Japanese Specialty Reinsurer Canopius Expands U.S. Footprint

September 10, 2014

Canopius Group Limited, the global specialty (re)insurance platform of Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Holdings Inc., said it is expanding its U.S. presence with the launch of Canopius Underwriting Agency Inc. (CUAI).

Based in New York, CUAI will underwrite domestic facultative property reinsurance business on behalf of Canopius Syndicates 4444 and 958.

Canopius has hired James McAloon, Timothy Houck, and Daisy Ng, formerly of Citation Re LLC, who will begin underwriting business for CUAI in September. As part of the hiring agreement, CUAI will also provide run-off underwriting services for Citation Re, according to the announcement.

CUAI will form part of Canopius’s Global Property business unit led by Mike Duffy, CEO Global Property.

Incorporated in Guernsey, Canopius was acquired by Sompo Japan this past May as part of an overseas expansion drive by the Japanese carrier. With $90 billion total assets, Sompo ranks as one the top three Japanese insurers.

Canopius underwrites specialty lines business from its operations at Lloyd’s and around the world. It is one of the top 10 insurers in the Lloyd’s insurance market, writing premiums in excess of $1.6 billion.

Canopius Group operates in the U.K., Ireland, Switzerland, Bermuda, U.S., Singapore and Australia. Its operations are organized into three strategic business units: Global Property, Global Specialty and UK Specialty.

The group’s underwriting activities are mainly conducted through its managed syndicates at Lloyd’s: Syndicates 4444 and 958 (composite), Syndicate 260 (motor) and Syndicate 6115 (SPS).

For 2013, Canopius Group’s gross written premiums totaled $1.39 billion, producing an after tax profit for shareholders of $159.88 million.

Canopius says its name is derived from Nathaniel Canopius, a Cretan scholar studying at Oxford who is reputed to have brewed the first cup of coffee in England in 1637.

Topics USA Excess Surplus Underwriting Reinsurance Japan

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