Startup Specialty Insurer Pinion Gets Green Light to Acquire Catlin

Pinion US Holdings LLC announced it has received regulatory approval from the Oklahoma Insurance Department to acquire Catlin Specialty Insurance Co., a U.S. eligible excess and surplus lines writer. Catlin, formerly owned by AX XL, was acquired by Applied Underwriters in 2022 and consolidated into Applied’s North American Casualty group of companies. To effect that acquisition, Delaware and Oklahoma regulators agreed to redomesticate Catlin from Delaware to Oklahoma so that Oklahoma’s insurance business transfer (IBT) process could be used to transfer blocks of insurance business from one insurer to another. That allowed Applied to acquire Catlin as a shell. The acquirer is the U.S. subsidiary of Bermuda-based Pinion Holdings Ltd. Pinion Insurance launched in February with a commitment of up to $180 million from global asset management firm Barings. The company plans to offer insurance capacity for managing general agents (MGAs) across the U.S., U.K. and European markets. Pinion is seeking multi-jurisdictional licenses in the U.S., U.K. and the European Union and a rating from AM Best. Pinion Insurance Launches With Up to $180 Million Commitment From Barings Gary Maier, U.S. chief executive officer of Pinion Insurance, said the company believes that its “combination of capacity, technology, and partnership can create a materially better experience for MGAs.” He said the Oklahoma regulatory approval establishes the regulated infrastructure that will underpin Pinion’s U.S. underwriting strategy and support its ambitions for long-term growth. Pinion said it is already n active discussions with specialist MGAs across a range of U.S. specialty classes. “We have built a strong pipeline of opportunities; we now have the team and capabilities lined up to begin converting that pipeline into long-term underwriting partnerships,” said Kyle Selvig, U.S. chief underwriting officer. Pinion is incorporated in Bermuda and is headquartered in London. Founded by an experienced management team of Neil McConachie, Philip Vandoninck and Laura Baird. McConachie was part of the founding management teams at Fidelis Insurance Group, Lancashire Holdings and Montpelier Re. Vandoninck most recently served as CEO and CUO of Fidelis Bermuda. He began his career at Hiscox. Baird has held senior roles at McGill & Partners, Ed Broking and Allied World. She began her career in actuarial pricing and reserving at Travelers and Co-operative General Insurance before moving into analytics roles. Pinion’s specialty insurance carrier is built on the foundations of Pinion Risk Consulting (PRC), a data and analytics firm in the MGA sector founded and led by Baird. Topics InsurTech Mergers & Acquisitions Carriers Excess Surplus Was this article valuable? Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article. Thank you! % of people found this article valuable. Please tell us what you liked about it. Here are more articles you may enjoy.