Why Catastrophe Expertise is Key to Winning California Commercial Business

Hello everybody, welcome to Insurance Business TV here at Insurance Fest 2026 as we meet one of the fastest rising insurance companies in the industry right now. That company is Sageshore. I'm joined today by Trey Shipp who is VP of Commercial Sales and Marketing. So let's talk a little bit about the business Trey. Why should brokers trust and you know want to do commercial business with Sageshore? Yeah and you know producers should recognize Sageshore is built from markets like this. We're a catastrophe expert and our catastrophe expertise allows us to deliver solutions in the market where they're needed most for producers. I feel producers in general are looking for partnerships that will allow them to grow. The ones that will be there for the long haul and will invest in mutual growth and not back out whenever things get a little sticky. And I imagine that partnership as well it's sort of built on listening to each other. So what sort of feedback are you hearing from brokers about the state of the commercial market right now and how is that sort of playing into what you offer? So what we're hearing from our producers today is that they want better predictability. They want options that are going to stay in the market and when they're engaging with a partner they want fewer frictions. Specifically here in California it's stability. They're looking for stability and more clarity in carrier appetite. Our strategy and our approach to doing business in the state of California wasn't built in a boardroom. It's being built by the thousands of conversations we're having with our producers. I think it's fair to say as well the commercial insurance market right now it's facing a few challenges. So what gives you confidence about the Sageshore business going forward? Well what others see as challenge we see as opportunity as a managing general underwriter that specializes and is built entirely around catastrophe exposed markets. So we are we have the expertise to navigate these capacity exposed markets. We've been doing that for almost 20 years now. We are one of the largest in the space that we play in. In addition to that we're investing in our products, our technology, and our producer-centric experiences for the producers. Again they want partners who are going to be here who are going to partner with them not just bring capacity and products for them to write. They're looking for somebody who's going to strategically have a mutual growth ambition together with them. And what role do you see the California market play in that? You know the California economy is massive and with that comes significant commercial opportunity, commercial insurance opportunity. And so we see this as a market that we should be able to thrive in. And so we're leaning in to the to the state of California and it's going to impact our overall commercial strategy as a whole as well because in the state of California it's more dynamic. The cat exposures that you have here. So it's going to force us to innovate. It's going to force us to lean into those partnerships that we're going to seek mutual growth and understanding with. And what we get from that is going to benefit Sature's commercial across all of our markets. It's fair to say though isn't it that the market is quite competitive right now. So I guess how does Sature manage to stand out? Standing out against the competition it is our catastrophe expertise within those markets. I think the companies that are going to succeed within the market like California are not going to apply broad exposure management policy to the entire market. You're going to have to lean in. You're going to have to look for more ways to say yes. You're going to have to build stronger relationships and partnerships within the market to continue to grow and continue to make sure that you stand out amongst the others who may be here now but not here later. Yeah and I imagine as well obviously brokers have a massive part to play. So just tell us how all of that is resonating with brokers specifically in the California market. Yeah you know specialization is something that we're seeing increase significantly in the commercial space. And so those brokers play a critical role because more so than on the personal line side they become hubs for specific types of business. And so you see much larger brokerage firms that are within those markets and we want to build those strategic partnerships with them. We want to partner with them to understand what they need and that way we can deliver products to them via that collaboration and partnership. Yeah Troy it's been great to have you with us today. Of course if anybody wants to know any more information they can reach out to Sageshore directly and we'll see you next time right here on Insurance Business TV.