Allied World Assurance Company Holdings is making an acquisition designed to boost its specialty coverage business involving trade credit and political risk.

The Swiss property/casualty and specialty insurance/reinsurance outfit said it will snatch up Latin American Holdings Ltd. (LAU), which has underwritten those coverages just for Allied World since 2010. Plans also call for Allied World to grab LAU’s underwriting teams in both the U.S. and London.

Neither side is disclosing financial details about the acquisition, which will close pending approval from U.K. regulators. But the deal is a shrewd and targeted move for Allied World, which gets to bring LAU’s “significant trade credit underwriting and marketing expertise” under its own corporate umbrella.

Allied World said it will keep offering its global coverage for short and medium-term credit and political risk insureds, targeting exporters, importers, financial institutions, contractors and investors.

Longer-term, Allied World wants to grow this part of its specialty coverage offerings, Frank D’Orazio, president of the company’s Bermuda and International Insurance arms, said in a prepared statement.

“Bringing them in-house is part of our strategic commitment to building a strong presence in this specialty segment of the market as we continue to build our global franchise,” D’Orazio said.

He added that clients should see “very little change” once the deal closes.

Recently, Allied World also announced plans to pursue opportunities for broad medical facility coverage in the U.S., launching a new product grouping to capitalize on the opportunity.

Source: Allied World Assurance Company Holdings