Specialty E&S Insurer Upland Capital Makes Its Debut

Upland Capital Group has become the latest specialty insurance business in the marketplace.

The Dallas-based operation plans to offer a diversified portfolio of excess and surplus lines casualty, property, and specialty insurance products, with an initial focus on excess casualty products distributed through select wholesale brokers. Its founders are veterans of Hallmark Financial Services and Narraganset Bay Insurance Company.

Upland is backed by an equity investment of up to $200 million from Newlight Partners, a growth equity investor, with the company’s executive management team providing additional capital, according to the announcement. Plans call for using the initial financing to support Upland’s build-out and growth plans.

Upland’s founding executives:

• Todd Hart, Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer: Hart is a 30-plus year financial services industry veteran, most recently as the CEO of Rhode Island-based Narraganset Bay Insurance Company.
• James Damonte, President of Insurance Operations and Chief Underwriting Officer: Damonte is a 20-year veteran specialty insurance underwriter and has spent the bulk of his career in executive leadership roles at Hallmark Financial Services and several other companies.
• Mark Morrison, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer: Morrison brings over 35 years of industry experience, including 14 years as the President & Chief Executive Officer of specialty insurance carriers Hallmark Financial Services and Associates Insurance Company.
• Pamela Byron-Button, Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer: Byron-Button is 30-year insurance industry veteran and most recently served as the Vice President of Service Operations at Narragansett Bay Insurance Company.

“From top to bottom, we have assembled a highly experienced, accomplished team of talented executives at Upland Capital Group,” Hart said in prepared remarks. “Key to success is that our core executive group have all worked together, developed relationships built on trust and mutual respect and bring complementary skill sets. We intend to build a company based on our core values of culture, service and support, combined with modern problem-solving to provide solutions to our customer’s specialty insurance needs and requirements.”

Upland was founded in 2020.

Source: Upland Capital Group