19 November 2018 – Further to the announcement in July regarding the joint venture between DARAG and SOBC, we are delighted to announce that DARAG Guernsey via its wholly owned subsidiary, SOBC DARAG Holdings Ltd has now acquired the entire share capital of SOBC Services. SOBC Services is focused on the sourcing, acquisition and management of insurance entities and portfolios in run off in the US, Bermuda and Caribbean. Stephanie Mocatta will be CEO of this US focused legacy business, which will trade under the name SOBC DARAG. Brian Johnston will be CFO and EVP and Tom Hodson, General Counsel. This executive team is complemented by 9 other staff, primarily based in Ohio with extensive US claims, financial, regulatory and operational experience.

In addition, SOBC DARAG Holdings Ltd, has agreed to acquire from SOBC Corp and SOBC Sandell Holdings, (subject to regulatory approval) four insurance entities in run-off and SOBC Insurance Company Ltd, a Protected Cell Company in Connecticut. The entities in run-off comprise:

1. American Safety Captive Insurance Company in Vermont, which wrote general and professional liability;
2. American Staffing Assurance Company Inc., a protected cell company domiciled in Washington DC which wrote workers’ compensation and general liability protection to temporary staffing agencies;
3. PIA Professional Liability Insurance Company Limited, a captive insurer in Montana which issued errors and omissions coverage to professional insurance agents; and
4. The economic interest in the Insuratex cell in Bermuda which contains auto liability, general liability and workers’ compensation risks.

Following the recent acquisition of Peachtree in Florida and the change of control approvals for the entities above, SOBC DARAG will own 6 carriers across the US and Bermuda.  The team is hopeful that this can all be completed prior to Year End.

Building on this strong infrastructure base in the US and given an excellent pipeline of transactions, SOBC DARAG is expected to see fast expansion in the small to mid-sized run-off space, whilst also challenging the traditional players at the larger end of the market.  The existing SOBC staff, including all the executive team have transferred to the new operation with immediate effect.

SOBC DARAG is focused on acquisitions, LPTs and other business transfers within the run-off markets in the USA, Bermuda and Caribbean.