Industrial insurer HDI Global Insurance Co. (HDI) has formed an excess and surplus lines subsidiary, HDI Specialty Insurance Co.
The new platform will “bring European expertise and solutions” to the alternative energy, private public partnerships (P3s), and design-build construction markets, according to Jim Clark, president and chief underwriting officer of HDI Specialty. Clark is also chief underwriting officer of HDI Global.
Dr. Lothar Becker, CEO of both HDI Global Insurance Co. and HDI Specialty, said the expansion into the E&S market compliments the company’s focus on insurance for industrial clients.
The announcement said HDI Specialty is part of the organization’s “strategy to respond to the needs of its international and domestic clients and will be the platform for tailored, speed to market products and coverage for customers with unique risk profiles.”
Clark told Insurance Journal that HDI Specialty will not employ its own underwriting staff but will instead have access to HDI Global’s underwriting talent. Most of HDI’s employees work in the Chicago headquarters; others work in offices in Providence, R.I., Lafayette, La., Los Angeles and Houston.
HDI considered but decided against acquiring an E&S carrier.
“We considered an acquisition but opted for the de novo approach based on what was available in the market,” he told Insurance Journal.
HDI Global SE, with its headquarters in Germany, is part of Talanx Group, which also owns Hannover Re and other re/insurance and financial services brands.
In the United States, HDI Global SE operates with its subsidiary, HDI Global Insurance Co., a commercial property/casualty insurer headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and is licensed in all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
HDI Specialty was incorporated in Illinois in February, according to Illinois Department of Insurance records.
Source: HDI Specialty
*This story appeared previously in our sister publication Insurance Journal.