Paragon adds Bustillo to board and targets E&S growth opportunities
Expansive MGA Paragon Insurance Holdings has added former BMS Intermediaries CEO Andrew Bustillo as non-executive director to work with its management team on growth opportunities including in the E&S space, The Insurer can reveal.
According to sources, Bustillo, who left his most recent position as US vice chairman of BMS at the end of 2020, will work closely with Paragon CEO Ron Ganiats in a relatively hands-on role.
As previously reported, the executive officially retired from the reinsurance broker to focus on charity work. In particular, he has been heavily involved with Covenant House, a non-profit that has strong industry support.
Bustillo was also expected to retain an active interest in the sector, however, after a career spanning more than 35 years, including senior roles at Benfield and Guy Carpenter.
He was a driver of transformation and growth in BMS’ US operations that helped set the platform for its parent to secure significant backing from British Columbia Investment Management Corporation and Preservation Capital Partners in October 2019.
Paragon was a client of Bustillo and continues to be a client of BMS, which is now led in the US by president and CEO Pete Chandler.
It is thought that as well as working on growth opportunities in the E&S space, Bustillo will assist in coordinating reinsurance placements and bringing market relationships to the MGA.
E&S strategy
Paragon – which is part of Galway Holdings LLC, which also owns Epic and wholesaler JenCap – has largely focused on building in the admitted market in the US. It has an estimated $400mn of premium across its admitted programs sourced through retail agents.
It has already begun to make active moves into the non-admitted space, including with the hire of Christian Phillips from Beazley to enter the fast-hardening contingency marketplace in a move first revealed by this publication.
And sources said that the MGA platform is expected to add more underwriting talent across a number of other E&S lines of business and niche specialty segments within them as it builds out its business.
That could include areas like primary general liability or excess property as well as specific program segments where it is able to attract talented personnel.
It is also expected to continue to opportunistically look at transactions similar to its 2020 acquisition of Trident Public Risk from Argo, which saw it retain a carrier relationship with the Bermudian for the business.
Paragon has the advantage of being able to tap growing distribution channels through consolidating retail and wholesale platforms Epic and JenCap.
Paragon was not immediately available for comment on this article.