Pine Walk Capital, a specialist MGA platform under Fidelis Insurance Holdings, has launched energy liability MGA OPEnergy.
OPEnergy, which received regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority on Jan. 6, is Pine Walk’s sixth MGA since 2017. It will write onshore and offshore energy liability risks such as public, products and pollution liability lines.
Leading OPEnergy as CEO is Oliver Brown, who has created, developed and managed energy liability portfolios at Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI), Catlin and Zurich.
Also joining OPEnergy from BHSI is Penny Wang, who brings more than 15 years’ experience in energy liability underwriting, having previously worked at Starr and Zurich.
“OPEnergy’s extensive offering will differentiate us from the rest of the market by providing flexible, tailored solutions to the ever-changing landscape faced by energy companies,” Brown said. “We are looking forward to working with clients and brokers to develop long-term relationships and create a profitable portfolio. Pine Walk’s operating model means that Penny and I can concentrate on underwriting and re-establishing our core broker relationships. We see a significant opportunity to bring new risk solutions to the energy liability market in 2022. With Pine Walk and Fidelis’ backing, we will be able to make a meaningful impact very quickly. OPEnergy is trading and we are ready to welcome brokers to our new Lime Street office.”
OPEnergy was the second MGA to join the Pine Walk platform in 2021, following specialty marine business Navium which launched in May and is led by industry veteran Clive Washbourn.
“OPEnergy’s launch further underlines Pine Walk’s ambitious growth agenda over the next five years and attracting entrepreneurial underwriting talent like Oliver Brown to our platform is a key part of our strategy,” said Pine Walk CEO Rinku Patel. “The energy liability market has shown significant price strengthening over the last few years; this combined with Oliver’s experience and market reputation made launching OPEnergy an easy decision for both of us.”
