Banyan Risk expands into US E&S casualty with Alan Rodrigues to lead

Banyan Risk has expanded its casualty platform into the US excess and surplus (E&S) market with backing from Accredited Specialty Insurance Company. A dedicated US casualty underwriting team will be led by Alan Rodrigues (pictured left), chief executive officer of global casualty, with plans to recruit experienced underwriters across the country.

The expansion extends Banyan’s casualty business, which began in 2024 when Rodrigues joined to establish its Bermuda excess liability operation. The company plans to broaden distribution, product capabilities and geographic reach as it develops its US portfolio.

Accredited Specialty, part of Accredited America, will provide insurance capacity for the new offering.

Banyan’s wider strategy is to add specialist underwriting businesses to a shared operating platform, with potential growth areas including additional property lines, further casualty expansion and other specialty classes. The company intends to use its existing infrastructure, technology, data and capacity relationships to support growth.

US E&S premiums reached $105.31 billion in 2025, up 7.8% year-on-year, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis published in April 2026. Liability and casualty coverages accounted for 54.9% of E&S premiums that year.

Risk Placement Services reported that overall E&S premiums increased 13.2% year-on-year to $46.2 billion in the first half of 2025, with casualty representing more than 52% of direct premiums written in the segment.

Tim Usher-Jones (pictured right), co-chief executive of Banyan Risk, said: “For the last five years, we have deliberately invested in building the chassis of Banyan before trying to maximize scale. We have built out the underwriting leadership, operating infrastructure, technology, data, controls, and carrier relationships needed to grow a stable multi-line MGA. We believe that foundation now gives us the ability to expand with credibility and discipline. US E&S casualty is a natural next step: it is a large, sophisticated market where specialist judgment matters, and Alan has the experience and leadership to build it the right way.”

He added: “Rising loss severity, social inflation, litigation financing and changing admitted-market appetite are increasing the need for specialist underwriting, technical pricing and flexible E&S solutions. We believe those conditions create an attractive environment for disciplined long-term growth rather than growth for its own sake. The U.S. casualty business will combine experienced underwriting judgment with Banyan’s data-driven, technology-enabled operating model, using portfolio analytics and structured underwriting workflows to support consistent risk selection and scalable execution.”

Rodrigues said: “Casualty is a market where experience, patience and technical discipline matter enormously. Loss costs continue to evolve, and the best opportunities are not created by simply adding capacity; they come from understanding the underlying risk, selecting the right attachments, and structures, and maintaining consistency through the cycle. We have built a strong casualty platform in Bermuda, and I am excited to extend that capability into the US E&S market and to continue adding talented underwriters across the country.”

Grace Meek, president of Accredited America, said: “Banyan’s approach is closely aligned with what we look for in specialist underwriting partners: experienced teams, disciplined risk selection and a commitment to building sustainable, high-quality programs. We are pleased to support Banyan’s expansion into U.S. E&S casualty and look forward to working with Alan and the broader Banyan team as they build the portfolio.”

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