Castel’s Square Pegs becomes standalone underwriting cell

Square Pegs, which offers brokers specialist business insurance coverage for complex and unusual SME risks via a dedicated e-trading platform, has become a standalone underwriting cell within  Castel Underwriting Agencies (Castel).

The move is in response to strong profitable business growth since launching as part of Castel’s specialty division in 2019. Square Pegs enables brokers to obtain coverage for more challenging risks, including those with a complicated mixture of trade activities within a business, those operating in “high risk” locations or with non-standard or unusual product types and firms with prior financial difficulties including liquidation or bankruptcy. Brokers use Square Pegs' flexible online trading platform to quote and manage their portfolio of risks that may not fit the acceptance criteria for other insurers.

Square Pegs has also expanded its product range with the launch of Square Pegs Full Business which adds property damage coverage to the existing liability product range for small and micro businesses. Square Pegs Full Business also enables brokers to quote and bind on a wider range of industry sectors including manufacturing, engineering and distribution in addition to the contracting trades for which the Square Pegs is best-known.

The new underwriting cell will continue to be led by Stuart Dickinson, a former head of commercial at Chaucer Insurance (now Markerstudy) with over 30 years’ experience in commercial underwriting.

Commenting on the launch and expanded product range, Stuart Dickinson said: “Square Pegs has seen strong growth on the Castel platform. This reflects both the gap that exists in the market and our drive to make it easier for brokers to access cover for the more complex and unusual needs of SMEs.

“Our launch as a standalone underwriting cell within Castel means we can continue growing our portfolio as we have done today with a new combined commercial product, enhancing our offering to more brokers looking for coverage solutions for their clients’ often more difficult to place risks.”

Mark Birrell, chief executive of Castel, said: “The success of Stuart and the team demonstrates how Castel can support entrepreneurial and expert underwriters to launch and grow specialty businesses quickly. We will continue in invest in Square Pegs to ensure they can build on this success and create a sustainable and profitable business meeting a clear need for specialist coverage.”

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