“For clients not considered hard-to-place, the current market is a key moment to secure higher limits. We encourage clients to act while capacity is available”
Asghar Molu,
HUB International
“A hard-to-place risk has a uniqueness about it, a complexity that doesn’t fit neatly within the standard risk appetite of many of the insurers in our market”
Scott McIntyre,
Echelon Insurance
In Partnership with
The ‘hard-to-place’ risk enigma
Hard-to-place doesn’t mean bad risk, but getting the story right matters
Read on
Scott McIntyre
Echelon Insurance
Everett McCallum
Echelon Insurance
Asghar Molu
HUB International
Industry experts
A HARD-TO-PLACE risk isn’t necessarily a bad risk. In an insurance market being reshaped by rising catastrophe exposures and emerging technologies, even traditionally straightforward risks can find themselves falling outside standard underwriting appetites.
Yet greater capacity is creating new opportunities for these risks, as well as a new challenge for the market. As competition increases and pricing softens, brokers and insurers need to resist the temptation to treat capacity as a substitute for underwriting discipline. Instead, finding creative and sustainable solutions for complex accounts now depends on something more grounded: understanding the risk and telling its story.
In a recent roundtable hosted by Insurance Business in collaboration with Echelon Insurance, Scott McIntyre, director of specialty lines at Echelon Insurance, Everett McCallum, director of technical risk services at Echelon Insurance, and Asghar Molu, HUB International’s chief marketing officer for the Ontario region, discussed how hard-to-place risks should be handled, what they look like in today’s market and how insurers’ risk appetite for these accounts has shifted as both CAT frequency and severity have increased.
terms and deductibles, reinsurance solutions, or participation from multiple insurers to make solutions work. Ultimately, accurate replacement values and business interruption information are essential so that insurers can assess the true exposure and deploy capacity.”
But does that mean it’s more difficult to place now than in the recent past? Molu doesn’t believe so. He told IB that while the current market cycle has meaningfully narrowed the definition of hard-to-place, the risks themselves are much less difficult to place now.
“The current market’s creating real opportunity for our clients who previously struggled to find capacity at HUB,” he said. “Our advisors are able to find and provide more options, as well as expanded coverage, and secure better terms and conditions than we were 18 to 24 months ago. And for clients not considered hard-to-place, the current market is a key moment to secure higher limits. We encourage clients to act while capacity is available.”
With the market softening somewhat across several lines, it becomes an issue of how insurers can best balance competitive pricing pressure against the risk discipline needed to keep capacity alive – especially for the riskiest accounts. That softening is already evident in the numbers. According to Marsh, insurance rates across Canada dropped by 7 percent in Q2 2026. A major natural catastrophe that exceeds expectations could result in a tightening of capacity and a slowing of rate declines.
‘A hard-to-place risk has a uniqueness about it’ McIntyre told IB that when people hear the term “hard-to-place” they immediately assume that the risks are low quality.
“[However], that’s not often the case. A hard-to-place risk has a uniqueness about it, a complexity that doesn’t fit neatly within the standard risk appetite of many of the insurers in our market,” he explained.
That can be down to a range of factors, from class of business and loss history to required limits and operational complexity – with catastrophe-prone regions playing a part too. And the issue remains particularly prevalent in Canada. According to an Aon report, disaster activity increased towards the end of Q2 2026, driven by two major events projected to result in more than $1 billion in insured losses.
“The definition of hard-to-place may be changing as CAT frequency and severity have increased,” added McIntyre. “What may have been a standard risk in the past may become non-standard or hard-to-place as insurers focus more on location and, particularly, accumulation of values in certain CAT areas. In these situations, viable solutions may require different
‘It’s really important in a soft market to slow down and engage’ As McIntyre told IB, this pricing pressure is strongest on stable and well-performing businesses – the type of business that every insurer would be happy to write.
