Usurance Insurance Company has received a certificate of authority from the Utah Insurance Department, effective July 30, authorising it to write property, liability, vehicle liability, and marine and transportation insurance in Utah. The company describes itself as one of the relatively few US-based licensed insurance companies with Chinese heritage - its own characterisation, drawn from its PRNewswire announcement - and says it will focus on businesses with cross-border operations, Asian-American business owners, and international companies with US exposure.
Charles Huang, founder and chairman of Los Angeles-based private equity firm Pasaca Capital, serves as CEO. Pasaca Capital backs Usurance as part of a portfolio spanning technology and insurance investments. Huang holds a doctorate from the University of Strathclyde and spent his early career as a securities analyst at HSBC and Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia before founding Pasaca in 2016.
Usurance's stated target sectors include product liability, logistics, aircraft, and intellectual property, with particular emphasis on cross-border operations and specialized risk-management needs. The company also owns WUT, a wholly owned brokerage platform intended to provide access to coverage outside Usurance's current underwriting scope.
Asian companies exporting goods to the US have historically struggled to source adequate admitted coverage. Standard admitted carriers have been reluctant to underwrite them, citing unfamiliarity with Asian supply chains, language barriers, and the fact that Chinese manufacturers rarely carry product liability policies meeting US claims standards. Much of that business has moved to the E&S market, where buyers lose access to state guaranty fund protection and the statutory consumer protections that admitted coverage carries. Usurance positions its multilingual capabilities and familiarity with Asian business culture as underwriting strengths for this segment.
The second gap is fire-risk residential property. California's admitted market has contracted steadily under the combined pressure of wildfire losses, reinsurance cost increases, and regulatory constraints on rate adequacy. The California FAIR Plan saw enrollment jump 43% between September 2024 and December 2025 as private admitted carriers tightened underwriting. Usurance has named wildfire-impacted property as a priority, with Huang specifically citing "comprehensive insurance coverage and multiple customized solutions" for Utah residents and businesses affected by wildfires.
Usurance's Utah authorization is its first. It covers four lines in a single state. Geographic expansion requires separate licensing in each additional jurisdiction and Usurance has not disclosed a licensing pipeline or timeline.
No AM Best financial strength rating exists for Usurance. For brokers whose placement process requires a minimum rating - as most standard E&O policies and carrier panel agreements do - that absence is a material consideration before recommending the carrier to a client. Usurance has not disclosed premium volume, capital base, reinsurance arrangements, or claims-paying capacity.
The AI-assisted capabilities Huang referenced in the launch announcement - covering customer communications, claims document review, and multilingual administration - are stated intentions without a disclosed implementation timeline.
For brokers with Asian-owned business clients or fire-risk residential clients in Utah who have struggled to find admitted capacity, Usurance represents a new market option worth monitoring. The standard due diligence questions for a new admitted carrier with no rating history apply: confirm the financial strength basis for any placement recommendation, confirm Utah licensing is current and active through the department's own register, and confirm the specific lines and limits available for the risk in question before presenting it to a client.
