Arch Insurance Europe Acquires the UK Commercial Lines Business of The Ardonagh Group

Business Wire

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Arch Insurance Europe (“Arch”) has announced the purchase of the UK Commercial Lines business owned by The Ardonagh Group and part of its Geo Underwriting (“Geo”) operating segment.

As a large and diversified international insurance group, Arch has a strategy to grow its regional UK presence and deliver underwriting expertise and a strong customer value proposition through an expanded retail distribution network.

The acquisition will give Arch a meaningful presence and an extended office network across the UK that will complement its existing London Market business that is focused on wholesale distribution and delegated authority business.

The transaction is an asset-only deal that includes the renewal rights for Fusion, Arista and Towergate Commercial Underwriting, generating more than £150m of Gross Written Premium in 2017 and focused on writing commercial property, casualty, motor, professional liability, personal accident and travel. Approximately 250 employees will move to Arch as a result of the transaction.

There is minimal overlap with the existing Arch business written in the UK and this transaction provides Arch with access to a leading regional distribution network as a key part of its strategy to build a scalable regional footprint across the UK and Europe, through which it can deliver a broad range of class leading specialty SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) products to its broker partners.

Matt Shulman, President and CEO, Arch Insurance Europe, commented:

“We have a clearly stated strategy to build out our distribution capabilities across the UK and Europe and the acquisition of Geo’s commercial lines business represents an important step in this process, building upon the success of the earlier acquisition of Axiom Underwriting.”

Mr. Shulman added, “By expanding our regional presence with the addition of nine offices we immediately gain scale and presence in our target markets and we can deliver a broader range of specialist insurance solutions through a network of over 2,000 brokers. We are gaining a well-respected and highly experienced team of underwriting and distribution professionals who are perfectly placed to help us build a significant and sustainable business that can meet the growing needs of its clients.

“We look forward to welcoming the new team to Arch. Our balance sheet strength and underwriting track record make us a natural home for them, and we are excited about taking the businesses forward together, under the Arch banner.”

David Ross, CEO of The Ardonagh Group, added:

“In Arch, our general commercial MGA has found a perfect home and will thrive as part of a blue-chip insurer firmly focused on growth and committed to serving UK brokers. Today's news is a testament to all the work done to improve the commercial underwriting brands over the last 18 months and a credit to the dedication of the teams that will join Arch.”

About Arch Insurance Europe

Arch Insurance Europe underwrites specialty lines business through two platforms from its base in London:

Arch Insurance Company (Europe) Limited: Through independent brokers, we provide specialised property and liability insurance programmes to a wide range of industrial and commercial companies and financial institutions. With strong financial strength ratings, we represent a stable alternative for brokers and customers.
Arch Syndicate 2012: Arch Syndicate 2012 is managed by Arch Underwriting at Lloyd’s Ltd, a Lloyd’s managing agent. Our stamp capacity is £200 million for the 2018 year of account.

About Arch Capital Group Ltd.

Arch Capital Group Ltd., a Bermuda-based company with approximately $11.21 billion in capital at September 30, 2018, provides insurance, reinsurance and mortgage insurance on a worldwide basis through its wholly owned subsidiaries.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for forward−looking statements. This release or any other written or oral statements made by or on behalf of Arch Capital Group Ltd. and its subsidiaries may include forward−looking statements, which reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in or incorporated by reference in this release are forward−looking statements.

Forward−looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward−looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe" or "continue" or their negative or variations or similar terminology. Forward−looking statements involve our current assessment of risks and uncertainties. Actual events and results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. A non-exclusive list of the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements includes the following: adverse general economic and market conditions; increased competition; pricing and policy term trends; fluctuations in the actions of rating agencies and our ability to maintain and improve our ratings; investment performance; the loss of key personnel; the adequacy of our loss reserves, severity and/or frequency of losses, greater than expected loss ratios and adverse development on claim and/or claim expense liabilities; greater frequency or severity of unpredictable natural and man-made catastrophic events; the impact of acts of terrorism and acts of war; changes in regulations and/or tax laws in the United States or elsewhere; our ability to successfully integrate, establish and maintain operating procedures as well as integrate the businesses we have acquired or may acquire into the existing operations; changes in accounting principles or policies; material differences between actual and expected assessments for guaranty funds and mandatory pooling arrangements; availability and cost to us of reinsurance to manage our gross and net exposures; the failure of others to meet their obligations to us; and other factors identified in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The foregoing review of important factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with other cautionary statements that are included herein or elsewhere. All subsequent written and oral forward−looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward−looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.