“Underwriters still need to maintain that underwriting discipline to ensure terms, price, and capacity remain aligned with the underlying exposure,” he said. “When we talk about hard-to-place business, it’s really important in a soft market to slow down and engage – focus on understanding the full exposure of these complex risks, including the potential for large or complex claims. Ultimately, underwriters need to
select risks that make sense within the broader insurer portfolio. That risk discipline can be maintained through applying deductibles, sublimits, and creating different attachment points for different insurers to participate in. Insurers need to be very careful with the decisions they make on how much capacity is deployed for these hard-to-place, more complex risks.”
When a broker brings forward a genuinely difficult risk, insurers need enough information to distinguish a productive conversation from one that goes nowhere. Brokers therefore need to act quickly to present the risk, quantify exposures and demonstrate proactive risk management measures that could improve the likelihood of finding a viable solution.
“[It starts with] early engagement,” agreed McIntyre. “That’s the key, particularly for hard-to-place and CAT-exposed risks. Brokers should bring difficult risks to insurers as early as possible. Another value here is transparency, [being able to] explain why a risk may be hard-to-place and not just leave it to their insurer to trawl through the submission and discover what the issues are.”
“Reliable values, accurate business interruption information and a clear overview of the client’s operations are essential,” he added. “Brokers should clearly explain past losses and the risk mitigation strategies their client has put in place, while managing expectations with the client around what’s possible in the marketplace and how we can structure different solutions. Working collaboratively with the broker to find those is the key.”
Molu agreed, adding that there’s a real need to be proactive here. As he told IB, looking at this from a HUB perspective, their advisors are highly engaged and communicative with their insurer partners.
“We want to be at the table having these conversations early on. And to be frank, these conversations start with a story, not just a submission,” he said. “It’s important that we outline the context, what the client is doing from a risk management posture, and have a clear placement strategy regardless of the cycle that we’re in.”
“[Because] today, more than in the past, we see our partners competing for business. [As such], it’s important that we’re doing our best to quantify exposures through engineering
assessments [as well as] risk modelling concepts,” he explained. “We get deeper engagement than simply just sharing limited details with policy schedules, and our insurer partners respect and appreciate that from us. Our advisors are actively using this window to look for better terms, expanded coverage and higher limits for our customers.”
‘We continue to invest in building these relationships and trust’ At HUB, they do that in unison with their partners because, as Molu told IB, his team understands the precariousness of the current market – and why it’s essential to take advantage of the opportunities available.
“We continue to invest in building these relationships and trust – because when the market shifts and it tightens, that will help us build a rapport with our clients and our market partners, so that we’re not starting from scratch,” he said. “We’ll both have had a chance to better understand the client and the keys to their long-term sustainability.”
McIntyre explained that these unique market conditions are pushing the sector to find ever more creative solutions, especially when it comes to structured programs.
“Using primary excess layering and [allowing] multiple insurers to participate at different attachment points is key to [helping] insurers manage their exposure to large complex risks and claims,” he said. “We’re seeing higher deductibles – and self-insured retention can keep difficult risks insurable particularly when the client has the financial strength and the risk management maturity to retain some of the more predictable losses in the primary layer. And for CAT-exposed accounts, targeted sublimits and careful consideration of probable maximum loss can help insurers measure their exposure and determine where the most appropriate place to provide capacity is.”
The role of risk mitigation is also evolving as emerging technologies, changing operations and climate-related exposures create new challenges across the specialty market. As McCallum told IB, risk mitigation is now much more forward-looking in order to address fast-moving exposures.
Identifying hazards early “Emerging technologies, changing operations, and climate conditions can create risks that have not yet been reflected in a customer’s loss history. Insurers and, in particular, their risk engineering teams must be able to anticipate those changes and determine
whether the existing controls will remain effective,” he said.
Lithium-ion batteries are a practical example of this, McCallum told IB, adding that their growing use has created concerns around imported products, safety certifications, charging practices, and facility fire protection.
