Article
Italy remains a highly relationship-driven insurance market, but clients’ expectations are changing as risks become more complex and less predictable. Simona Fumagalli, Country Manager, Insurance, Italy at Sompo, discusses the specific dynamics of the Italian market, Sompo’s positioning, and how geopolitical tensions are reshaping underwriting and insurability.
Italy is a market where relationships matter. Clients and brokers value insurers that are close to the market, understand local dynamics and can respond quickly. Technical expertise is essential, but accessibility and the ability to make decisions efficiently are just as important.
At the same time, the environment is becoming more complex. Like other European markets, Italy is being shaped by geopolitical uncertainty, supply chain disruption, inflation and increasingly complex risk patterns. According to ISTAT, Italy’s consumer price index increased by 3.0% year-on-year in June 2026. This creates a more challenging environment for clients and increases the need for clarity, expertise and consistency from insurers.
Expert insight
Clients are looking for more than capacity. They want stability, technical discipline and long-term thinking. They need partners who are clear in their approach and focused on sustainable solutions.
Simona Fumagalli
Country Manager, Insurance, Italy
Sompo combines strong local capabilities with the strength of a global platform. Since opening our Milan office in 2023, we have continued to invest in local underwriting, distribution and claims capabilities. That local presence allows us to stay close to clients and brokers, understand their needs and respond in an agile way.
At the same time, we bring the capabilities of a major global group. We offer specialist expertise, financial strength and international reach, which is particularly relevant for clients with complex or cross-border exposures.
Our model is underwriting-driven and client-focused. We focus on tailored solutions, strong service and long-term relationships. Local empowerment is an important part of that model, because it allows us to make decisions efficiently and provide the level of responsiveness that clients and brokers expect.
Expert insight
Sompo’s proposition in Italy is the combination of local presence, technical expertise, disciplined underwriting and the strength of a global business.
Simona Fumagalli
Country Manager, Insurance, Italy
Geopolitical tensions are making risks more volatile and less predictable. We see this very clearly in Marine, where global events can have an immediate impact on trade routes, transit times, costs and risk profiles.
The disruption in and around the Suez Canal is a good example. As many vessels have rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope, supply chains have been affected, journeys have become longer and exposures have changed. These shifts can alter the nature of the risk quite quickly.
Expert insight
In this environment, underwriting has to become more dynamic. It requires regular reassessment, close monitoring and ongoing dialogue with brokers and clients. Underwriters need to understand not only the risk at a single point in time, but also how that risk may evolve as the external environment changes.
Simona Fumagalli
Country Manager, Insurance, Italy
Marine illustrates this particularly well because it is a highly specialist class. You need to understand cargo profiles, trade routes, logistics processes, storage exposures and accumulation risk. In the current environment, technical depth and experience are critical.
I would be cautious about drawing a hard line. In a more volatile world, what becomes increasingly important is the distinction between well-managed risks and more challenging exposures.
Insurability depends on the quality of information, the nature of the exposure, the risk management measures in place and the ability to structure a sustainable solution. That is why close dialogue with clients and brokers is so important. Frequent exchange helps ensure that exposures are assessed as accurately as possible and that solutions remain appropriate over time.
Underwriting discipline is essential. Insurers need to be clear on risk assessment, risk selection and the long-term sustainability of the solutions they provide. But the role of the underwriter is not simply to say yes or no. It is to understand the risk, engage with the client and broker, and explore whether there is a viable and sustainable way to support that exposure.
In today’s environment, the underwriter’s role is becoming more important, not less. It requires discipline, expertise and constant dialogue, especially in specialist areas such as Marine.
As Italy’s risk landscape evolves, Simona Fumagalli explains how Sompo combines local insight with global expertise.
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We are Sompo, a global provider of commercial and consumer property, casualty, and specialty insurance and reinsurance. Building on the 138 years of innovation of our parent company, Sompo Holdings, Inc., Sompo employs approximately 10,000 people around the world who use their in-depth knowledge and expertise to help simplify and resolve your complex challenges. Because when you choose Sompo, you choose The Ease of Expertise™.
“Sompo” refers to the brand under which Sompo International Holdings Ltd., a Bermuda-based holding company, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, operates its global property and casualty (re)insurance businesses. Sompo International Holdings Ltd. is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Sompo Holdings, Inc., one of the leading property and casualty groups in the world with excellent financial strength as evidenced by ratings of A+ (Superior) from A.M. Best (XV size category) and A+ (Strong) from Standard & Poor’s. Shares of Sompo Holdings, Inc. are listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
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