Fiona met with George Abbott from The Insurer to discuss our European platform growth.
Access the article here: https://www.theinsurer.com/ti/news/bridgehaven-targets-12-mga-partners-for-eu-platform-build-out-2026-09-29/
Bridgehaven is a hybrid fronting carrier for specialty commercial MGAs, and Fiona says the model is landing well. Reinsurers and MGAs are both receptive, and inbound interest is higher than expected.
Main ponts
- Model: Retains up to 20% for alignment (“skin in the game”). Would go 100% fronted only for compelling reasons. Reinsurers need to be rated A- or better, otherwise fully collateralised.
- Multi-year commitments: Offers 3 to 5 year capacity to MGAs, to remove annual renewal uncertainty. Depends on securing matching reinsurance support. No channel conflict, since they don’t write for their own account.
- Reinsurance: Uses brokers, either the MGA’s placing broker or one they appoint. Starts with their existing reinsurer panel, then broadens by line. Reinsurers like the transparency of MGA-by-MGA data, which they don’t get from composites or common-account cessions.
- Pipeline and growth: 12 MGAs shortlisted. Targeting up to 10 in GWP for 2026 and around 150 annualised in the first full underwriting year, then organic growth.
- Business mix: Broad specialty property and casualty, non-standard, some surety. Cautious on start-ups (needs a credible plan and critical mass), credit and cyber (oversupplied, so only specialists with a differentiated angle), and long-tenor, long-limit exposures. Avoids consumer business because of the compliance burden. Motor is hard to make money on (unlimited liability, price-driven aggregators, large balance sheet needed), though reinsurers have appetite.
- Geography: Focus on continental Europe (France, Benelux, Nordics, Spain, Italy, Germany), where domestic markets have real scale. UK colleagues handle UK and international reinsurance business. Central Europe not ruled out, but no opportunities yet.
- Regulation: Irish-authorised, passporting across the EU under freedom of services via the Central Bank of Ireland. She finds the UK regulators (PRA and FCA) trickier than the EU regime and notes they are diverging.
- Competition: Sees new fronting entrants as flattering imitation, playing in a different (broader) sandbox. Alternative capital is on the agenda once scale is reached.
- Sourcing: Deal flow comes from conferences (Barcelona, Monte Carlo, upcoming German events) and from brokers.
- Challenge ahead: Narrowing the pipeline over the next 12 months while putting more people on the road and delivering on commitments.
