Hamilton Insurance Group Wraps Up Liberty Mutual Acquisitions

It’s official: London-based Pembroke Managing Agency Limited, including its Lloyd’s platform, as well as Irish carrier Ironshore Europe DAC are now owned by Hamilton Insurance Group. The acquisition from US enterprise Liberty Mutual has been completed, five months on from the definitive agreement signing in March.

“Hamilton has now doubled its total premium base, on a pro forma basis, to US$1.1 billion; achieved scale at Lloyd’s, with total managed stamp capacity of approximately £600 million; added global underwriting and operational talent that further bolsters the Hamilton team; and acquired a Dublin-based platform that provides non-Lloyd’s capabilities and access to the US (via excess and surplus lines licensing and reinsurance permissions) and to EU markets (via passporting rights),” noted the Bermuda-headquartered underwriter.

“The deal also provides Hamilton with opportunities to build out the company’s reinsurance franchise in the US and Europe; establish a leadership position in specialty insurance; further develop its third-party capital management platform; and increase fee-based income by managing third-party capital/syndicates at Lloyd’s.”

The goal, according to Hamilton, is to build a global, diversified specialty insurance and reinsurance franchise. It said the transaction, financial details of which were not disclosed, signifies a transformative step as part of that target. 

Following the completion of the purchase, chief financial officer Jonathan Reiss (pictured) has been appointed as president of Hamilton’s new business unit strategic partnerships. Replacing the Hamilton founding member as group CFO on September 05 is Tony Ursano, who is joining from TigerRisk Partners, LLC where he was president from 2015.

In the interim, Reiss will continue to carry out the chief financial officer function on top of his new position. As strategic partnerships president, he will be in charge not only of developing the strategy and business plan for the company’s strategic partnerships but also overseeing Hamilton Capital Partners. His remit also involves developing proposals for any potential new investment opportunities as well as managing the further development of the group’s third-party business.

Ursano, meanwhile, will bring 32 years of insurance industry and investment banking experience to Hamilton. His credentials include time spent as chief executive of Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (now Willis Towers Watson Securities) and corporate development head for the Willis Group. The incoming CFO is also a Banc of America Securities alumnus.

Lifting the lid on the Liberty Mutual swoop, CEO Pina Albo pointed to the “significant milestone” in the company’s development. She stated: “Many will see this as a Lloyd’s acquisition, and while we have achieved meaningful scale in that market, this deal expands our opportunities far beyond Lloyd’s.

“Our talented team has become even stronger; and we now work in offices spanning a much larger geography. With the addition of our new operations, including Dublin, the US, and Dubai, our ability to attract new clients and partners, and become more relevant to the ones we serve, has increased exponentially.”

Albo added that Hamilton now has key executives in roles that will leverage what the expansion represents.

Commenting on the appointments, she said: “As president, strategic partnerships, Jonathan joins global head, specialty insurance Peter Barrett and Hamilton Re CEO Kathleen Reardon in assuming responsibility for the development of three areas of strategic focus where we see real opportunity for organic and non-organic growth.

“And I’m delighted to welcome Tony Ursano to the Hamilton team. Tony knows Hamilton well, having counseled us on a number of initiatives in his role at TigerRisk Partners. As group CFO, Tony will also be involved in helping to drive the company’s business development and strategic initiatives.”