M&A

Newly merged Universal Shield targets admitted and E&S growth

The parent of Universal Fire & Casualty Insurance Company (UFCIC) has combined with Shield Indemnity to form P&C holding company Universal Shield Insurance Group in a move that broadens the two carriers’ product offerings and expands their capital deployment capabilities.

Applied Underwriters targets major M&A and organic growth in 2022

Following a highly active 2021, expansive carrier and MGA platform Applied Underwriters has a pipeline of larger scale transactions and is also looking to drive strong organic growth this year, especially in the E&S market.

WSS-XPT confirms S&H Underwriters acquisition

Expansive wholesale consolidation platform XPT has officially announced the acquisition of New England MGA and surplus lines broker S&H Underwriters by its Western Security Surplus (WSS) unit.

One80 acquires Denver-based Hill Program Managers

One80 Intermediaries has acquired Denver, Colorado-based Hill Program Managers, a deal that will deepen the wholesale consolidator platform’s expertise in the oil and gas service industries and expand its professional and pollution coverage offerings.

Argo sells contract binding P&C renewal rights to Selective’s E&S unit

Argo Group International Holdings has continued the refocus of its business with a deal to sell the renewal rights of its contract binding P&C business to Mesa Underwriters Specialty Insurance Company (Music), the E&S subsidiary of Selective Insurance Group.

IMA’s wholesaler Towerstone acquires Jacobs & Associates

IMA Financial Group’s wholesaler platform Towerstone has acquired managing general agent and E&S broker Jacobs & Associates.

SiriusPoint targets path to improved rating: Sankaran

SiriusPoint chairman and CEO Sid Sankaran has welcomed the AM Best affirmation this week that resolved the ratings overhang on the two pre-merger companies and said that if the newly formed (re)insurer executes its strategy it should set itself on a trajectory towards an upgrade over time.

CRC continues binding push with Griffin deal

US wholesaler CRC Group has hired the team and purchased the renewal rights for Houston, Texas-based MGA Griffin General Agency as it continues to build out its binding platform through M&A, The Insurer can reveal.

Galanski lines up Lindsay Goldberg backing for 2021 hybrid start-up

Former Navigators CEO Stan Galanski has lined up private equity backing from Lindsay Goldberg and is working with a team of former colleagues and other industry executives on an E&S start-up that is likely to resemble a hybrid model with an MGA platform and access to its own paper, The Insurer can reveal.

DOXA buys two professional liability brokers

DOXA Insurance Holdings,a consolidator of US MGAs, program administrators and wholesale brokers, has acquired AMS Professional Liability and Allsouth Professional Liability, which are both run by president Boyd Wolf and executive vice president David Gough.

Retail and wholesale M&A to continue, predicts Nationwide E&S’s Clark

Consolidation will continue in both the retail and wholesale broker sectors, although it is unclear exactly how much more can actually be done in the latter market, according to Nationwide E&S president Tom Clark.

Noonan actively seeking “scale-up” E&S opportunity

Former Validus CEO Ed Noonan is in the process of identifying a suitable platform for an E&S play after receiving multiple approaches from potential private equity investors looking to access the fast-hardening market segment, The Insurer can reveal.

All Risks working with Reagan Consulting on sale process

Independent US wholesale broker and MGA platform All Risks is in a sale process advised by Reagan Consulting that is expected to lead to a transaction with a strategic buyer in the intermediary space, The Insurer can reveal.

WSS buys California MGA and E&S broker K&C

XPT-owned Western Security Surplus (WSS) has acquired Santa Ana, California-based managing general agent and surplus lines broker Klein & Costa Insurance Services (K&C).

Westaim Q1 profits leap as it prepares to exit Stephen Way’s HIIG

Canadian holding company Westaim Corp pointed to the “improved pricing” in the US specialty markets enjoyed by HIIG, the insurer that is expected to shortly have a new backer.