Ironshore announces dual expansion
Ironshore announced this week that it will enter the Bermuda healthcare market with Iron-Starr, just days after news that it had acquired Excess Risk Reinsurance (ERR), a Managing General Underwriter specializing in Employer Stop Loss insurance sector.
Iron-Starr will utilise the vibrant Bermuda healthcare market to provide protection for a broad range of clients including hospitals, long-term care facilities, miscellaneous medical facilities, managed care operators, life science organizations, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, and various allied and physician groups. Susan Pateras will join the company from Integro Insurance Brokers as a senior vice president, healthcare practice leader.
Stuart Anderson, CEO of Iron-Starr, commented: “Bermuda is an exceptionally important market for healthcare entities and brokers seeking innovative product solutions to manage risk exposures within this specialty market sector. Susan has considerable experience in the global healthcare market and will enable Iron-Starr to provide a comprehensive suite of products to the Bermuda and international markets.”
ERR, which will now operate as a full subsidiary of Ironshore, offers Specific and Aggregate Excess Loss Coverage and provides access to nationally recognized transplant networks to meet the specialized insurance needs of self-funded employers through third-party administrators, brokers and consultants. ERR is led by industry veterans Steven M. Parker, president, and David Dausman, executive vice president, who will continue serving in executive leadership positions under the new ownership structure.
Matt Dolan, president of Ironhealth and chief executive officer of ERR, spoke to Bermuda:Re about his the recent acquisition.
How will the acquisition of ERR compliment and expand Ironshore's current business?
The acquisition of ERR complements and expands Ironshore’s business in a few very meaningful ways. As a Specialty Company we offer all types of insurance products to all types of clients across the country. Many of these clients are currently self-insuring their employee healthcare benefits or will be considering the merits of doing so in the future. The acquisition of ERR now allows Ironshore to further expand our relationship with these clients through ERR’s employee stop loss product and service capabilities. In addition, ERR currently insurers a fair amount of hospitals. Within our healthcare practice –IronHealth – we offer a broad range of hospital and healthcare related products, so there is a natural fit.
What attracted Ironshore to the employer stop loss insurance sector, and to ERR particularly?
The Employer Stop Loss Sector is a great fit for our risk portfolio. It’s a good short tail complement to some of our longer tail lines of business. In addition, it allows Ironshore to offer a very relevant product at a time when insureds are being forced to evaluate the cost benefit balance of how they provide and finance healthcare benefits to their employees. We were attracted to ERR because they have an excellent reputation and a proven track record of success in this sector. They are specialists, which culturally is a great fit for us as we very much believe that a big part of our competitive advantage derives from our specialty focus and expertise.
