3 December 2024

Arden Insurance Services has secured a significant growth capital investment from private equity firm FTV Capital, Program Manager can reveal.

According to sources, the New York City-based investor has emerged as the winner in a Dowling Hales-run process to find a new investment partner for the expansive MGA, which has been generating strong profitable growth on its core condo association program.

It has also gained significant traction on recently launched new offerings, including its wildfire commercial property program and innovative parametric solution.

The tech-enabled MGA was launched in 2016 by former Farmers executive Brian Cohen and is thought to have generated underwriting profits running well into the hundreds of millions of dollars for its capacity providers.

Contacted by this publication for comment, Cohen said: “We are thrilled to partner with a firm of FTV Capital’s calibre as we launch the next phase of Arden’s rapid growth. With FTV’s partnership we intend to invest further in our tech stack to institutionalise and scale our industry-leading enhanced underwriting capabilities.”

Details of the consideration to be paid by FTV or the exact size of the stake purchased have not been confirmed.

McDermott Will & Emery represented Arden in the process.

As previously revealed by this publication, the MGA had been in discussions with potential investors since at least April this year as it sought a new backer to come in to support its strong growth trajectory.

At the time, it was reported that Glendale, California-based Arden was working with Dowling Hales on the process and would consider partnering with financial sponsors such as private equity as well as strategic investors including carriers and brokers.

Cohen confirmed that the MGA was not contemplating a full sale and that he has retained a significant stake in the business and will continue to drive its strategy and expansion.

The MGA has carrier relationships with Amerisure and Accelerant and recently secured additional capacity for its core program from TruStage.

AM Best A rated TruStage is the rebranded Cuna Mutual and was brought in to support the continued growth of Arden’s established condo association program to provide property, general liability and crime and fidelity coverages.

Arden offers property limits of up to $250mn with eligible classes including residential condo associations, mixed commercial/residential, mixed residential condos with single-family homes and housing associations.

Partner Mike Vostrizansky, who led the deal for FTV, commented: “As large insurance carriers continue to pull back from the condo association segment, Arden has established itself as a differentiated leader driven by its specialised underwriting capabilities, tech-enabled workflows and strong broker relationships helping it better meet clients’ needs.

“The company has demonstrated impressive performance with strong policy retention rates, transparent risk analysis and industry-leading loss ratios. We have high conviction in Arden’s ability to continue their strong growth and are thrilled to partner with Brian and the talented team at Arden on their mission to deliver innovative insurance solutions to condo associations across the country.”

FTV is an active investor in the insurance industry, with investments including Embroker and flood specialist MGA Neptune.

View this article here: https://www.theinsurer.com/program-manager/news/arden-secures-investment-from-ftv-to-support-growth-2024-12-03/

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