Applied Underwriters Receives UK OK  

Mr. Steve Menzies, Chairman, Applied Underwriters, announced that the Company has received definitive regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the United Kingdom’s governing body for insurance, banking and investment transactions, for the completion of Applied’s acquisition of Concept Special Risks (CSR), effective April 12, 2021. The acquisition, announced in February, will enable the further growth of CSR, the 22-year old Yorkshire, UK-based market leader founded by top sector executive, Tony Usher. CSR holds a dominant place in the US and Caribbean markets for motor yachts, trailer craft, sailboats, and catamarans, covering both private/pleasure and charter.

For Applied, the first quarter of 2021 has been marked by several acquisitions and consolidations of insurance facilities as part of its protracted long-term growth in niche segments in the US and abroad, such as a nationwide (US) program for casualty E&S risks; expanded D&O coverages in the US, Europe and Israel; and a global leadership facility for the provision of coverage and risk management solutions for fine art, jewelry and collectibles.

According to Mr. Menzies, the FCA approval of the CSR transaction signals continuing regulatory recognition of Applied Underwriters’ economic strength and financial probity: “As regulators in the UK, EU and in the vast majority of capitals across the US approve and even encourage Applied’s growth, we are enabled to satisfy market demand among a growing customer base seeking financially sound, prudent and responsible insurance. Our knowledgeable, experienced and acutely specialized underwriting may now be placed in the service of the customer and, as regulators acknowledge, in the service of the entire insurance business, state by state and country by country.”

According to Tony Usher, Founder of CSR: “We are very pleased that this transaction has come to fruition, and we are ready and optimistic for the coming season for the underwriting of yachts, recreational vessels of all types and for commercial excursion operators.”

Concept Special Risks issues policies through retail agents in the US and Caribbean. It has offices in the UK and in Florida.