IronRock Insurance is growing its business by focusing on technology and efficiency. The company recently moved to a new office and is digitizing its services to attract more clients and keep costs low.

The company’s goal is to increase its market share in the general insurance industry. IronRock aims for “measured growth” and a stronger portfolio of clients, with plans to expand its property insurance offerings.

Despite a recent net loss, the company remains financially sound. The loss was attributed to expansion and a growing portfolio, but IronRock maintains a strong capital base and is confident in its long-term strategy.

IRONROCK Insurance Company Limited is plotting a bigger growth path for the future as it seeks to capture more market share in the competitive general insurance industry.

IronRock is the youngest general insurance company in Jamaica, after being co-founded by Chairman William David McConnell and former Managing Director Richard Evan Thwaites in November 2015. The general insurer, which commenced full operations in March 2016, has since grown its balance sheet to more than $1.81 billion and built a growing cadre of clients in several classes of insurance, which brought in $1.75 billion in insurance revenue during 2024.

“When we first started, I think at one of the AGMs, the former CEO says it takes 10 years for an insurance company to mature. That’s to have a portfolio that’s big enough that can take a significant catastrophe or risk through the portfolio. I think it’s in line where we thought we would be,” McConnell responded on the company’s growth path since inception.

IronRock moved to 33 ½ Hope Road on April 1 to facilitate its growth plans, with the company since adding four new employees to bring its staff count to 22 persons. Recently appointed Chief Executive Officer Christian Watt told investors at the company’s August 19 annual general meeting (AGM) that the ground floor of the company’s new head office is mainly taken up by its information technology (IT) team as they work to further digitise the business. This has been realised through the ability for potential clients to generate quotes and pay their premiums on the company’s website.

“We’re very comfortable where we are. Our growth is a measured growth. We don’t want to grow too quickly because that has its own risk that will bring about,” McConnell added.

Although the company is growing its portfolio of clients it continues to remain in strong compliance with its regulatory metric known as the minimum capital test (MCT) ratio which stood at 302 per cent in December 2024 — twice its 150 per cent regulatory requirement. Whilst the company noted that motor claims for the first six months of 2025 exceeded 2024 levels, Watt noted that this was due to high-value claims rather than increased frequency of accidents. He also referenced the company’s plans to grow its property portfolio in 2025.

“We have a market penetration strategy in place for our next five-year plan which includes the expansion of our head office facilities, expansion of our IT facilities to support that growth, pipeline some product development, and a push to continue the digitisation of the insurance product so that we can keep efficiencies low. IronRock doesn’t have any plans to get to 100 staff members that are bloating the company unnecessarily in terms of cost,” Watt added.

IronRock’s insurance revenue climbed 22 per cent to $1.03 billion in the first six months of 2025 but the company incurred a net loss of $31.42 million compared to a net profit of $232,000 in the prior period. This is due to the company ceding more of its premiums to reinsurers as it grows, along with the recent expansion moves.

IronRock’s asset base grew seven per cent to $1.81 billion, with an investment portfolio of $1.31 billion. Its capital base stood at $781.34 million.

IronRock’s stock price closed Tuesday at $4.99, which leaves the stock up 28 per cent in 2025 with a market capitalisation of $1.07 billion. IronRock will pay a $0.09 dividend — totalling $19.26 million — on August 21 to shareholders on record as of August 7. IronRock has paid out $0.2225 in dividends since 2023. The company listed in March 2016 at $3.