Banyan Risk is expanding its casualty business into the US excess and surplus lines market, with capacity from Accredited Specialty Insurance Company, part of Accredited America.
The new E&S casualty offering will be led by Alan Rodrigues (pictured), Banyan’s chief executive of global casualty, who joined in 2024 to build its Bermuda excess liability business. Banyan plans to hire more experienced casualty underwriters across the US as it widens its distribution, products and geographic reach.
“US E&S casualty is a natural next step: it is a large, sophisticated market where specialist judgment matters,” said Tim Usher-Jones, Banyan’s co-chief executive.
Usher-Jones said Banyan had spent five years building its underwriting leadership, infrastructure, technology, data, controls and carrier relationships before trying to grow at scale. He pointed to rising loss severity, social inflation, litigation funding and changing appetite in the admitted market as factors creating demand for specialist casualty underwriting.
Rodrigues said the best casualty opportunities come from understanding the underlying risk and choosing the right attachment points and structures, not simply adding capacity.
Grace Meek, president of Accredited America, said Banyan’s experienced teams and disciplined risk selection fitted what the carrier looks for in specialist underwriting partners.
The casualty expansion follows Banyan’s launch last month of Red Fox Risk, a Lloyd’s-backed venture writing wildfire-exposed property in California and the western US. Founded in Bermuda in 2021 as a D&O specialist, Banyan has since secured more D&O capacity from PartnerRe and added excess liability, healthcare professional liability, inland marine and marine property, digital assets and emerging risks. It now operates in Bermuda, the US, Canada and the UK.
Banyan said future growth would include more property lines, further casualty expansion and other specialty classes.
Banyan is entering the part of the surplus lines market that is still growing strongly. The Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association reported that premium through US stamping offices rose 2.8% to $47.6 billion in the first half of 2026, with property declining. As Insurance Business reported in August, non-professional liability, the largest surplus lines segment, grew 11.2% over the same period.
For wholesale brokers placing difficult casualty risks, Banyan adds another market at a time when liability capacity is still tight in many classes. Its background in Bermuda excess liability suggests the US offering may focus on excess and layered casualty, which is where the pressure from social inflation and large verdicts is greatest.
Banyan hasn’t yet said which classes, limits or attachment points it will target, or how it will distribute, whether through wholesalers only or more widely. Brokers will want those details before the platform starts writing. Banyan is the second new casualty MGA in the US E&S market this month, after Amwins launched illumin Specialty, a sign that new entrants see opportunity in a line where pricing is still firm.
