Sompo has expanded its Australian general insurance operations by appointing a new local underwriting team and adding capacity across core commercial lines in Sydney and Melbourne.
The insurer has hired a nine-person team of underwriters in Australia with experience across property, casualty, financial lines, energy, and construction. The team will work from Sompo offices in Sydney and Melbourne and sit within the company’s Asia-Pacific commercial property and casualty structure. Sompo said the expansion is intended to increase its local underwriting capability, move certain decisions closer to Australian clients and brokers, and align the Australian portfolio with the group’s broader regional strategy. The additional resources are aimed at supporting corporate and mid-market buyers, as well as intermediaries placing risks that require cross-border capacity.
Kenneth Reilly, chief executive officer, insurance, Asia-Pacific (APAC), linked the move to the group’s long-standing footprint in the country. “Sompo has been operating in Australia for more than 60 years and today’s expansion represents another important step towards building a diversified global P&C platform with strong positions in the markets that matter most to our clients and broker partners. Ensuring that we are regionally aligned and locally empowered will help us drive scale, materiality, and sustainable profitability. We look forward to delivering the level of service, underwriting excellence, and long-term partnership that the Australian market expects from Sompo,” Reilly said. According to Sompo, the expanded team will focus on risks that typically draw on international capacity, including large property schedules, energy projects, infrastructure, and specialist financial lines.
Oversight of the enlarged Australian operation will sit with Paul O’Neill, Sompo’s president of commercial P&C lines APAC. The new team will report directly to O’Neill within the regional governance framework. O’Neill said the appointments are intended to add local decision-making and product capability in lines where Sompo is seeking growth. “I am delighted to welcome this outstanding team to Sompo. Their expertise, combined with our collective ambition to deliver impactful solutions, positions us strongly from day one,” O’Neill said.
O’Neill added: “By investing in an established and highly respected team and focusing on growth opportunities aligned with our core business strengths, we will support clients, brokers, and our other business partners while ensuring seamless operations and compliance with local regulations.” Sompo has said it aims to increase its role in selected Australian commercial segments rather than compete across all product lines. The latest build-out indicates continued focus on Australia as part of its international network at a time when local and global carriers are reviewing exposure, attachment points, and limits on complex risks.
The Australian move follows a period of higher earnings for Sompo Holdings. For the nine months ended Dec. 31, 2025, net income attributable to owners of the parent was ¥518.3 billion, an increase of ¥267.4 billion from the same period a year earlier. Net income before tax – defined as the sum of the insurance service result, finance result, and other income and expenses – reached ¥677.8 billion, up ¥368 billion year on year. The figures cover the first three quarters of Sompo’s fiscal year ending March 31, 2026.
The insurance service result increased by ¥184.8 billion to ¥389.9 billion. Over the period, Sompo reported insurance revenue of ¥3,986.2 billion and insurance service expenses of ¥3.337 trillion, together with a net expense of ¥259.3 billion from reinsurance contracts held. The finance result improved by ¥165.4 billion to ¥343 billion. That reflected investment gains and losses of ¥547 billion and insurance finance gains and losses of negative ¥203.9 billion.
