A look at the largest Surplus Lines writers in the Commonwealth
The total Direct Written Premium for the Surplus Lines Insurance marketplace in Massachusetts was $764,380,185
A total of 107 insurers write this line of insurance in the Commonwealth
In compiling this list on the Surplus Lines insurance marketplace in Massachusetts a few years ago, this introduction from the Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association, formed in 2017 from two former associations, seemed to be a perfect answer to the questions posed here in the introduction, “What is Surplus Lines insurance?”
Here is what the Association said:
“Often called the “safety valve” of the insurance industry, surplus lines insurers fill the need for coverage in the marketplace by insuring those risks that are declined by the standard underwriting and pricing processes of admitted insurance carriers. With the ability to accommodate a wide variety of risks, the wholesale, specialty, and surplus lines market acts as an effective supplement to the admitted market. According to A.M. Best, 2016 surplus lines premium volume was nearly $42.4 billion and represents a vast number of insureds who, without the surplus lines market, would have a difficult time obtaining insurance, if they were able to secure it at all.
The surplus lines market plays an important role in providing insurance for hard-to-place, unique or high capacity (i.e., high limit) risks. Surplus lines insurers are able to cover unique and hard-to-place risks because, as non-admitted insurers, they can react to market changes and accommodate the unique needs of insureds who are unable to obtain coverage from admitted carriers. This results in cost-effective solutions for consumers that are not “one size fits all,” but are skillfully tailored to meet specific needs for non-standard risks.“
Finally, just a friendly reminder that all of the data discussed here comes courtesy of the Division of Insurance and features the largest writers as of 2018, the latest year for which complete data is available.
Premium and Market Share
Turning to the Surplus lines market here in Massachusetts, there are currently 107 companies that write Surplus lines insurance in Massachusetts. This is one less than the total amount of insurers for the previous year. As for the combined Direct Written Premium total of these 107 insurers, it was $764,380,185. This is a slight increase over 2017 numbers which had the total Direct Written Premium of $706,416,632.
A look at the Top 20 Surplus Lines insurers…
A review of the top 20 Surplus Lines insurers reveals that these companies had a 63.7% share of the marketplace in 2018, with a combined Direct Premium Written total of $486,641,677.
The remaining 87 insurers writing here had a combined Direct Written Premium total of $277,738,508 representing a 36.3% share of the market.
Not one of the top 20 insurers are based in Massachusetts
Unsurprisingly based upon prior reports, there continue to be no Surplus Lines insurance companies who are domiciled in Massachusetts. While Lexington Insurance company’s headquarters are here, the AIG subsidiary is officially domiciled in Delaware. In fact, five out of the top 20 Surplus lines insurers are officially domiciled in Delaware. As for other New England states, only two other insurers are domiciled here in New England. Western World Ins. Co. and North Amer Capacity Ins Co. both are domiciled in New Hampshire.
The Top 20 Surplus Lines Insurers
| NAICS | COMPANY NAME | STATE | MA PREMIUM WRITTEN | MA MARKET SHARE |
| 19437 | 1. Lexington Ins Co | DE | $63,138,283 | 8.26% |
| 36940 | 2. Indian Harbor Ins Co | DE | $43,248,437 | 5.66% |
| 35378 | 3. Evanston Ins Co | IL | $42,676,327 | 5.58% |
| 17370 | 4. Nautilus Ins Co | AZ | $37,524,371 | 4.91% |
| 25445 | 5. Ironshore Specialty Ins Co | AZ | $33,320,067 | 4.36% |
| 20079 | 6. National Fire & Marine Ins Co | NE | $31,226,061 | 4.09% |
| 26883 | 7. AIG Specialty Ins Co | IL | $27,569,780 | 3.61% |
| 41297 | 8. Scottsdale Ins Co | OH | $24,279,819 | 3.18% |
| 27960 | 9. Illinois Union Ins Co | IL | $21,143,829 | 2.77% |
| 12203 | 10. James River Ins Co | OH | $19,757,604 | 2.58% |
| 13196 | 11. Western World Ins Co | NH | $18,748,641 | 2.45% |
| 41718 | 12. Endurance Amer Specialty Ins Co | DE | $17,294,691 | 2.26% |
| 25038 | 13. North Amer Capacity Ins Co | NH | $16,478,146 | 2.16% |
| 31127 | 14. Columbia Cas Co | IL | $15,262,760 | 2.00% |
| 26387 | 15. Steadfast Ins Co | IL | $14,736,601 | 1.93% |
| 24856 | 16. Admiral Ins Co | DE | $14,410,836 | 1.89% |
| 37532 | 17. Great Amer E&S Ins Co | DE | $12,731,863 | 1.67% |
| 32859 | 18. Penn Amer Ins Co | PA | $11,995,724 | 1.57% |
| 10717 | 19. Aspen Specialty Ins Co | ND | $10,701,304 | 1.40% |
| 10172 | 20. Westchester Surplus Lines Ins Co | GA | $10,396,533 | 1.36% |
Links to other 2020 Massachusetts Market Share Reports
- 2020 MA Market Share Report | Top Private Passenger Auto Insurers
- 2020 MA Market Share Report | Top Commercial Auto Insurers
- 2020 MA Market Share Report | Top Fire Insurance
- 2020 MA Market Share Report | Top Homeowners’ Insurers
- 2020 MA Market Share Report | Top Aircraft (All Perils) Insurers
- 2020 MA Market Share Report | Workers’ Comp Insurers
- 2020 MA Market Share Report | Top Life Insurers
- 2020 MA Market Share Report | Top Boiler & Machinery Insurers
- 2020 MA Market Share Report | Top Annuity Insurers
- 2020 Market Share Report | Top Ocean & Inland Marine Insurers
- 2020 MA Market Share Report | Top Burglary & Theft Insurers
Link to our NAIC 2020 Market Share Reports for the U.S.
- NAIC 2020 Market Share Report: The Top 25 P&C Insurers in the U.S.
- NAIC 2020 Market Share Report: The Top 25 Private Passenger Auto Insurers (U.S.)
- NAIC 2020 Market Share Report: The Top 25 Commercial Auto Insurers
- NAIC 2020 Market Share Report: The Top 25 Other Liability Insurers
- NAIC 2020 Market Share Report: The Top 25 Homeowners Multi-Peril Insurers
- NAIC 2020 Market Share Report: Top 25 Workers’ Comp Insurers
- NAIC 2020 Market Share Report | The Top Cyber Insurers In The U.S.
