Scaling Specialty Lines with Smarter Underwriting: New Whitepaper

Tinubu has published a new whitepaper by François Perron, Head of Risk: Scaling Specialty Lines with Smarter Underwriting: A Strategic Guide to Expanding Operations in Credit, A&H, and Political Risk.

A market that demands action

The specialty insurance market is projected to grow from $107 billion in 2023 to $259 billion by 2032. Demand for trade credit, accident and health (A&H), and political risk coverage is surging, fuelled by rising corporate bankruptcies, shifting global supply chains, and a $420 billion trade finance gap in Africa alone. For insurers, ECAs, and MGAs, the question is no longer whether to scale, but how to do it without sacrificing quality or speed.

The barriers holding teams back

The whitepaper identifies three systemic obstacles that prevent underwriting teams from scaling effectively:

• Data fragmentation: with information scattered across legacy systems, spreadsheets, and third-party reports, 62% of underwriting teams flag inconsistent data as their biggest challenge
• Manual and compliance bottlenecks: underwriters spend up to 40% of their day on routine work, while regulatory complexity across regions adds further drag
• Legacy technology: maintaining old systems costs 50 to 70% more than modern alternatives, and launching a new line or region can take six months or more

A smarter underwriting framework

Rather than recommending a rip-and-replace approach, the whitepaper lays out a practical framework built on four pillars:

• Modular platforms that integrate with existing systems and grow line by line, cutting IT reliance by 50 to 70%
• Unified data pulling real-time insights from internal and external sources, with AI-driven risk scoring for routine cases
• Automation and self-service layered into submissions, approvals, and claims, saving up to 15 hours per quote and 38 hours per renewal
• Secure, connected architecture with open APIs for seamless integration into broker portals, bank platforms, and CRM tools

Proof in practice

The whitepaper features two real-world case studies. A national export credit agency in the Middle East went from zero to issuing its first policy in six months, with a fully digital, Sharia-compliant process covering 18 sectors. A major Indian insurer built a profitable new trade credit business in under a year using a digital-first approach with a custom pricing tool tailored to the local market. Across both, the pattern is consistent: faster product launches, higher premiums per underwriter, and strong ROI.

→ Download the whitepaper