IQUW completes of Agora purchase

Specialty re/insurer IQUW has completed its acquisition of Agora Syndicate Holdings.

Subject to regulatory and Lloyd’s approval, the deal, as  announced last week, will see Agora’s property direct and facultative and reinsurance business become part of IQUW’s portfolio. Agora’s teams will join IQUW’s property insurance and reinsurance divisions headed by incoming head of property, Simon Jackson, and reinsurance CEO Stephen Young.

IQUW group chief executive officer Peter Bilsby commented: “We have made tremendous progress in the last year as we have continued to build out IQUW into a diverse, multi-line specialty re/insurer. I am delighted to have closed this acquisition, subject to approvals, and to welcome the Agora team to IQUW.

“The opportunity for us to combine Agora’s business with IQUW’s significantly accelerates our growth strategy and allows us to take advantage of a hardening property market at a strategically important time in the cycle. Additionally, we benefit by adding significant strength to the IQUW team, and I am particularly excited to see our full-service property proposition grow and become a lead market for brokers.”

He added: “As we transform IQUW into a business that uses data and intelligent automation to enhance our decisions, we remain acquisitive and continue to look for complementary businesses that can accelerate our growth through product diversification, talent acquisition or technology innovation.”

In July, IQUW  launched a new reinsurance operation in Bermuda led by former Sompo International Reinsurance CEO Stephen Young.