The Quanta board has decided to cease underwriting or seeking new business and has placed most of its remaining specialty insurance and reinsurance lines into orderly run-off.
The company's Lloyd's syndicate and environmental consulting business, ESC, are not in the run-off plan and will continue to seek new business.
The decision includes the run-off of all of Quanta's remaining US specialty lines, as well as its Bermuda reinsurance operations, and its Quanta Europe subsidiary.
The remaining US specialty insurance lines placed into run-off consist of the program business including the HBW program, professional liability, environmental, fidelity and crime, and structured products.
The decision follows previous exits from property, casualty and marine and aviation reinsurance, technical risk property insurance, surety, trade credit and political risk insurance.
Under an agreement announced today between Quanta and Liberty International Underwriters, Liberty will acquire the renewal rights of Quanta US Holdings Inc's environmental liability business and contemplate hiring certain key staff in this business line.
Quanta may consider similar transactions with additional third parties as it continues to work with its advisers to implement its strategy.
Quanta's chairman, James J Ritchie, said: "While Quanta had made progress in its transition to a specialty lines focused carrier, the decision of AM Best to downgrade Quanta below the A level in March interrupted that effort and significantly impacted our ability to write attractive business.
"After consideration of alternatives, Quanta's Board has made a decision that it believes enables the Company to best protect the value of its capital.
"We also believe this approach offers us the flexibility to support our syndicate in the A rated Lloyd's market and to protect the value of our ESC consulting operation, which provides us with fee-for-service business."
