Markel Canada Partners with hyperexponential to Build AI-Native Underwriting Environment

Key Terms

underwriting financial

Underwriting is the process where a financial institution agrees to buy and then resell new stocks or bonds to investors. It matters because it helps companies raise money quickly and smoothly, while the bank takes on the risk of selling those securities at the agreed price. Think of it like a booker guaranteeing to sell all tickets for a concert before opening the doors.

underwriting workflows financial

A set of organized steps and tools used by underwriters to evaluate, approve and manage risk for a financial product—such as a stock offering, loan or insurance policy. Think of it as an assembly line where each station checks different information (financials, legal, market demand) before a deal is finalized. Investors care because efficient, thorough workflows speed transactions, reduce mistakes and affect the price, timing and perceived risk of an offering.

p&c carriers financial

Property-and-casualty (P&C) carriers are insurance companies that sell policies protecting individuals and businesses from losses due to damage, accidents, theft, and liability—think of them as a financial safety net that pays to repair or replace what’s broken or to cover legal costs. Investors care because a P&C carrier’s profits hinge on premiums collected versus claims paid and reserves held; large disasters, legal changes, or shifting interest rates can quickly swing earnings and capital needs.

rating workflow technical

A rating workflow is the step‑by‑step process used by analysts or rating bodies to evaluate an asset, company, or debt and produce an official score or recommendation (for example buy/hold/sell or a credit grade). Think of it like a recipe or assembly line that moves information through research, checks, and approval before a public rating is released. Investors watch these workflows because the resulting ratings influence buying decisions, regulatory compliance, and how markets value the security.

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TORONTO & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Markel International, a division of Markel Insurance, the insurance operations within Markel Group Inc. (NYSE: MKL) announced today its partnership with hyperexponential (hx) to modernize rating, underwriting workflows and integration architecture across its Canadian business. The partnership reflects Markel’s significant investment in building a more sophisticated, AI‑native underwriting environment and further expands hyperexponential's footprint in North American markets as the leading pricing and underwriting decision platform for commercial P&C carriers.

As part of its collaboration with hyperexponential, Markel Canada has launched a purpose-built Environmental rating capability on the hx platform, enabling a more streamlined, digital experience. This investment marks a shift from fragmented, transactional pricing toward a more connected underwriting experience. By bringing data, pricing and context together in a single workflow, Markel Canada is creating an environment where underwriters have what they need at the point of decision – without friction or unnecessary hand‑offs.

Establishing the hx platform as a centralized rating layer creates a scalable foundation that can support more sophisticated products, package policies and evolving portfolio needs over time. The result is greater clarity at the point of pricing today, and a platform designed to grow with the business – enabling faster, more informed decisions as underwriting complexity and ambition increase.

“Our underwriters need tools that support good judgement, not slow it down. By pulling data directly into the rating workflow, we’re cutting friction from everyday decisions and letting our teams focus on what matters most – building trusted relationships with our broker partners, understanding risk and delivering consistent outcomes for clients,” says Cliff Laidlaw, Senior Vice President, Underwriting at Markel Canada.

Built with the future in mind, the architecture is designed to support emerging agentic and AI‑enabled capabilities as they mature, positioning Markel Canada to continue advancing toward truly AI‑native underwriting workflows.

Maureen Tomlinson, Senior Vice President of Operations at Markel Canada and Head of AI at Markel International, added: “For Markel Canada, this is about more than replacing spreadsheets. It reflects our commitment to investing in a more sophisticated underwriting environment. The hx platform gives our underwriters a better experience today, while laying the groundwork for faster delivery, stronger data capture and future AI-native workflows across the business.”

Richard Gunn, President at hyperexponential, commented: “Canada is an important market for commercial underwriting, and Markel's ambition here stands out: they're not just patching existing systems, they're building for what comes next. hyperexponential has built the leading AI-native underwriting workbench that keeps pricing, data and decisions in one place, from intake through to quote. We're proud to support a team moving with this level of pace and intent to deliver the decision infrastructure for the next era of underwriting.”

About Markel

We are Markel Insurance, a leading global specialty insurer with a truly people-first approach. As the insurance operations within the Markel Group Inc. (NYSE: MKL), we leverage a broad array of capabilities and expertise to create intelligent solutions for the most complex specialty insurance needs. However, it is our people – and the deep, valued relationships they develop with colleagues, brokers and clients – that differentiates us worldwide.

About hyperexponential

hyperexponential provides the leading pricing and underwriting platform for the global commercial P&C insurance market, powering AI-assisted decisions from triage, to pricing, to portfolio optimization. Trusted by carriers processing over $60bn GWP annually, and backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Battery Ventures, the hx platform enables insurers, reinsurers, and MGAs to reduce time-to-quote, iterate on rating models faster, improve loss ratios and write a more profitable book.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260512062496/en/

For more information contact:
Olivia Chan
Senior Marketing Associate
olivia.chan@markel.com

Source: Markel Group Inc.