Randall & Quilter partners with Orchid Underwriters Agency

Non-life legacy business specialist Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings has joined forces with Florida-based Orchid Underwriters Agency, one of the largest underwriters of catastrophe-exposed property insurance in the United States.

The risk sharing agreement between Orchid and R&Q group’s excess and surplus lines (E&S) business R&Q Accredited America (Accredited) allows the companies to direct fresh personal lines capacity to coastal markets. Such markets were “under significant strain from recent catastrophic events”, noted Steven Carlsen, Orchid’s CEO.

“The frequency of severe coastal events is challenging for everyone, from insureds and their agents all the way through to carriers and their reinsurance backers,” he said. “The creativity of our two companies has led to a program that will bring flexible solutions to the market in a sustainable way.”

Ross Bowie, Orchid chief underwriter, added: “Our risk sharing partnership with Accredited provides the ability to adjust pricing, structure and deductibles in order to deliver stable and consistent capacity to our agents and their customers... We especially appreciate the support of our reinsurers, who stepped up to back a new program in a difficult market.”

The program will be launched on Orchid’s innovative rating algorithm that adjusts in real-time to account for risk aggregation, protecting the portfolio from unwanted concentrations.

Orchid is the largest personal lines E&S managing general underwriter, providing specialty homeowners insurance for coastal risks in the Gulf, Southeast, and Mid-Atlantic states.

R&Q Accredited announced the formation of its A- AM Best rated E&S business in 2020. Since then, it has built its executive team under CEO Patrick Rastiello and Paul Amrose, property chief underwriting officer.