After years of volatility, the US small business property insurance market is beginning to stabilise, with increased capacity in constrained areas creating more options for coastal risks and fostering a competitive landscape, according to a new report from Amwins Access.

Wholesaler CRC Group has hired Michael Schmitt, Sean McPhillips, Bailey Cadden, and Blake Rios as brokers across its US offices.

The inevitable soft market will make it more challenging for E&S carriers to maintain profitability, but the trend toward increasing specialisation, customisation and risk segmentation means that the level of premiums in the segment is likely to drop off by less than in past cycles, according to Conning.

Bermuda-based MGA Helix has officially unveiled its new Greg Butler-led US platform with the launch of a US commercial property excess facility offering $10mn of limit per risk on A+ XV E&S paper.

Allied World’s decision to maintain a dual distribution model rather than launching a dedicated wholesale unit has not been an impediment to growth, with the carrier’s E&S book expanding significantly in recent years to account for more than half of its US premium.

Dellwood Insurance Group’s founding CEO Michael Price has said that the success of the start-up will be driven by matching the “expertise and speed” of wholesale trading partners, adding that current P&C market conditions have a “multi-year runway”.

There is no expectation of a widespread shift in business away from the E&S market, with the sector’s freedom of rate and form allowing it to address challenging issues on the admitted side, according to Westfield Specialty’s founding president Jack Kuhn.

Moves by carriers to establish dedicated wholesale operations and a commitment to dual distribution has led to continued growth in submission counts, despite stabilising market conditions, according to Amwins brokerage co-presidents Jeff McNatt and Sam Baig.

Acrisure has appointed Tom Quy as managing director of Acrisure's London wholesale division, with incumbent John Sutton to transition into a consulting role.

AI is making small business insurance more efficient by refining data handling processes, according to Amwins CEO Scott Purviance.

To remain relevant in a shifting distribution landscape and capitalise on the flow of business to the E&S space, wholesalers will need to deliver additional value by offering advice, expertise and proprietary product, according to Risk Placement Services (RPS) CEO Kevin Doyle.

Wholesaler CRC Group has added Cory Gibson, Clark Miller, and Andrew Perez to its offices in Tampa, Dallas, and Denver, respectively.

Ambac Financial-owned Beat Capital Partners has launched US-based managing general agent Fallow Grove Insurance Services with Brett Dupre as president and CEO.

Acrisure has launched a wholesale broking division in Bermuda, with Paul Scope joining from Ardonagh Specialty to lead the unit.

Allied World has taken the step of using exclusively wholesale distribution for the commercial project and wrap-up policies written by its primary casualty construction team,