Latest Excess Surplus Headlines

All the headlines from our Excess Surplus Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Update: Radian to Acquire Lloyd’s Syndicate Inigo for $1.7B in Specialty Insurance Push

Sep 18 2025 // Radian Group said on Thursday it would buy UK-based Inigo for $1.7 billion as the U.S. mortgage insurer seeks to transform into a global multi-line specialty insurer, sending its shares up nearly 7%. The Pennsylvania-based...

People Moves: AmTrust Names Fletcher and Thomas to Lead New E&S Premier Group; The Fidelis Partnership Makes Leadership Promotions

Sep 17 2025 // AmTrust Names Fletcher and Thomas to Lead New E&S Premier Group Matt Thomas AmTrust Financial Services Inc., headquartered in New York City, appointed Curt Fletcher as senior vice president and Matt Thomas as vice...

Fidelis Partnership Launches MGA Arenite Specialty for Surety, Credit Risk Insurance

Sep 16 2025 // Pine Walk Capital Ltd., the specialist MGA platform and wholly owned subsidiary of The Fidelis Partnership (TFP), announced the launch of Arenite Specialty to write surety and credit risk insurance. Initially focused on...

AmTrust Expands E&S Division, Spins Off Some MGAs With Blackstone

Sep 16 2025 // AmTrust Financial Services has a busy day on Sept. 15 as it expanded its excess & surplus division to include new lines, appointed leadership, and announced an agreement with Blackstone Credit & Insurance to spin...

Skyward Specialty Names Zitzmann President of Inland Marine, Transactional Property

Sep 15 2025 // Skyward Specialty Insurance Group recruited Christopher Zitzmann as president of Inland Marine and Transactional Property. With more than two decades of experience in the property and inland marine markets, Zitzmann is...

People Moves: AXA XL Promotes Smyth as Global Chief Underwriting Officer, Casualty; Liberty Specialty Markets Taps Zurich’s Weigel as Head of Multinational, Europe

Sep 15 2025 // This edition of International People Moves details appointments at AXA XL and Liberty Specialty Markets (LSM). A summary of these new hires follows here. AXA XL Promotes Smyth as Global Chief Underwriting Officer,...

Fitch Ratings: U.S. E&S Growth Slows but Remains Strong

Sep 12 2025 // Direct written premiums saw double-digit growth for the seventh straight year for U.S. excess and surplus (E&S) insurers, according to Fitch Ratings’ latest annual property/casualty market review. Per a Fitch...

7 Years of Double-Digit Growth; New Players on Top 25 E&S Insurers List

Sep 12 2025 // 2024 marked the 7th straight year of double-digit growth for the U.S. excess and surplus lines market, but the top 25 players no longer command 70 percent of the pie, according to a new report. AM Best’s latest...

Ariel Re Gets ‘In Principle’ Approval From Lloyd’s to Launch Syndicate 2006

Sep 9 2025 // Ariel Re, a global reinsurer with offices in Bermuda, London and Hong Kong, announced it has received “in principle” approval from Lloyd’s to launch a new syndicate. Starting in 2026, Ariel Re will be...

Surplus Lines Market in Review

Sep 8 2025 // After surpassing the $100 billion threshold mark in direct premiums written for the first time in 2023, the surplus lines market grew by another 12.3% in 2024 to just under $130 billion, according to the recently released...

Economy and Surplus Lines

Sep 8 2025 // Global growth is slowing as U.S. tariff policy reduces trade and heightens geopolitical uncertainty. That will lead to decelerating growth in insurance premiums. According to Swiss Re, global GDP growth (adjusted for...

Bigger Piece of the Pie: Surplus Lines Market Hits New Record as Specialty Lines Continue to Grow in Prominence, Market Share

Sep 8 2025 // Whatever line of business, the surplus lines industry continues to play a critical and more prominent role in the property/casualty market. “It’s pretty incredible to have watched what the E&S business has...

Ryan Specialty Launches New Sidecar to Support its Delegated Underwriting

Sep 5 2025 // International specialty insurer Ryan Specialty announced the formation of a new collateralized reinsurance vehicle called Ryan Alternative Capital Re, Ltd. (RAC Re) RAC Re will deliver additional capacity to Ryan Specialty...

Lloyd’s Reports Combined Ratio of 92.5% on Drop in H1 Underwriting Result

Sep 4 2025 // Lloyd’s first half underwriting result dropped by half to £1.5 billion ($2.0 billion) from £3.1 billion ($4.2 billion) in H1 2024, which was driven primarily by claims from January’s California wildfires. The...

Markets/Coverages: Oak Global Launches Retro Syndicate at Lloyd’s

Sep 4 2025 // OAK Global is launching a new strategic business unit, OAK Enterprise, which will be focused on underwriting retrocession business with an appetite for property and specialty classes. The newly formed Lloyd’s...

Markets/Coverages: Willis Launches Specialty Bloodstock Insurance Solution in UK

Sep 2 2025 // Willis, a business of WTW, has launched the first specialty bloodstock insurance solution with Equine MediRecord to make the purchasing of bloodstock insurance more accessible and efficient for horse owners and trainers in...

WV Commissioner Wants Input on What Coverages Should Be on Surplus Lines List

Aug 28 2025 // The West Virginia Office of the Insurance Commissioner is aking for input on what coverages and classes should be on the surplus lines export list. In keeping with state law, agents and brokers hoping to place types of...

Viewpoint: Earthquake Insurance and Surplus Lines: Clarifying a Legal Grey Zone

Aug 28 2025 // The California property insurance market is undergoing a dramatic shift. As admitted carriers restrict their appetite for business in the state—particularly in high-risk zones—surplus lines insurers are increasingly...

People Moves: Aon Commercial Risk Promotes Smaje as Specialty Leader, Transportation & Logistics; MGA Optio Names Deloitte’s Hallett Head of Insurer Partnerships

Aug 22 2025 // This edition of International People Moves details appointments at the broker Aon and the MGA Optio Group. A summary of these new hires follows here. Aon’s Commercial Risk Business Promotes Smaje to Lead...

Pennsylvania Finally Gets Its $200M Slice of Insurance Association’s Surplus Pie

Aug 21 2025 // Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday recently announced a $200 million transfer of funds from the Professional Liability Joint Underwriting Association (JUA) into the state’s general fund. The transfer was the...