Topsail Re announces JV with Bishop Street for MGA support

Bishop Street Underwriters has revealed a new collaborative venture with Topsail Reinsurance.

This partnership sees Topsail Re provide benefits to managing general agents (MGAs) and program administrators within the network. It will offer preferred capacity and access to Topsail Re’s underwriting and administrative proficiency.

Additionally, this initiative is designed to boost the development of new primary, fronting, and reinsurance carrier relationships, facilitating the expansion of existing programs, the introduction of new products and programs, and the acquisition of underwriting teams.

Bishop Street primarily collaborates with entrepreneurs, operators, and underwriters across specialized property and casualty (P&C) markets. Launched last year with leadership from CEO Chad Levine and president Chad Weber, Bishop Street benefits from the backing of RedBird Capital Partners.

Levine, with a history of leadership roles at Aon, including as Aon Affinity’s chief strategy officer, has a track record in growth planning and execution within Aon’s portfolio of North American specialty insurance programs.

Levine expressed enthusiasm about the partnership with Topsail Re, emphasizing the strategic use of capacity to support the growth of platform partners and the significance of preferred capacity for MGAs.

“Topsail Re is the ideal first partner for Bishop Street as we continue working with MGAs in the specialty P&C commercial space and is a clear differentiator in the marketplace,” Levine said.

Meanwhile, Weber brings experience as a former managing director at Guy Carpenter’s North America treaty practice, where he was instrumental in leading reinsurance placements and managing relationships with global insurance carriers and MGAs.

Weber noted the synergy between RedBird’s history of company development within the insurance sector, including Constellation Affiliated Partners, and Bishop Street’s multi-boutique platform model.

“The Topsail Re team recognized the potential of what we are building, and we are excited to work together to capitalize on this specialized segment,” Weber said.

Topsail Re CEO David Johnson and managing director Tom Gubash also expressed the company’s commitment to supporting Bishop Street’s diverse range of partners with necessary underwriting, distribution functions, and capital across specialty lines.

“For Topsail Re, this partnership with Bishop Street and RedBird is in direct response to two key factors: our existing partners consistently requesting strategic growth capital in addition to our risk-capital (reinsurance) capacity solutions, as well as our desire to continually evolve alongside our clients by expanding the breadth of our capabilities and partner-first solutions,” they said.

Following the joint venture’s establishment, Johnson and recently appointed Topsail Re chief strategy officer & executive vice president Christopher Miller will join the Bishop Street board of directors, with Gubash serving as a board observer.

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