Latest Excess Surplus Headlines

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

Lloyd’s Invests in AI Startup Offering Liability Insurance Platform for Small Businesses

May 9 2019 // Lloyd’s announced it is investing in Layr, a cloud-based commercial insurance platform for small businesses looking to purchase liability insurance. The investment follows Layr’s successful trial in the...

Ohio’s International Excess Taps Brown-Hurtado to Lead Cannabis Division

May 9 2019 // Beachwood, Ohio-based insurance program manager, International Excess, has appointed Kathleen Brown-Hurtado vice president of Specialty Programs. She will be spearheading the company’s Cannabis Insurance...

Ryan Specialty Group to Acquire Wholesaler Atlantic Specialty Lines

May 8 2019 // Ryan Specialty Group has agreed to acquire the assets and operations of Atlantic Specialty Lines, Inc. (ASL), a privately-owned wholesale insurance brokerage headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, with additional locations...

Ryan Specialty Group and Nationwide Form Bermuda Reinsurer, Geneva Re

May 7 2019 // Ryan Specialty Group (RSG) and Nationwide announced they have formed a new Bermuda reinsurance company, Geneva Re Ltd. Columbus, Ohio-headquartered Nationwide will own 50 percent of the venture with RSG and RSG-related...

Explosion at Illinois Plant Leaves 2 Confirmed Dead, 4 Injured, 2 Missing

May 6 2019 // An explosion and fire at an Illinois silicone factory claimed a second victim Saturday when an employee taken to a hospital after the blast died, a local coroner confirmed, and the official death toll is expected to rise...

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Takes Minority Stake in Canopius

May 3 2019 // Canopius AG announced it has entered into a strategic partnership with Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance (SFMI). Under the terms of the transaction, SFMI will become a significant minority investor in Canopius. The...

Ryan Specialty Finalizes Acquisition of International Specialty Insurance of North Carolina

May 3 2019 // Ryan Specialty Group, LLC, has acquired the assets and operations of International Specialty Insurance Services Inc. (ISI), an independently owned managing general underwriter with offices in Winston-Salem, North Carolina....

Insurance Broking Veterans, Led by McGill, Form Specialty Broker, McGill & Partners

May 2 2019 // Insurance broking veteran Steve McGill and a team of insurance industry veterans have partnered with Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm, to launch McGill & Partners, a new specialty risk solutions...

Lloyd’s Aims to Halve Costs as It Modernizes Market Over Next 5 Years

May 1 2019 // Lloyd’s of London plans to halve the cost of buying insurance through the 330-year-old market as part of a strategy to restore the fortunes of the company. Chief Executive Officer John Neal said he planned to cut the...

Industry Veterans Catlin and Brand Launch Specialty Bermuda Re/Insurer Convex Group

Apr 30 2019 // Insurance industry veterans Stephen Catlin and Paul Brand announced they have launched an international specialty insurer and reinsurer, Convex Group Ltd. Convex launches with $1.8 billion of initial committed capital and...

Liberty Specialty Promotes Hall, Wheeler in Specialty Binders Team in London

Apr 29 2019 // Liberty Specialty Markets (LSM), part of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, has made two promotions within its specialty binders team in London. Kerry Hall becomes underwriting manager for property while Richard Wheeler...

Lloyd’s Innovation Drive Faces Headwinds from Some Brokers, Underwriters

Apr 26 2019 // Lloyd’s of London, the world’s oldest insurer of seafaring vessels, is facing its own perfect storm. Old-fashioned business practices, exposure to natural disasters, competition from rival centers and Brexit...

For Specialty Insurance Firm K2, It’s Time for a New Private Equity Backer

Apr 24 2019 // San Diego, Calif.-based K2 Insurance Services LLC is in the process of recapitalizing with a new private equity firm, one of the owners has confirmed. Privately-held K2 is a specialty insurance services holding company...

California Wildfires Helped Drive Homeowners Premium Volume in Surplus Lines

Apr 23 2019 // Wildfires have evidently been driving more Californians into the surplus lines market, pushing up homeowners surplus premium volume to more than $122 million in 2018, according to the Surplus Line Association of...

Axon Underwriting Forms Axon Re to Offer Cargo, Stock Throughput Reinsurance in Latin America

Apr 23 2019 // Axon Underwriting Services LLC, the Somerville, N.J.-based specialty lines program administrator, announced the formation of Axon Re to offer its cargo and stock throughput reinsurance program within the Latin American...

Liberty Specialty Markets Promotes Silvestre to Deputy Manager for France

Apr 23 2019 // Liberty Specialty Markets (LSM), part of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, has promoted Emmanuel Silvestre to deputy general manager of its French operation. He reports to Richard Deguettes, general manager for France. Based...

SLTX: Surplus Lines Insurance Bills Advancing in Texas

Apr 22 2019 // The Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX) reported that several bills that would affect the surplus lines insurance industry in the state have advanced in the state Legislature. HB 1940, relating to the eligibility...

Munich Re Syndicate Singapore Partners with Lloyd’s Coverholder Nectar Specialty Risk

Apr 18 2019 // Munich Re Syndicate Singapore (MRSS) has formed a partnership with Nectar Specialty Risk Pte Ltd. (Nectar), a Singapore incorporated limited liability company and Lloyd’s coverholder that provides tailor-made...

Canopius Signs Agreement to Purchase AmTrust at Lloyd’s

Apr 18 2019 // Canopius AG announced it has signed a definitive sale and purchase agreement to purchase AmTrust at Lloyd’s, a division of AmTrust Financial, subject to regulatory approval. Upon completion, which is expected in Q3...

ProAssurance of Alabama Makes Management Changes; Francis to Lead Healthcare

Apr 17 2019 // ProAssurance Corporation has revised its management structure for its newly formed Specialty P&C operating division. As previously announced, Michael L. Boguski will assume the presidency of Specialty P&C on May...