Ambac has revealed that its specialty P&C insurance production, which includes gross written premiums (GWP) by its Specialty P&C Insurance segment, Everspan, and premiums placed by the Insurance Distribution segment, totalled $260 million in the third quarter of 2024, an 86.2% increase compared to the same period last year.
The firm’s total GWP in Q3 2024 was $113.6 million, marking a 43% increase from $79.6 million in Q3 2023. Ambac’s Specialty P&C Insurance segment generated $115.2 million in GWP, up 49% from $77.5 million in the prior year.
The specialty P&C insurance segment also reported $32.8 million in net premiums written (NPW) for the quarter, a 32% increase from $24.8 million in Q3 2023. The substantial growth in both GWP and NPW is attributed to Everspan’s continued addition of new programs and the scaling of existing ones.
Everspan’s total revenue surged by 158% in Q3 2024, rising to $40.1 million from $15.5 million in the same period last year.
Moreover, the segment’s losses and loss expenses increased by 115%, growing from $9.5 million to $20.4 million.
While the combined ratio for the specialty P&C insurance segment improved from 106.5% to 100.5% in Q3 2024, underwriting remains in unprofitable territory. However, the business produced pretax income of $8.9 million, a stark improvement year-on-year.
Although, Everspan’s profit was more than offset by a loss of $7.9 million in insurance distribution, and a loss of $9.4 million in the legacy financial guarantee insurance segment.
Overall, Ambac has reported a net loss of $27.5 million for the third quarter, down on last year’s gain of $65.9 million, despite a rise in net investment income to $38 million from $30.4 million.
Claude LeBlanc, President and CEO, stated, “During the quarter we closed the acquisition of Beat Capital Partners, which sets the stage for our distribution business to exceed $1 billion of premium placed in 2025. Further to the Beat acquisition, we had an extraordinary period with the announcement of three new MGAs, increasing our total to 19, up from 5 last quarter, and up from 16 at the close of the Beat acquisition. Since acquiring Beat, the pipeline for new opportunities has materially expanded, highlighting the position of our combined platforms as a premier destination for best in class underwriters and MGAs. Furthermore, I am pleased with the underwriting trend at Everspan, which improved its combined ratio by 600 basis points in the quarter on its way towards achieving an attractive return profile.”
LeBlanc continued, “I am also extremely pleased by the overwhelming shareholder support we received for the sale of our Legacy Financial Guarantee business. In addition, with PRA approving the sale, we have only one remaining necessary regulatory approval, the Wisconsin OCI, which is expected to happen later this year or early next year. The Board has also approved an acceleration of our previously announced $50 million share buy-back program, in advance of the close of the sale of the Legacy Financial Guarantee Business, which we will commence immediately. I am looking forward to 2025 when we emerge as a pure-play P&C franchise and I am encouraged by the positive feedback we have received from investors to date.”
