Pelican-backed MGA Tango launches new PL unit with hires from Hiscox/Alpha

Tango Specialty, the recently-launched specialty commercial lines MGA backed by private investment firm Pelican Ventures, has hired a trio of executives from Hiscox USA and one from Alpha Specialty to launch a new professional lines division.

Pelican Ventures is a private investment firm whose founders include Jim Stanard, Rod Fox and Bob Deutsch. It has made several major investments in insurance businesses, including the purchase of Ariel Re in November 2020.

It said the new unit will be dedicated to the growing demands of wholesale brokers for E&S underwriting solutions across a wide range of specialty SME sectors.

The division is led by David Egosi, who joins Tango from Hiscox USA where he was most recently head of professional risks.

Joining Egosi, are Alicia Marsiglia and Drew Kling, both also from Hiscox USA. John Schoerner joins the team from Alpha Specialty, a wholesale-only MGA specializing in real estate developers, contractors, and A&E clients.

Each underwriter brings at least 15 years of individual underwriting expertise, along with a shared underwriting philosophy focused on providing differentiated solutions to the E&S market.

The core product suite will offer up to $5 million of capacity across various sectors, including allied healthcare, senior living, contractors, real estate, A&E, security guards, and other miscellaneous professional services.

“We are delighted to launch this division to support our insurance partners who bring “A” rated capacity to this program,” said Greg Wolyniec, president and CEO of Tango Specialty. “The high caliber of underwriting expertise and the reputations that David and his team have embody the quality of talent that we recruit into Tango.”

As the market continues to experience stronger bifurcation between standard and E&S underwriting solutions, the Tango program will fill the void of fewer PL underwriters dedicated to the E&S marketplace, the company said.

“Our team is focused on building this business over the next 10-15 years, and we want to partner with other underwriters that share our common vision and approach to technical excellence and broker partnership,” said Egosi. “This emphasis also ensures we deliver healthy underwriting margins and disciplined growth over the long term with our insurance capacity partners.”

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