National MGA and insurance program management company Distinguished Programs has entered the reinsurance market with the addition of Distinguished Reinsurance (DistinguishedRe), a new platform focused on property reinsurance led by Frank DiPaola.
With more than 25 years of reinsurance experience, DiPaola will serve as president of DistinguishedRe Property, leading a dedicated team of interim and treaty underwriters, pricing actuaries, catastrophe modeling professionals and legal experts.
DistinguishedRe reportedly has “extensive interest” in excess loss temporary, semi-automatic and property treaty settlements with capacity up to $50 million.
Its capabilities are said to include U.S. domestic and international property placements, as well as direct and brokered personal risk, temporary automatic and treaty placements.
Coverage is also supported by Antares Re, a Bermuda-licensed reinsurer that underwrites all major property, casualty and specialty business.
Distinguished explained that the move represents the company’s first step into the reinsurance market and is consistent with its broader strategy of building a specialized underwriting platform through an experienced team.
The addition of DistinguishedRe property reinsurance follows the recent launch of ocean freight, crisis management and transactional risk programmes.
Jason Rotman, President of Distinguished, commented: “Expanding into reinsurance is a natural next step for us as we see huge potential for MGA structures in this area.
“Ultimately, our strategy is to invest in experienced and talented teams, and we are delighted that Frank and his colleagues are joining us. We are equally excited to work with the Antares team to build this project together.”
Di Paola added: “We see a great opportunity to bring a more thoughtful, disciplined approach to the property reinsurance market.
“I’m excited to lead this expansion as we build a balanced portfolio across key markets and partners. Our focus is on delivering responsive underwriting and facultative excess loss solutions tailored to meet each client’s needs.”
