Ryan Specialty Completes Buy of Velocity Risk Underwriters
Specialty insurance provider Ryan Specialty reported it has completed the acquisition of Velocity Risk Underwriters, LLC from funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P.
Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Velocity is a managing general underwriter (MGU) providing first-party insurance coverage for catastrophe exposed properties.
The move expands Ryan’s wholesale client services, according to Miles Wuller, CEO of Ryan Specialty Underwriting Managers. Velocity will become a part of the Ryan Specialty Underwriting Managers division of Ryan Specialty.
The purchase price included $525 million in cash. The acquisition was previously reported last month.
Publicly traded Ryan Specialty is headquartered in Chicago with operations in the U.S. and Europe. The firm undertook a number of acquisitions in 2024. One of those came in May when the firm announced that it had acquired London-based Paradiso Risks as part of its acquisition of Castel Underwriting Agencies.
In a related transaction subject to regulatory approval, Velocity’s excess and surplus (E&S) carrier, Velocity Specialty Insurance Co. (VSIC), will be acquired by Rhode Island-based global commercial property insurance company FM. The deal will allow FM to expand into E&S property insurance, stated Malcolm Roberts, chairman and chief executive officer of FM.
With the increasing frequency and severity of secondary perils and other emerging risks, FM said businesses are seeking E&S coverage for risks that traditional insurance is less likely to cover.