US insurers team up to bring trade credit capacity to energy market

US insurers  Crum & Forster and Great American Insurance Company have partnered with specialty managing general underwriter Navitas Assurance Partners to bring “highly rated” trade credit insurance capacity to the North American energy markets.

Crum & Forster’s credit division and Great American’s FCIA trade credit & political risk unit will collaborate to leverage each company’s financial strength and specialty focus on the energy sector to meet pent-up demand for alternative assurance products.

Crum & Forster is a national property, casualty, accident & health insurer, providing specialty insurance products through its admitted and surplus lines insurance companies. FCIA is a division of Great American, an authorised insurer in all 50 states, with over 60 years of experience in writing trade credit insurance.

The energy industry’s use of alternative assurance instruments, such as trade credit insurance and commercial surety coverage, has grown dramatically over the past decade. The commercial transportation, trading, processing, and distribution sectors currently face pressing challenges to meet the assurance requirements necessary to support operational goals, protect the balance sheet, and expand credit thresholds. The new capacity will provide much-needed liquidity to address the growing demand.

“We recognised a void in the energy assurance market in terms of both new, stable capacity and a disciplined approach to underwriting for the energy markets,” explained Daniel Sussman, president of Crum & Forster credit division. “This new relationship leverages the financial strength and proven market recognition of each company, building an integrated platform to serve the energy market.”

Mike Mulvey, FCIA divisional president, commented: “FCIA is pleased to support Navitas Assurance Partners in their pursuit of underwriting credit insurance programs tailored to meet the ever-growing needs of the energy market,” said Mike Mulvey, FCIA Divisional President. FCIA’s decades of credit insurance underwriting, together with the knowledge and skills of Navitas, will create a solid ground to expand the use of credit insurance in the energy market.”

Jay Rose, founder and managing director, Navitas Assurance Partners, said: “New capacity now available through our affiliation with strongly rated insurance carriers reflects our collective commitment to provide liquidity to the energy industry, offering clients a new level of certainty in the North American market.”

Did you get value from this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.