Novacore has added Euclid Design Underwriters to its Professional Underwriters Agency (PUA) program, expanding its capabilities in architects and engineers professional liability.
Euclid Design is a managing general agent focused on errors and omissions coverage for architects, engineers and design professionals. Under the terms of the deal, the Euclid Design team and its capabilities will become part of the PUA, with the brand integrated into the broader platform. MarshBerry served as exclusive financial advisor to Euclid Design Underwriters on the transaction.
"Professional liability remains a core area of strategic focus for Novacore, and the addition of Euclid Design further strengthens our expertise in serving design professionals. The Euclid Design team has built a highly respected business with a strong underwriting culture and deep industry knowledge," said Aaron Miller, CEO of Novacore. "This addition underscores our strategy of investing in proven specialty programs, deepening expertise within our existing portfolio and creating sustainable opportunities for profitable growth."
Novacore launched in April 2025, building on the 35-year track record of NSM Insurance Group following the sale of NSM's US commercial business to New Mountain Capital, a growth-oriented investment firm with more than $55 billion in assets under management. The Euclid Design acquisition is consistent with a strategy of consolidating proven specialty underwriting operations within targeted niches rather than pursuing broad horizontal growth.
Nick Colis, chief program officer at Euclid Program Managers, said: "Euclid Design represents exactly the kind of specialized, high-caliber underwriting operation that defines excellence in the professional liability space. Chris and David have built something truly lasting: a respected brand, a loyal broker network, and a team that sets the standard for A&E expertise. We are confident that Novacore is the right home to carry that legacy forward."
The deal arrives at a nuanced moment for A&E professional liability. The market is largely stable and softening, with ample capacity and strong competition among carriers keeping pricing in check.
Most carriers anticipate flat to modest rate increases of 0% to 5% for 2026. The underlying claims environment, however, is more complex. Adverse claim trends persist alongside a continued reduction in some carriers' willingness to underwrite certain risks, with social inflation cited as a leading contributor to increased claim severity. Third-party bodily injury claims on large infrastructure projects remain a particularly difficult risk to manage.
Design firms have also increasingly tendered claims alleging bodily injury or property damage to their general liability insurers, as more firms take on contractual exposures that traditional business owners' policies were not designed to cover, creating pricing pressure and underwriting complexity across the broader A&E insurance stack.
That complexity is as much an opportunity as a challenge. The ability to segment risk accurately, maintain disciplined pricing and manage a book through a claims environment shaped by social inflation and litigation funding is what separates high-performing specialty operations from generalists.
The Euclid Design acquisition reflects a broader wave of consolidation reshaping the US MGA landscape.
Analysis cited by S&P Global Ratings in September 2025 reported that the US MGA sector has more than doubled in size in recent years while closely tracking the growth of the excess and surplus lines market, with MGAs providing insurers and reinsurers access to specialized risks and distribution networks.
Surplus lines premium volume across the 15 stamping office states totaled $90.3 billion through year-end 2025, a 7.8% increase from the prior year. E&S premium growth reached 9.7% through Q3 2025, though AM Best has noted growth has shown signs of tapering off as competitive pressures weigh on certain lines.
For Novacore, the addition of Euclid Design is less about adding scale and more about adding depth as disciplined risk selection separates the market.
