Eagle Underwriting gets acquired, keeps own brand

Managing general agent Eagle Underwriting Group Inc. has been acquired by GroupAssur, private equity firm Novacap Management Inc. announced Tuesday.

“With Eagle, the objective was to get a broader spectrum of product,” said Jean-François Raymond, president of Montreal-based GroupAssur, in an interview with Canadian Underwriter.

Eagle has two offices: one in Vancouver and the other in Brampton, Ont. Eagle Underwriting places a variety of coverages for “things that move,” including marine cargo, hull and machinery, and liability among others.

For its part, Montreal-based GroupAssur is majority-owed by Novacap with three additional offices in Quebec (Terrebonne, Quebec City) and Brossard, as well as a fifth office in Markham, Ont.

GroupAssur purchased Eagle Underwriting from Bernie Cissek and Mike Wills, chairman and president respectively of Eagle Underwriting, Raymond said in an interview. The deal closed October 1. The financial terms were not disclosed.

Eagle Underwriting will continue to operate under its existing structure and brand name. GroupAssur will keep all seven offices, said Raymond.

“Eagle will continue operating as it was before the deal with the integration some time in 2022. We are keeping all offices. We are keeping all staff. The principals [Cissek and Mills] are staying. It is really no changes within Eagle,” said Raymond.

“With this portfolio acquisition, GroupAssur will be adding new lines of products to its offering and gaining the expertise required to insure clients operating within the highly complex marine, cargo, and aviation sectors. This will also support GroupAssur’s international growth objectives, as Eagle already underwrites policies relative to cargo shipping in the United States,” the firms said Oct. 26 in a release.

Before the deal, Eagle was already placing marine coverage in the United States, said Raymond.

“The objective is to grow our entire book south of the border.”

GroupAssur places builders’ risk, contractors, professional liability for engineers and architects, among others.

Novacap Management is a private equity firm with more than $8 billion in assets under management, with offices in Toronto and in Brossard, Que.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated with new information

Feature image via iStock.com/Atstock Productions