Bishop Street Underwriters rollout incubator for developing MGAs

Bishop Street Underwriters has launched an incubator for developing MGAs embedded within the Bishop Street platform.

Called Bishop Street Program Managers (BPSM), the initiative will partner with entrepreneurial underwriters to capitalise on emergent trends across the insurance industry and jump start the launch of specialty MGAs.

The programme will also provide the infrastructure, back-office capabilities, capital capacity and insurer relationships necessary to grow.

Chad Levine, chief executive at Bishop Street, said: “Our proven track record in M&A to date has created the ideal foundation for a platform that can bring quality MGAs to market at speed, supported by cross-platform resources and technology.

“As we focus on accelerating growth and building long-term value across the portfolio, we’re pleased to roll out BPSM as a complementary offering to help launch the MGAs of the future.”

Leadership hires

To support the rollout of BSPM, Bishop Street announced a series of executive leadership hires including Luke Porter as president, Andrew Shrout as chief strategy officer and Dan Latinsky as chief risk officer.

Porter said: “Operating within the Bishop Street platform truly makes our incubator program unique in the de novo space.

“With established insurer relationships, multifaceted leadership expertise and a myriad of distribution opportunities, we take the grunt work out of launching a specialty MGA. I look forward to helping entrepreneurial underwriters own their niche — launching fully operational programmes faster, more efficiently and with advanced data, compliance and distribution tools built in from day one.”

Mike Zabik, partner at RedBird Capital Partners, which owns Bishop Street, added: “Looking across the Bishop Street portfolio from a macro perspective, establishing incubator capabilities is the logical next step as the firm continues to execute on innovative growth strategies and initiatives.

“The addition of Porter, Shrout and Latinsky enhances Bishop Street’s best-in-class team with market-specific specialised expertise to support sustainable long-term growth.”