the market. Certain clients that we work with are utilizing mentorship programs that can help recruit younger talent, either directly from universities or through other networking-type events in major cities across the country. I think the other thing that we’re seeing talked about a bit more is, in times of broader economic uncertainty, educating early-career individuals who have grown up amidst this uncertainty about the resilience of the insurance market more broadly has proven effective in recruiting talent at that level.
Question 10
What should boards or CEOs of E&S carriers or programs ask when hiring the next senior leader, given evolving market dynamics?
AM: I think it’s important for them to ask a number of questions which, you know, a lot of it has to do with legacy or where the organization is going to go, as opposed to where the organization has been or where even that person has been or what they’ve done. So things like, how would we like to see this person push the organization forward? Are there areas in which we know we need to perform better? What are our goals? Are we looking at organic versus inorganic growth? Or how can we bring in someone at this level, with this type of influence within the organization, who can surprise us in a way that might be advantageous for growing the business? And then I think the last piece that I think is probably very important, given some of the talent dynamics that we talked about earlier, is safeguarding the, or how can this person safeguard the organization from a talent perspective? Will they be able to attract younger talent, build a succession plan, and ultimately, what do we think their legacy will be?
