RAISE Underwriting has seen significant growth in just over two years, with its workforce expanding from less than 10 employees to around 30 today.
Leading the managing general agent (MGA) throughout this expansion is Matt Baynton, who took on the role of CEO in 2021.
Baynton spoke to Insurance Business about RAISE’s success, which he attributed to their continued commitment to delivering diverse solutions for retail brokers and ensuring clients experience the true value of insurance.
“We’re going to hustle and treat each opportunity with importance,” he said. “We’ll call the broker to understand the risk better and ask so we can underwrite and price it accordingly. And we’ll provide the best coverage options and pricing that we possibly can.”
According to Baynton, RAISE positions itself as a consultative advisor, fostering open communication with broker and insurer partners to advise on risk and collaborate on solutions to help them better serve their clients.
Upon joining RAISE, Baynton focused on establishing a robust strategy and a clear sense of the company’s purpose. He said he wanted to address a common perception among the general public that undervalues the role played by the insurance industry.
“People will almost apologize when you ask them what they do, and they say they work in insurance,” he noted. “This isn’t doing the industry any service because the reality is that insurance is an extremely valuable resource. We’re protecting people’s livelihoods, their assets, and businesses. What we’re doing is really important.”
As a CEO, Baynton said he wanted to see RAISE provide exceptional insurance experiences and solve client problems.
RAISE achieves this goal by collaborating with brokers to address insurance risk management needs for construction projects and operational aspects, offering services such as surety bonding and general and specialty insurance coverage for vacant land, course of construction, and operational phases.
Notably, RAISE stands out as one of the few MGAs in Canada with in-house surety and specialty insurance underwriting authority.
Baynton said: “It’s kind of in our name, right? The idea is to raise the bar.”
Learn more about Matt Baynton and his work as CEO of RAISE Underwriting by reading the full profile by Insurance Business Canada.
