Inigo completes $800m capital raise ahead of 2021 London launch
Inigo, the new insurance group being founded by former Hiscox chief underwriting officer Richard Watson, has completed a capital raise of approximately $800 million from a consortium of global investors.
The consortium includes funds controlled by Enstar, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, JC Flowers & Co, Oak Hill Advisors, Qatar Investment Authority, Stone Point and Inigo’s management team.
Watson stepped down from Hiscox last year after 33 years. Inigo’s other founders include Russell Merrett, the former managing director of Hiscox London Market, and Stuart Bridges, the former chief financial officer of both Hiscox and ICAP. It has also named Howard Davie, the chairman of NatWest Group and former chairman of both the Financial Services Authority and the Phoenix Group, as its chairman.
With the new funds Inigo is on schedule to open for business in the 2021 year of account, subject to approvals from the Corporation of Lloyd’s.
Inigo, which will be based principally in London, has also signed an agreement to acquire certain insurance underwriting assets of StarStone Underwriting, including its Lloyd’s Syndicate 1301 and its managing agency, from Enstar Group, subject to regulatory approvals. These will form the foundation for Inigo’s operations as a specialty insurer, writing a streamlined portfolio of re/insurance risks. No legacy underwriting will be transferred to Inigo.
Watson said he supported efforts to make Lloyd’s a more attractive and efficient place to trade. “We believe that 2021 will mark the beginning of an exciting growth phase for Lloyd’s and the London Insurance Market and Inigo will contribute to growing the specialty and reinsurance marketplace, as it returns to profitability,” he added.
