Philadelphia Insurance Companies announced the acquisition of the Collector Vehicle Division from Ignyte Insurance, a Carlyle backed portfolio company.
The transaction, valued at $615 million, is the largest acquisit
ion in the 63-year history of Philadelphia Insurance Companies.
The deal includes all collector vehicle insurance business and e
mployees from: American Collectors Insurance, J.C. Taylor Insurance, Condon Skelly and Heacock Classic. These four brands insure a broad range of specialty vehicles f
rom antiques and hot rods to exotics, motorcycles, and classic trucks, according to Philadelphia. Together, they serve hundreds of thousands of po
licyholders nationwide and bring more than 250 employees with significant expertise in this niche specialty segment to the company.
This acquisition further strengthens PHLY’s position as a key player in the collector and specialty vehicle insurance industry, the company said.
“We have tremendous respect for what these collector vehicle brands have built and the trust they’ve earned amongst collectors,” said John Glomb, preside
nt and CEO of Philadelphia Insurance Companies. “As part of PHLY, t
hey will continue that legacy with the full strength of a leading carrier behind them, combining authenticity and expertise with innovation, superior claims su
pport, and sustainable capacity for the long term.”
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“This is an exciting next chapter for these beloved brands,” said Geof McKernan, CEO of Ignyte Insurance. “Ou
r team, originating from NSM Insurance Group, spent years scaling these collector car programs into market leaders.”
“We are proud to have partnered with Geof McKernan and the Ignyte team to build a leading specialty insurance distribution platform,” said Jim Burr, co-head
of global financial services at Carlyle and Jitij Dwivedi, partner at Carlyle. “The sale of the collector car busines
s marks an important milestone for Ignyte and is a testament to the team’s vision and ability to create long-term value within the MGA ecosystem across various comp
lex lines of business. We look forward to continuing to work with the Ignyte team to grow the company’s remaining direct to consumer brands.”
Ignyte Insurance is a specialty insurance platform focused on building and scaling differentiated brands across high-growth niche markets. Ignyte was formed by th
e leadership team that previously built NSM Insurance Group into a more than $2 billion specialty powerhouse, l
ed by CEO Geof McKernan, President Bill McKernan, and COO Marc Castellucci. Ignyte said in a state
ment that it is now accelerating its strategy to expand c
onsumer and embedded insurance offerings worldwide.
PHLY is a national specialty insurance company with over $4.7 billion in annual premium. The company has 2,0
0 employees, with 700 based out of its Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania headquarters.