Delos Signs Deal With Avoca To Form Naxos Avondale

NU Online News Service, Aug. 10,3:17 p.m. EDT

New York-based specialty insurer Delos Insurance Group said it has signed a joint venture agreement with Avoca Insurance Holdings to form a new specialty underwriting management company. Transaction terms were not released.

The announcement said the newly formed underwriting management company will be named Naxos Avondale Specialty Casualty Inc., and its aim will be to enhance Delos' underwriting and service capabilities in the specialty casualty excess and surplus lines market.

Under terms of the agreement, Naxos Avondale will be the exclusive excess and surplus lines underwriting manager for Naxos Insurance Company, the wholly owned E&S subsidiary of Delos Insurance Group.

Naxos Avondale will primarily write a broad range of casualty classes with a focus on small to midsize specialty casualty lines of business.

The management team of Naxos Avondale will be led by Chris Maciejewski, named president and chief executive officer. He most recently served as president of Aspen Specialty Insurance Co. and as senior vice president of First State Management Group.

David Lewis, formally of Aspen Specialty and Hartford Specialty, also joins Naxos Avondale as chief underwriting officer. His background includes more than 20 years of E&S casualty underwriting experience.

Boston-based Naxos Avondale will source its business through wholesale brokers. The company will work closely in its distribution efforts with Bermuda-based Avoca's subsidiary Avondale Insurance Associates, led by Peter Coghlan.

"For a strong underwriting company, the specialty casualty segment presents excellent long-term value creation opportunities," said Mr. Maciejewski in a statement. "At Naxos Avondale, our core underwriting approach is based on developing solutions for niche segments supported by our considerable product depth."