Adam Holberry has left his role as head of alternative risk at Hiscox London Market to start an MGA as a joint venture with Beat Capital Partners, The Insurance Insider can reveal.
The company will be called Brace, and write niche worldwide insurance on a predominantly delegated authority basis on behalf of Beat Syndicate 4242.
It is understood that the firm plans to write between £15mn and £20mn ($19mn and $25mn) of business in its first year, subject to approval from Lloyd’s.
Brace will cover a range of niche, specialist business lines with limited catastrophe exposure that are not covered by standalone insurance segments, including areas of property, casualty, surety and construction.
Brace will initially operate in the Lloyd’s subscription market as a service company of Syndicate 4242 and an appointed representative of Asta Managing Agency.
Beat Capital was launched by former Ariel CEO Tom Milligan in the summer of 2017, with former Willis Re CEO John Cavanagh joining as executive chairman at the beginning of 2018.
It struck a deal to acquire Syndicate 4242 from Paraline in 2018, putting it in a position to put its own paper behind the MGA start-ups it supports.
Other companies it has helped to launch include Geoff Pryor-White's Tarian and Stefan Long’s Chord Re.
Holberry said: “With the experience and relationships within both entities, we believe we can deliver superior client value in the delegated authority space – a richly underserved area for unique or complex risks.”
Cavanagh added that Holberry “represents Beat Capital’s target template of entrepreneurial underwriting talent with an established and market-leading track record”.
Holberry has been head of alternative risk at Hiscox since 2015, and before that served as an international property underwriter.
A spokesperson from Hiscox wished Holberry well in his new venture.