Beazley Opens Up Shop in U.S. for Specialty Lines

London-based Beazley has started underwriting specialty lines business locally in the U.S. on behalf of its syndicates at Lloyd’s.

The opening of its office in Farmington, Conn. is part of Beazley’s plans to enhance its access to the U.S. market.

The move follows Beazley’s announcement last November of plans to acquire Omaha Property and Casualty Insurance Company, a 50 state U.S. admitted insurer. The next stage in Beazley’s U.S. strategy is to start writing admitted business, which is on track to commence later this year.

The specialty lines team will focus on providing national coverage for risks with which Beazley is already familiar. The team will write errors and omissions, directors and officers, employment practices liability, fiduciary liability and fidelity risks.

Andrew Beazley, chief executive of Beazley, said: “Our aim is to become the premier U.S. insurance provider for small and middle-market specialty lines business in our target areas. I am confident that the combination of an experienced team of underwriters, superior service and a comprehensive product range will enable Beazley USA to bring significant levels of new business to the Beazley Group.”

Nicholas Bozzo, head of Beazley’s specialty lines for the U.S. operation, joined Beazley from AXIS U.S. Insurance Company, where he was senior vice president of underwriting. He is accompanied by regional underwriting managers Susan Yeager, Densel White, Paul Bunone and Jim Seymour as well as by Carrie Brodzinski, who is leading Beazley USA’s employment practices and fiduciary liability product lines.

“Beazley already has a strong track record in these risk categories, writing U.S. $628 million in specialty lines. I believe our hiring of experienced, senior underwriters to focus solely on the middle and small customer segments of the specialty lines market, where senior underwriting expertise has been lacking, will be an important differentiator in the marketplace,” Bozzo said.

The specialty lines team joins the group’s property team, headed by King Flynn, which started writing surplus lines business last December.

Beazley is a specialist insurance business, headquartered in London and founded in 1986. Beazley manages two Lloyd’s syndicates (Syndicate 2623 and Syndicate 623) with aggregate underwriting capacity in 2005 $1.41 billion. The Beazley syndicates focus on specialist risk business in selected marine and non-marine markets, including commercial property, retail and personal lines, reinsurance, marine and specialty products. Beazley maintains an A rating for both syndicates.

Topics USA Excess Surplus Underwriting