“Identifying these hazards early allows controls to be implemented before larger losses can occur,” he said. “[Essentially], risk mitigation helps customers prepare for what may come next. And customers that demonstrate proactive controls, continuous improvement, and resilience planning are better positioned in the underwriting conversation and better able to support transparent dialogue amongst brokers, insurers and risk engineering teams.”
Exposure in CAT-prone regions is also changing the nature of the conversation between brokers and underwriters. McCallum told IB that brokers need to look beyond an individual account’s location, considering its specific vulnerabilities and the concentration of values.
“Since the exposure can’t be avoided, the key question is how well the property is protected and how well-prepared the business is for severe CAT events,” he said. “Brokers can add value by gathering accurate information about the property, existing protections, and business continuity plans, helping clients understand the natural hazards that are unique to their specific location. That alone gives underwriting a stronger initial picture and allows their risk engineering team partners to assess things such as water damage protection in flood and storm surge zones, vegetation and combustible storage practices in areas susceptible to wildfire, roof condition and other building maintenance practices in wind and hail-prone regions.”
These accounts, as Molu explained, also require a much broader renewal timeline with his team finding that the traditional 90 days out leaves very little room to actually educate the client or have a meaningful conversation.
“At HUB, we aspire to manage clients through multiple touchpoints throughout their policy term,” he explained. “One way we do that is through the engagement of our risk management and risk services team. Sharing CAT modelling outputs at client meetings well before renewal conversations shifts the conversation for us from an intent to purchase insurance to being about risk management and organizational planning for our clients. Our advisors are huge on transparency with our insurer partners. Being open about the negatives helps us build credibility for the clients themselves, showing our insurer partners that we’re managing the risk just as much as they are through the surfacing of their loss history or through completely outlining CAT exposures.”
attention to accumulations and the broker’s understanding of the challenges that insurers face there,” he said.
Regulation is adding yet another dimension, with McIntyre adding that success in the coming months will depend on how insurers understand, monitor and manage climate-related risk, which puts more pressure on capacity. At the same time, complex value chains, interconnected operations and cyber exposures are all creating new risk profiles that may not fit within traditional underwriting approaches. And so, brokers and insurers need to work together to find solutions for those.
From the broker perspective, that evolution is already changing the job. Molu argued that brokers can no longer operate simply as intermediaries at renewal.
“On the broker side, you know our role has undergone an evolution from a placement intermediary to a true risk advisory basis,” he said. “At HUB, our advisors encourage year-round engagement with our clients, and not just at that one time 90 days before the renewal. We engage and support our clients to invest in better risk data, better risk management, which differentiates them greatly from their competitors.”
For brokers, today’s market also presents an opportunity to prepare clients for tomorrow.
“The current cycle is a strategic window for us. It’s our ability to expand coverage, secure higher limits, migrate clients to more suitable coverage options, and ensure we’re building resilience for them when conditions tighten,” he said. “We need to be very transparent with our market partners on any changing appetite that they might have, flexibility on their part, and any nimbleness to address our client exposures. [Because] that actually goes a long way to show willingness to work together to make it right for our mutual clients.”
The lesson from previous market cycles is that capacity can disappear rapidly.
“Today’s capacity doesn’t need to evaporate,” added Molu. “We want to work with our market partners to find amicable solutions both for our clients’ current-term and long-term sustainability.”
For McCallum, the future relationship can ultimately be distilled into three qualities: transparency, collaboration, and data-driven action. And that requires brokers, insurers and risk specialists to exchange better information and focus on solutions rather than transactions.
“Brokers, underwriters and risk engineering teams should continue to work together to share current information, identify material operational changes, and develop practical solutions that can help clients manage their evolving exposures,” he said. “And businesses that understand how their risks are changing, keep their controls current, and clearly communicate planned improvements will be better positioned to build long-term resilience for their business.”
“In turn, that transparency helps us as insurers assess the account more effectively, and support constructive conversations about capacity, terms and coverage options.”
