BROOMFIELD, Colo. & HAMILTON, Bermuda--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ICAT Syndicate 4242 at Lloyd’s, a leading U.S. catastrophe-exposed property underwriter, and Neon, a specialist Lloyd’s underwriter, have partnered in a reciprocal capacity arrangement to bring additional per risk capacity to the Bermuda Property D&F market. This strategic partnership leverages the highly specialized and disciplined underwriting talent of both insurers and allows both underwriters to share a portion of one another’s portfolios.
This arrangement now allows Neon to offer up to $40m per account on properties underwritten from the Bermuda office and ICAT Syndicate 4242 now delegates authority to Neon to underwrite larger property schedules.
Neon’s Bermuda office, which is led by Chris Fisher and is an approved coverholder for Neon Syndicate 2468, opened in mid-2016 and provides access to both the local and US markets as Neon expands its international footprint. Neon Bermuda currently focuses on writing direct and facultative property insurance on a global basis and has intentions to launch new product lines as the office expands.
For ICAT Syndicate 4242, this transaction represents the first step in diversifying its portfolio towards short-tail business underwritten outside of ICAT. ICAT Syndicate 4242 continues to be a top performer in the Lloyd’s market and is on track to write $172m GWP in 2016 with an average combined ratio of 78.3% since inception.
This partnership builds on an existing relationship between the businesses in which Neon delegates authority to ICAT to underwrite Middle Market commercial business in the United States as part of a panel of insurers who provide ICAT up to $150m per risk capacity.
Chris Fisher, Chief Executive of Neon Bermuda and Head of Direct and Facultative Property commented: “The partnership with ICAT Syndicate 4242, which provides us with up to $40m in per-risk catastrophe capacity, will play a key role in supporting our plans to expand our international presence. We are delighted to be the first partner ICAT has selected to underwrite on its behalf and this partnership is truly reflective of the alignment in our approach to high quality underwriting.”
Megan McConnell, Active Underwriter of ICAT Syndicate 4242 commented: “Once our sights were set on identifying underwriting opportunities outside of the CAT-exposed small commercial property space, we quickly realized that Neon offered an opportunity to partner with an organization and underwriter we highly respect. We are excited to work closely with Chris Fisher and his Neon team knowing that, like Syndicate 4242, they value business with high data quality and transparency of risk, while allowing us to capture business we don’t write today.”
About ICAT
ICAT was founded in 1998 with the goal of helping homeowners and business owners in hurricane- and earthquake-prone regions of the United States recover from natural disasters. Business is produced in partnership with select retail agents and wholesale brokers.
ICAT is an underwriter at Lloyd’s of London through ICAT Syndicate 4242, managed by Asta Managing Agency and rated “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best Company and “A+” (Strong) by Standard & Poor’s. ICAT Syndicate 4242 has been a top performer in the Lloyd’s market over its ten years of underwriting at Lloyd’s. ICAT also underwrites on behalf of other U.S.-based insurance companies and other syndicates at Lloyd’s of London. Boulder Claims, a subsidiary of ICAT, has successfully managed more than 12,000 catastrophe claims since its founding in 2005, including those from Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Katrina, Dolly, Ike, Isaac and Sandy. For more information, visit www.icat.com.
About Neon
Neon is a dynamic, global insurer operating in the specialist Lloyd’s market, committed to offering innovative risk solutions and proactively creating bespoke coverage for its clients.
Neon is highly experienced in underwriting a diverse range of property, specialty, casualty and marine risks on a direct and reinsurance basis, as well as through delegated authorities. Neon is headquartered in Gracechurch Street, London, UK. The registered company name for the main regulated entity is Neon Underwriting Limited.
Neon is a member of Great American Insurance Group. The members of Great American Insurance Group are subsidiaries of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) an insurance holding company, based in Cincinnati, Ohio with assets of approximately US$50 billion.
For more information, please visit www.neonuw.com, @Neon_UW, https://www.linkedin.com/company/neonuw/