AXA XL acquires London-based agency, closes in on Mexican affiliate

AXA XL has completed the acquisition of Secure Legal Title, a London-based insurance agency and Lloyd’s approved coverholder with operations in the UK, Europe, India and the Americas.

SLT was founded in 2012 and provides insurance to cover legal risks in property transactions and mortgage finance. It will continue to operate under its brand and be managed by its co-founders, Sean Dalton, Joel Peck and Jean-Bernard Wurm.

AXA XL has also entered into an agreement to acquire Armour Secure Insurance (ASI), a Mexican title insurance company affiliated with SLT, subject to all applicable regulatory approvals.  Pending completion of the acquisition, SLT and ASI will continue their close collaboration in providing title insurance to the Mexican market.

SLT’s products include title insurance, legal indemnities, and title to shares insurance for real estate merger and acquisition transactions.  Its clients are real estate equity investors and developers, energy and infrastructure investors and developers, and mortgage lenders.

Stephen Ashwell, chief underwriting officer for crisis management and special risks at AXA XL, said: “We expect that the combination of [SLT’s] market-leading expertise and experience with AXA XL’s additional capacity, global network presence and resources will enable SLT to further strengthen its position in this specialised marketplace and present a more attractive proposition to clients of theirs and ours.”

Sean Dalton, SLT’s chairman, said the transaction built on SLT’s long relationship with AXA XL and its insurers, as well as with Lloyd’s in London and in Brussels. “There are natural synergies between AXA XL’s property and casualty business and SLT’s real estate business, and we are confident that our clients will benefit from access to AXA XL’s infrastructure and additional capacity,” he said.