ReAlign targets additional programs with GWP on course to hit $250mn in 2022

ReAlign Insurance Holdings’ gross written premium (GWP) is set to increase by around 85 percent to $250mn in 2022 with the platform now boasting 15 programs and a strong pipeline of potential partnerships, including those which will strengthen its Texas homeowners capabilities, president Tim McAuliffe has told Program Manager.

Program carrier ReAlign was formed in 2020 as a holding company to buy up and house admitted and non-admitted insurance companies focused on the specialty program marketplace in the US.

The platform is backed by private investment fund MGI Insurance Holdings and ReAlign Capital Strategies.

ReAlign, which is rated A by AM Best, partnered with Align Financial Holdings in July 2020 to acquire two Texas-domiciled entities – National Summit Insurance Company (formerly known as National Lloyds Insurance Company) and American Summit Insurance Company.

The group then formed Nebraska-based non-admitted carrier Summit Specialty Insurance Company in October 2020. When Align Financial was acquired by Howden Group’s MGA platform Dual in October 2021, the Align investment was purchased back by ReAlign and MGI.

“The Align affiliation at the start really helped get everything going very quickly. Even though we are no longer formally affiliated with Align/Dual we have a very strong and growing partnership and will continue to look for ways to help each other grow,” McAuliffe said.

As McAuliffe explained, ReAlign spent its first year of operations building out the program-focused business.

Measured growth

“We’re well on our path,” former Ironshore and AIG specialty casualty executive McAuliffe said.

“We’re up to 15 active programs now that are signed on and producing business with us, and we’ll go from about $135mn in gross written premium in 2021 to around $250mn in 2022, so pretty substantial growth.”

Despite the big GWP leap, McAuliffe called it “measured growth”.

“The growth is with programs that we know have been successful in the past, and with partners that we’ve been very successful with in the past. We’re very comfortable with the growth and where the book is and how we’re developing.”

The bulk of ReAlign’s writings are from Texas-based homeowners business, either mobile or manufactured home accounts with Coverage A of $250,000 or less.

Those two programs, along with a commercial auto offering, make up some 80 percent of ReAlign’s GWP, McAuliffe said.

While homeowners business accounts for the majority of its book, McAuliffe said ReAlign is “a bit agnostic to the type of business”, and is “just looking for profitable programs”.

“We have added and will continue to add additional homeowners programs in Texas,” he said.

“We’re also involved in a cannabis program and a unique apartment security replacement program,” he noted.

“Our core offerings are books of business that we’ve worked with before and partners that we’ve worked with before, but we are branching out into emerging risks and working on newer programs,” McAuliffe said.

Among its newer programs are those broadening ReAlign’s reach into states outside Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Georgia, where it currently operates.

California HO interest

While ReAlign has pulled back from Louisiana – the company exited its last account in the state in July – there is interest in other catastrophe-exposed regions such as wildfire and earthquake-threatened California.

“We think we have a good market opportunity in catastrophe-exposed states, but in terms of Louisiana, we’ll look at opportunities, but it’s not anything that we’re running towards at this point.

“If there was a great opportunity there, we have the flexibility and we have the capital to do it. So never say never. But it’s not something that has presented itself,” explained McAuliffe.

In California, McAuliffe said ReAlign now has “a better view of the market” given the relationship between Dual North America and Align.

“They’re in that market, and we just don’t have that elsewhere, and so we think that gives us an advantage and the opportunity to write the business once we’re open and filed [with the regulators],” he explained.

Opportunities have also arisen from Florida-based carriers refocusing solely on the Sunshine State and pulling back from regions such as Louisiana and Texas.

“While there are many markets that are interested in Louisiana, it’s not one that’s on our list. But in Texas, [the retrenchment has] definitely created a good number of opportunities for us that we’ll continue to build on.”

Building out

McAuliffe said ReAlign is “right on track with our budget and with our plan”.

“As we look towards next year and beyond, the first thing that any program carrier looks to is which books are performing well and how can we expand on those with our current partners.

“Beyond that, we’re definitely open to other partnerships and continue to be in the marketplace. We have an active business development team that’s always in the market and we see a number of opportunities monthly that we roll through,” said McAuliffe.

“Workers’ comp is another area that we’re delving into more and more and we should be signing on a program pretty soon around that,” McAuliffe said.

To support its growth, McAuliffe said ReAlign has “more than enough capacity” to meet its plans for the next few years.

“We do have enough dry powder to support the growth and our capital providers have expressed continued support and interest in adding as needed,” he said.

The business has also added to its headcount, with staff numbers up 40 percent since July 2020, and the company is looking to make more hires in the coming months.

At the same time, ReAlign has been investing in technology to enable it to become quicker and more efficient when supporting its homeowners clients.

“In partnership with Align/Dual North America we have invested in a number of system initiatives, from making it easier for the agents to download policy-level information directly into their agency management systems, to generating ways for insureds to pay premiums and renew by text,” said McAuliffe.

“In addition we are looking at quicker and slicker front-end quote/bind/issue capabilities,” he added.