Beazley Group Adds U.S. Builders Risk, Engineered Risk Capabilities

Beazley Group plc, an insurer of construction and engineering risks in the Lloyd’s market, has established a builders risk and engineered risk capability in the United States.

Builders risk, commonly known as contractors all risks (CAR) and erection all risks (EAR) outside the U.S., has been a growth market for company in recent years, according to Beazley. In late 2006, the group established a team in Singapore to underwrite risks that would not normally be seen by underwriters based in London. The U.S. Beazley team will similarly focus on risks that normally remain in the domestic market.

The new operation will be headed by Mark Gadaire, a senior underwriter with more than 25 years experience. Gadaire will initially be underwriting risks on a surplus lines basis for the account of Beazley’s Lloyd’s syndicates. Later this year the group plans to begin underwriting builders risk insurance on an admitted basis in the U.S. for the account of Beazley Insurance Co. Inc., the group’s A.M. Best “A” rated U.S. insurance company.

Gadaire joins Beazley from ACE, where he was national practice leader for builders risk on the global property team. Prior to joining ACE in 2003, he served as a senior engineering underwriter at XL Global Risk, based in Stamford, Conn. He began his insurance career as a field engineer and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

The focus of Beazley’s new team will be U.S. clients. The team will underwrite: contractors all risks (CAR), covering the construction of buildings as well as certain types of civil engineering projects; erection all risks (EAR), covering the installation, assembly, erection and testing and commissioning of plant and machinery; and completed civils, which provides operational property coverage for bridges and tunnels.

Beazley’s has recently expanded in other areas in the U.S. property insurance business. Last month, Beazley announced an agreement to acquire First State Management Group Inc., an underwriting manager focusing on surplus lines commercial property risks, from The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.

Mark Bernacki, head of Beazley’s Property Group division in the US, said: “We are currently expanding on all fronts. Just three years after we first established a local underwriting capability in the U.S., our offerings now comprise commercial property insurance on both an admitted and non-admitted basis; builders risk and engineering insurance; high value homeowners insurance on a non-admitted basis; and transportation insurance, also non-admitted.”

Source: Beazley Group

Topics USA Underwriting Property