Steadfast says its London wholesale business, which handles high-value, complex risks, is well placed to assist brokers at its recently acquired US network and has good growth opportunities.

International CEO Samantha Hollman told an investor day Steadfast Placements has teams in Australia and London, where it is a Lloyd’s broker and has trading agreements with more than 70 market insurers.

The business has assisted Australian and New Zealand brokers when they have struggled to find markets, and it is available to provide similar help for members of US network ISU, purchased in October.

“We’re seeing this as an unbelievable opportunity for ISU ... as well to now place business directly into Lloyd’s of London,” she said. “We see our business in London growing and we’re working on a strategy in the next 12 months to achieve that.”

Steadfast says there are 233 independent agents in the ISU network and it sees numbers rising. A rigorous vetting process for new members will be retained, while it will make the group more attractive through expanded products and services, carrier relationships and improved technology.

There are thousands of independent insurance agencies operating in the US, but no player in the middle market has significant market share.

The US will be the main focus for the international business over the next couple of years, Ms Hollman told the investor day.

“We believe the opportunities are vast, but we’ve got to make sure we’re really focusing our energies on what’s really going to turn the needle and make the most impact,” she said.

The Australian trend for using underwriting agencies is also apparent in the US, where they are known as managing general agents (MGAs), and is a potential expansion area for Steadfast, whether through acquisition or existing operations.

“We’ve got an MGA we’re already considering to transport into the US,” Ms Hollman said. “A lot is happening, but there’s a lot of evaluation of behind-the-scenes requirements.”

Ms Hollman says the US move has provided a runway of opportunities and Steadfast is carefully exploring options as part of a three-year strategy

“We are not going into this guns blazing, we’re going into this with a really considered approach,” she said. “We will evaluate the market properly.”