Inigo CEO Watson hails strong start as StarStone/Enstar deal completes

Inigo, the new Lloyd’s re/insurance group launched in November 2020, has acquired StarStone Underwriting, the Lloyd’s managing agency, as well as the rights to operate Lloyd’s Syndicate 1301 from Enstar.

The completion of the transaction is also marked by the PRA issuing change of control approval, thereby cementing the final part of the process in the creation of Inigo.

Inigo was launched in November 2020 with $800 million in new capital from a consortium of global investors. It was approved by Lloyd’s to start underwriting on the Syndicate 1301 platform from January 2021.

Since then, the group has capitalised on market conditions, setting a stamp capacity of $400m. The book will be split equally across both insurance and reinsurance.

The company has also made a number of senior hires since its launch. Some of the senior executives to join the business include: Stephen Agutter, who joined from AIG as head of claims; Craig Knightley, who joined from Hiscox as head of financial lines and casualty; Yera Patel who joined from AXA XL as head of casualty & financial lines claims and analytics; Sandy Warne who joined from Navigators to lead Inigo’s terrorism and political violence book; Karen Graves who joined from SCOR as COO; and Alice Kaye, who joined as chief of staff from Everest Re.

Richard Watson, CEO of Inigo said: “We are delighted with the start we have made. The support by clients and brokers has been tremendous and we feel very lucky to have the opportunity to be building a business with such strong, and experienced capital behind us. The capacity we bring has allowed our customers to trade forward with confidence, knowing their risks are being covered.

“At a personal level, the best part is bringing together some incredibly talented and driven people; finding and taking risk on younger talent; and creating a culture we can all share. Our plan remains to grow in our chosen areas, focusing on those lines where we can underwrite well and where our capacity is valued.”

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