One of the giants of international insurance, Sompo International, has made a move to enhance its standing in the US surety arena.

The Bermuda-based specialty insurance and reinsurance provider has swooped for the operating subsidiaries of Lexon Surety Group LLC – the second largest independent surety insurer nationwide. Lexon is made up of Lexon Insurance Company, Fortress National Group LLC and Bond Safeguard Insurance Company.

According to Christopher Sparro, CEO of US insurance at Sompo International, and who will now lead the Lexon board as chairman, the firm’s strong reputation made it an attractive proposition.

“Lexon’s team brings to the table strong distribution relationships with a nationwide network of agents and brokers as well as specialty expertise across their surety and bond offerings, which are highly complementary to Sompo International’s existing product capabilities,” he said.

“This acquisition is another step in the ongoing expansion of our US insurance capabilities into markets that complement our current operations,” added Jack Kuhn, CEO of global insurance at Sompo International. “Lexon’s culture and business mix will be an excellent addition to our existing surety insurance group, allowing us to provide additional product capabilities to our valued customers, and creating value for our combined operations and our business partners.”

According to a release announcing the move, Lexon’s staff and office locations will be retained with David Campbell, president of Lexon, to continue in his role while also being appointed as vice chairman of the Lexon board. The transaction is expected to close in March of 2018, following regulatory approvals.