CAT weather reshaping Canadian home insurance
Echelon Insurance was founded in 1998 and became a member of the CAA Club Group of Companies (CCG) in 2019. As a leading specialty insurer, Echelon works closely with its broker partners to provide personal and commercial insurance solutions to protect Canadian families and businesses. For more information about Echelon, visit www.echeloninsurance.ca.
Scott McIntyre is the director of specialty lines at Echelon Insurance, where he helps shape the organization’s strategic growth within Canada’s commercial specialty market. With more than 20 years at Echelon, McIntyre has held a variety of roles across the organization, bringing broad experience and perspective to his current position. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional designation.
Echelon Insurance
Scott McIntyre
Everett McCallum is the director of technical risk services at Echelon Insurance, where he oversees the national risk engineering function across commercial property and commercial auto portfolios. He brings more than 18 years of insurance industry experience, built on a commercial underwriting foundation and more than 15 years in risk engineering. McCallum holds a bachelor’s degree in economics, in addition to several National Fire Protection Association designations, including Certified Fire Protection Specialist, Certified Fire Inspector II, and Fire and Life Educator. He also holds Chartered Insurance Professional and Canadian Risk Management designations.
Echelon Insurance
Everett McCallum
Asghar Molu is a senior insurance executive with more than 20 years of progressive leadership experience, spanning personal and commercial insurance, sales analytics, and marketing. In his current role as chief marketing officer for the Ontario region, Molu oversees carrier relationship management, driving growth and profitability across HUB International’s insurer partnerships. His mandate includes developing innovative insurance products and programs, delivering marketing support to capture new business, and advancing strategic initiatives that strengthen carrier collaboration. Prior to this role, Molu served as executive vice president, personal insurance, at HUB, where he led three distinct business lines – group/affinity, private client group, and retail home and auto – across 10 Ontario offices.
HUB International
Asghar Molu
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Published October 5, 2026
“Businesses that understand how their risks are changing ... and clearly communicate planned improvements will be better positioned to build long-term resilience for their business”
Everett McCallum,
Echelon Insurance
1983-2008
Annual average
$0.4B
$0
$2B
$4B
$6B
$8B
$10B
Since 2009, insurers have paid nearly $2 billion per year on average in catastrophic weather-related claims. That’s a rise from approximately $400 million annually between 1983 and 2008.
Since 2009
Annual average
$2.0B
2022
Insured losses
$3.4B
2024
Insured losses
$9.4B
Insured losses reached $3.4 billion in 2022 and $9.4 billion in 2024.
Source: Statistics Canada
Source: Echelon
Why work with Echelon?
Specialized products and underwriting Our specialty insurance products are backed by our expertise in the markets we focus on, our individualized approach to underwriting, and our commitment to finding the right solutions.
Personalized service We work closely with our brokers to understand their customers’ specialty needs and provide tailored solutions that fit. Our in-house loss prevention and technical risk services experts develop risk mitigation strategies and provide customized recommendations to help commercial business owners proactively prevent loss.
Sophisticated pricing and analysis of specialty needs We leverage data analytics to gain a holistic understanding of customers’ specialty needs so we can provide better, more comprehensive coverage at a fair price.
Financial strength Our specialty solutions are backed by over 25 years of experience as well as the financial strength and stability of our parent organization, CAA Club Group, which has served the needs of Canadians for over 100 years.
Regulation, risk engineering, client strategy: What does 2027 look like? Looking ahead to what the rest of 2026 and the years to come hold, the definition of a hard-to-place risk is unlikely to stand still. Climate pressures, regulatory scrutiny and increasingly interconnected businesses are changing the exposures insurers are being asked to assume and putting greater emphasis on collaboration between brokers, insurers and clients.
For McIntyre, climate-related pressure will remain one of the most significant forces in the market.
“That will continue to shape the broker-insurer relationship. [It’s about] focusing on sophisticated modelling, [paying] closer
