Launch of Sevanta expands The Fidelis Partnership’s casualty footprint, but casualty business remains beyond the risk appetite of Fidelis Insurance Group itself.
Pine Walk, the specialist MGA subsidiary of The Fidelis Partnership has announced the launch of Sevanta Specialty Liability, a new international casualty managing general agent (MGA).
Sevanta will focus on niche international specialty liability, The Fidelis Partnership said, writing business on both a primary and excess basis across a global portfolio.
Sevanta is Pine Walk’s first casualty MGA and aligns with The Fidelis Partnership’s strategy to selectively expand its niche specialty liability product offering in 2025, said the company, which is itself the MGA arm of re/insurer Fidelis, with capacity coming from third party providers.
The firm said it builds on its existing experience and leadership in liability lines embedded in aviation, energy and marine classes.
Jon Hiller, formerly head of international casualty at Sompo International, will lead Sevanta.
He is joined by senior underwriter George Hutton, previously a portfolio manager in Sompo’s wholesale and specialty casualty unit.
Together, they bring to Sevanta over 30 years of underwriting experience across Lloyd’s, London and International markets, the firm said.
Founded in 2017, Pine Walk has established 12 MGAs, providing underwriting, operational and regulatory frameworks to support them.
In 2024, Pine Walk’s GWP grew by 11% to $0.9bn, the firm said.
“Sevanta is an important and exciting new entrant to the Pine Walk platform which will further enhance our MGA portfolio while broadening the range of product capabilities offered through the TFP platform,” said Rinku Patel, The Fidelis Partnership’s group chief operating officer and CEO of Pine Walk.
“Responding with leadership, expertise and capacity to solve challenges in the market is at the heart of our approach. We now see the opportunity to deliver this in a number of niches in the casualty space, an area we have historically been deliberately underweight.
“We’re delighted to welcome Jon and George, whose multi-decade international experience, deep market expertise and strong broker relationships will be enormous assets to the business. Building out Sevanta’s specialty liability book will further support the growth the Pine Walk platform in line with our expectations to surpass $1bn in GWP this year,” he said.
Jon Hiller added: “The Fidelis Partnership has built an impressive reputation for its appetite and capability to respond to capacity shortfalls when market dislocation occurs.
“Against a challenging backdrop for the international casualty market, characterised by high frequency and severity of claims and well-publicised reserve deficiencies, we see a huge opportunity to meet rising client and broker demand for specialty liability products. George and I are thrilled to be working to launch Sevanta and to be joining the Pine Walk platform on its exceptional growth trajectory.”
Fidelis Insurance Group shared with this publication that while it supports The Fidelis Partnership, casualty is not currently within its own risk appetite.
Dan Burrows, CEO of Fidelis Insurance Group, said: “The Fidelis Partnership remains the cornerstone partner of Fidelis Insurance Group. However, on occasion our risk appetites will vary and, as casualty business is not currently within the appetite of Fidelis Insurance Group, we have chosen not to participate in the Sevanta Pine Walk Cell. This is an example of how the Binder agreement between us and the MGU is working exactly as intended.
“We wish The Fidelis Partnership all the best with the launch of Sevanta. Looking ahead, we continue to see a strong pipeline of opportunity with the Fidelis Partnership, and we are excited about the opportunities to continue to build our underwriting portfolio with them throughout 2025.”
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