General Star is a specialty property and casualty insurer based in Stamford, Connecticut. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Reinsurance Corporation, part of the Berkshire Hathaway family of companies.

In the wholesale market, it goes by GenStar. The firm underwrites excess, surplus, and specialty risks exclusively through appointed wholesale brokers. It does not deal directly with retail agents or policyholders.

Website: generalstar.com

Head office address: 400 Atlantic Street, 9th Floor, Stamford, Connecticut 06901

Company type: wholly owned subsidiary of General Reinsurance Corporation, a member of the Berkshire Hathaway family of companies

Business focus: excess, surplus, and specialty property and casualty insurance

Regions served: all states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico on an admitted basis through General Star National Insurance Company; the same footprint plus the Virgin Islands on a surplus lines basis through General Star Indemnity Company

What does General Star underwrite?

GenStar underwrites through two main channels: brokerage and delegated authority. Wholesale brokers can place several types of specialty coverage with the insurer, including:

• property coverage for commercial risks and inland marine exposures, written on a non-admitted basis through surplus lines brokers
• primary and excess casualty limits for specialty risks that standard markets typically will not underwrite
• coverage for medical malpractice exposures, from individual physicians and surgeons to a broad set of miscellaneous health care facility risks
• delegated property and casualty coverage spanning general liability, property, inland marine, and liquor liability
• fully delegated programs covering casualty, errors and omissions, property, and umbrella risks

Program administrators appointed by GenStar run the delegated programs, while wholesale brokers place the rest of the book. Together, these channels give brokers a single specialty market for risks that standard carriers often decline.

Reaching the wholesale market

GenStar works only with a limited panel of appointed wholesale brokers, rather than selling directly to retail agents or policyholders. Appointed agents in the delegated division can check eligibility and generate a quote through the General Star CONNECT portal.

The company runs branch operations beyond its Stamford home office, in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Atlanta. These offices support underwriting and claims work nationwide.

Ownership and group structure

General Star operates within a wider network of specialty insurance and investment businesses. General Reinsurance Corporation owns that network, with Berkshire Hathaway at the top. Genesis Insurance is one of the other companies in the group. Being backed by Berkshire Hathaway gives the insurer a deep capital base for underwriting large or complex risks.

General Star’s culture and values

GenStar describes itself as an underwriting-led organization, with risk selection and pricing discipline built into every part of its business. It says building long-term relationships with the wholesale brokers who place its business is central to how it operates.

The company also says it manages its balance sheet conservatively. It treats corporate spending the same way it would its own money. That approach, it says, is meant to keep it able to pay claims over the long run.

These principles apply across GenStar’s brokerage and delegated books alike. They shape how the insurer selects and prices risk in both channels.

Check the news section below for General Star’s latest moves and updates.