HSCM & Cornell seek growth for insurtech Vault now acquisition complete

Hudson Structured Capital Management Ltd., investing in insurance and reinsurance as HSCM Bermuda, and private investment firm Cornell Capital LLC, are seeking growth for Vault, their just acquired specialist tech-focused provider of personal insurance to high-net-worth clients.

Hudson Structured, the insurance-linked securities (ILS), reinsurance and transportation investment firm, was an early investor in Vault, taking a stake in the insurtech which operates structured as a Reciprocal Insurance Exchange, a fully licensed managing general agent (MGA) and an excess and surplus (E&S) lines insurer, in collaboration with Allied World Assurance Company Holdings back in 2017.

Hudson Structured and Cornell Capital then entered into an agreement to acquire Vault Holdings, LLC from its owners, and that acquisition has now been completed.

Together, Hudson Structured and Cornell Capital say that they plan to “leverage their capital, network and experience” to drive future growth for insurtech Vault, including through acquisitions.

“Vault has continued to prove its role as a fast-growing disruptor in the personal insurance space,” Henry Cornell, Founder and Senior Partner of Cornell Capital explained. “The Company achieved significant momentum last year and we are pleased to be working with the team to innovate and reshape the sector.”

“Charles and the team at Vault achieved a lot in 2020,” added Michael Millette, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of HSCM. “We have believed in Vault’s business model since the Company launched in 2017, and are delighted to add to our investment to maintain their momentum in the sector.”

Vault saw its full-year revenue increase by 70% in 2020, compared to 2019, surpassing $100 million in written premium in what was only its third year of operations.

The insurtech also expanded its footprint to include 18 U.S. states and now plans to launch its home, auto, collections and excess liability insurance offerings in another 12 states in 2021.

Also in 2020, Vault doubled its employees to 120 across its headquarters in St. Petersburg, office in New York City and remote locations across the United States.

“We closed out a very successful 2020 by achieving all our targeted financial milestones and demonstrated our formula of a superior agent and client experience is resonating in the high-net-worth insurance market,” Charles Williamson, Vault Co-Founder and CEO explained. “We have a strong foundation and ambitious goals for the remainder of 2021, with our expanded footprint providing important portfolio diversification and a more robust set of capabilities for our agents and clients. We look forward to partnering with Cornell Capital and HSCM to leverage their combined industry and operational expertise to continue to build the Vault platform, accelerate growth and pursue value-enhancing acquisition opportunities.”

“Since partnering with Vault in 2018, our agents have seen firsthand how easy and rewarding it is to do business with Vault,” added Joe Clark, Chief Growth Officer for Aon Private Risk Management. “Traditional processes like the claims experience can be time-consuming and complex, but Vault strips away these challenges and simplifies the process. We look forward to continuing this partnership in 2021 and beyond.”

The investment in Vault is another example of Hudson Structured’s broad insurance and reinsurance investment strategy, as it seeks out insurance-linked returns from across the balance-sheet and range of market access points, including those powered by technology.