19 September 2016Actuarial & underwriting

Verve created on Castel platform targeted on captive insurance


Verve Risk Partners (Verve) is a new cell created on the Castel Underwriting Agencies (Castel) MGA formation platform to target US professional and management liability risks, focusing on captives and insurance companies.

Verve’s portfolio will include errors and omissions (E&O) and directors and officers (D&O) coverage for rated and non-rated captive, public, private, mutual and insurance companies and risk retention groups, public and private insurance brokers and agents, managing general agents and managing general underwriters, third party administrators and programme and captive managers. The new cell has a capacity provided by a number of Lloyd’s syndicates that have previously supported Verve’s underwriters.

Verve is led by Scott Simmons and Alan Lambert, who are both partners in the business.

Simmons said: “Castel provides us with a comprehensive and robust infrastructure that has enabled us to bring Verve to fruition quickly, and deliver certainty to our capacity providers and wider market stakeholders.”

Lambert continued: “The support afforded within the Castel platform will assist us to deliver controlled and sustainable long-term profitable growth in an underserviced market sector.”

Mark Birrell, chief executive officer of Castel, added: “Scott and Alan bring Castel recognised underwriting expertise, a strong reputation and proven success in their market; our MGA formation platform was developed to support such entrepreneurial underwriters in specialist markets.

“Verve have identified specific coverage and product opportunities and have growth plans that will achieve sustained underwriting profit from this niche market.”
Verve is the fifth cell to be launched on the Castel platform.