New Lloyd’s-backed MGA launches to shake up transactional risk market
A managing general agent (MGA) specialising in underwriting transactional risk solutions, has announced its market launch today (April 2). It will underwrite transactions in the UK, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, South America, Central America, Australasia and beyond.
Devonshire UW, and its affiliate Devonshire UW Europe GmbH (together, Devonshire Underwriting), have launched a new MGA aimed at “positively disrupting” the transactional risk insurance market.
The MGA will be led by four founders and partners – Natasha Attray, James Dodd, James Fletcher and Charles Turnham – who are specialists in the sector with a collective 30 years of transactional liability underwriting experience as well as over 15 years of professional experience in law and tax.
The company, which is backed by Lloyd’s and a panel of A-rated insurance capacity providers, will provide solutions for large legal risk deals for brokers, corporates, private equity firms, professional advisers and other specialist investors. Devonshire’s products comprise warranty & indemnity (W&I), tax and contingency insurance, with a particular focus on a streamlined, responsive underwriting process.
Headquartered in London, Devonshire will underwrite transactions in the UK, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, South America, Central America, Australasia and beyond. The company is able to deploy an automatic per-risk line size of up to €35,000,000 pursuant to the terms of the delegated authority from its insurance partners.
Devonshire has received the backing of BP Marsh & Partners PLC.
Dan Topping, chief investment officer of BP Marsh, said: “We are pleased to be making this investment in Devonshire, founded by an experienced team of specialists. We are looking forward to working with the team, to enable Devonshire to deliver on their business plan over the coming years”.
Attray, partner, Devonshire, said: “We are incredibly proud to launch Devonshire and believe we will distinguish ourselves through our collective blend of experience and technical expertise with over 30 years of experience in this market. We believe that our proven execution capability and entrepreneurial approach will allow us to offer our clients and brokers an exciting and fresh source of TR solutions.”
Dodd, partner, Devonshire, added: “Our aspiration is to be a market-leading, trusted TR underwriter focusing on challenging legal risks, respected for our deep expertise and execution record, and valued as a key strategic partner for our brokers and clients. Through our agile structure, experience and subject-matter expertise, we believe that we are ideally placed to deliver reliable, responsive solutions for the most demanding TR insurance requirements.”
Fletcher, partner, Devonshire, said: “There is strong momentum in the TR market as a result of many years of resilient M&A activity and a significant upward trajectory in the use of TR products. We are seeing a clear demand for a fresh approach to underwriting and bespoke service as the TR market and the applications of the products continue to evolve. We have strong relationships with brokers across all major jurisdictions and the team incorporates all of the key professional disciplines required for strong underwriting performance within W&I, Tax and Contingency.”
Turnham, partner, Devonshire, added: “At the heart of our business is our ability to demonstrate a responsive, pragmatic approach to broker and client management, policy negotiations and deal timetables which are often extremely tight. This is particularly important in the fast-paced TR market where swift and efficient decision-making is crucial to ensure effective and positive outcomes for brokers and clients. We are particularly excited to be working in partnership with our investor B.P. Marsh and our insurers.”
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