Fronting & transformer carrier Transverse gets its A- rating

Transverse Insurance Group, a new program and fronting carrier that aims to help facilitate access to risk for insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds and investors, has now received its official A- rating from A.M. Best.

Transverse Insurance has been in development for some time, with an experienced team creating a platform that has utility to both traditional and alternative sources of reinsurance capital.

Describing itself as a property & casualty program carrier, Transverse aims to provide capacity to managing general agents (MGA’s), distribution networks and other insurance companies.

But with an agnostic view as to where the capital comes from, Transverse looks to work with ILS funds and investors, as well as traditional sources of reinsurance capital.

The offering will cover both traditional program fronting relationships and supporting transformer and ILS relationships as well, with risk set to be retained in the Transverse carrier on some programs as well, which could benefit some ILS players looking to less typical risks where an ability of the carrier to retain the tail will be viewed favourably.

A.M. Best has now assigned a Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” to Transverse Insurance Company (Transverse) (Dallas, TX), one of the fronting and risk transformation firms carriers.

A.M Best noted that balance sheet strength is very strong, based on initial financing capacity, but also noted that Transverse will require a period to establish its brand and market position as a fronting and transforming carrier.

Transverse Insurance Group, the parent company, is led by co-founder Erik Matson as Chairman and CEO, who has experience across MGA and underwriting focused businesses, as well as co-founder David Paulsson, an investor with experience allocation to reinsurance sector start-ups, ILS vehicles, and Lloyd’s market access strategies.

Chief Underwriting Officer and Chief Actuary is Ethan Allen, who worked at AIG for almost 16 years, most recently as Executive Vice President for the AIG Programs division.

Head of Business Development is Shane Haverstick, an experienced reinsurance sector executive who previously worked for Third Point Re and who had been a founder of the Greyhawk fronting start-up in recent years.

Jamie Coleman is Head of Regulatory and Compliance and also worked at the Greyhawk program fronting start-up and has been in the insurance sector around three decades.

Alastair Speare-Cole, formerly the CEO of JLT Re, the CUO of Qatar Re, and currently President of Insurance for technology start-up Fractal Industries, is also a non-executive director of Transverse.

As a partner to ILS capital, Transverse will hope to position itself as a bridge between investors or ILS funds and risks, with an ability to help them access areas of the market chain they may previously have been excluded from.

As a result, fronting and risk transformation carriers like Transverse hope to become a piece of the chain that ILS funds and investors rely on, smoothing their access to risk and earning service fees in return.