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Northbridge Financial Corporation purchases surety underwriting business of Fenchurch General Insurance Company


May 10, 2017   by Canadian Underwriter


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Toronto-based commercial P&C insurer Northbridge Financial Corporation announced on Tuesday that it will enter the surety market in Canada by purchasing the surety underwriting business of Fenchurch General Insurance Company.

Starting June 1, businesses across Canada will have access to an “extensive selection of contract and commercial bonding solutions,” Northbridge said in a release.

“Our added product capability allows us to enhance our service to existing and new customers in key industries where we’re targeting further growth, such as the construction and contracting sector,” Northbridge Financial president and CEO Silvy Wright said in the release.

The agreement to divest of its surety bond business will allow Fenchurch to focus on its core business line of Group Benefits offerings, Mississauga, Ont.-based Fenchurch said in a statement. The deal includes United Surety Limited, which will be re-branded as Northbridge Surety Limited, and Capital Administration Services Inc., a provider of funds control services. The transaction is scheduled to be completed on May 31, Northbridge reported.

“We’re pleased to welcome this specialized team of surety experts, led by Iqbal Bhinder, who brings a decade of experience in the surety business to our operations,” Wright said.

Fenchurch and its affiliated company Camden Underwriting Agencies have traditionally deployed their group benefit offerings in “routinely underserviced markets and industries,” the Fenchurch statement said. Along with their partners, they offer long and short-term disability, life, accidental death and dismemberment, health and dental and critical illness, in addition to other standard products.

“Fenchurch and Camden over the past two years have developed new and unique product offering such as our Total Absence Management Program and The Accident & Serious Illness Disability Program, both of which are prime examples of our ongoing commitment to innovation that focus and address the issues and challenges our industry is faced with today,” Fenchurch president and CEO, Steve Brown, said in the statement.

Northbridge Financial is 100% Canadian and wholly owned by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited. It offers a variety of solutions, such as manufacturing and resources, consumer and business services, through its Northbridge Insurance, Federated Insurance and TruShield Insurance brands.

Fenchurch General Insurance Company is a Canadian owned and operated insurer. Since 2007, Camden Underwriting has been the exclusive distributor of Fenchurch’s Group Disability Program with a focus on niche industry segments. Camden delivers full group benefits packages to broker and third-party administrators with access to a variety of markets and carriers across all industry sectors.

CORRECTION: An original version of this article incorrectly stated that Northbridge Financial Corporation acquired Fenchurch General Insurance Company. Canadian Underwriter regrets the error.


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2 Comments » for Northbridge Financial Corporation purchases surety underwriting business of Fenchurch General Insurance Company
  1. GWR says:

    United Surety Limited’s website states that it is a broker, but it is not licensed in Ontario. Will Northbridge Surety Limited be a broker as well?

  2. Fenchurch general insurance have Bad communication, long delays, not professional.
    Their vision statement… excellent costumer service, unsurpassed support services, believe communication is the key… that’s all lies. You’re just a number without any consideration that there might be a human being behind a claim! You’re a claim number with a cost nothing more…
    Good luck to have a bilingual worker.

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