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Inigo Insurance
Inigo launched in late 2020, founded by former Hiscox executives Richard Watson, Russell Merrett, and Stuart Bridges. Backed by a heavyweight consortium —...
Inigo Insurance
Inigo launched in late 2020, founded by former Hiscox executives Richard Watson, Russell Merrett, and Stuart Bridges. Backed by a heavyweight consortium — Qatar Investment Authority, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, J.C. Flowers & Co., and Oak Hill Advisors — the firm acquired Enstar's StarStone underwriting operations to accelerate its entry into the Lloyd's market as Syndicate 1301. The founding team brought decades of London-market specialty underwriting experience, positioning Inigo to write complex risks across multiple lines from its 25 Fenchurch Avenue headquarters. As a Lloyd's managing agent, Inigo underwrites specialty insurance and reinsurance, generating a float that its investment team deploys across a portfolio emphasizing private credit and hedge fund strategies. The firm operates a dedicated investment arm in London alongside its underwriting business, combining insurance liability management with an asset-owner mandate uncommon among peers of similar vintage. Confirmed co-investors in the launch consortium include J.C. Flowers & Co. and Oak Hill Advisors, alongside the sovereign and pension capital of QIA and CDPQ. February 2026 marked a structural pivot: Radian Group Inc. agreed to acquire Inigo for $1.7 billion, integrating the specialty underwriter into a broader mortgage and financial guaranty platform (per Radian Group, February 2026). Prior to the acquisition, Inigo operated with a lean senior team anchored by its three co-founders. Inigo is one of the few post-pandemic Lloyd's entrants to reach full institutional acquisition within six years of launch — a velocity made possible by its consortium-backed capitalization and the team's ability to transfer an established underwriting franchise from Hiscox. The Radian transaction reclassifies Inigo from independent syndicate to strategic subsidiary, a governance shift that will test whether its investment posture retains autonomy under a publicly traded parent.
General information
Firm type
Insurance
Year founded
2020
Location
Region
Europe
Country
United Kingdom
City
London
Corporate office
25 Fenchurch Avenue, London, EC3M 5AD, United Kingdom
Principals
Richard Watson
CEO and Co-Founder
Russell Merrett
CUO and Co-Founder
Stuart Bridges
CFO and Co-Founder
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Inigo Insurance?
Inigo's investment function is managed by a dedicated London-based team operating alongside its underwriting business. The firm has not publicly named its chief investment officer or investment committee members, but the investment mandate is structured to deploy insurance float across private credit and hedge fund strategies. This structure mirrors the Hiscox investment model that the founding team knew intimately.
How is Inigo Insurance related to Hiscox?
Inigo was founded by three former Hiscox senior executives: Richard Watson, who served as Hiscox's Chief Underwriting Officer; Russell Merrett, formerly Managing Director of Hiscox London Market; and Stuart Bridges, Hiscox's former CFO and later CFO of ICAP. The founding team leveraged their reputation and track record to raise capital from institutional consortium investors, launching Inigo as a new Lloyd's managing agent rather than a Hiscox spinout.
What does the Radian Group acquisition mean for Inigo's investment strategy?
Radian Group's February 2026 agreement to acquire Inigo for $1.7 billion represents a full integration into a publicly traded mortgage and financial guaranty company. The transaction may shift governance over Inigo's investment portfolio, which historically deployed float into private credit and hedge fund allocations. Whether Radian maintains Inigo's existing investment committee structure or realigns it with parent-level treasury management remains to be disclosed.
Who backed Inigo Insurance at launch?
Inigo's initial consortium included Qatar Investment Authority, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), J.C. Flowers & Co., and Oak Hill Advisors. This group provided the capital base Inigo needed to acquire Enstar's StarStone underwriting operations and gain Lloyd's market access as Syndicate 1301. The consortium profile — combining sovereign, pension, and private equity capital — was unusual for a London-market specialty insurer.
What asset classes does Inigo's investment portfolio target?
Inigo's investment portfolio emphasizes private credit and hedge fund allocations, consistent with the asset-liability management imperatives of a Lloyd's specialty insurer. The firm operates a dedicated London-based investment arm, though granular portfolio composition and external manager relationships have not been publicly disclosed beyond these high-level asset class preferences.
What is Inigo's relationship with Enstar?
At launch, Inigo acquired Enstar Group's StarStone underwriting operations, providing the physical underwriting infrastructure and Lloyd's market presence necessary to begin writing business. Enstar, a legacy liability acquirer, effectively served as a seller of operational assets and an early backer, enabling Inigo to bypass the multi-year process of building a Lloyd's syndicate from scratch.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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