MS Transverse

MS Transverse

MS Transverse Insurance Group launched in 2018 as a P&C program carrier targeting commercial and personal lines through partnerships with managing general agents (MGAs) and reinsurers. CEO Dave Paulsson co-founded the firm after 15 years of investing in private companies and funds, most recently as portfolio manager of Paragon Outcomes, a multi-family office. The firm was acquired by Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance in 2023, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan's MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings. MS Transverse provides admitted and non-admitted capacity across property, casualty, and specialty lines, structuring program solutions that can include risk-sharing or access to additional capacity. The firm uses its A.M. Best A+ (Superior) rating to assume risk directly, and its team handles underwriting, product development, actuarial analysis, compliance, and claims administration. It also operates a venture capital arm, Transverse Ventures, led by Matthew Jones. Geographic focus spans North America, with offices in Warren, New Jersey; Dallas, Texas; and New York City. The firm employs roughly 11 named executives, including President John Fitzgerald and CIO David Zakutansky. July 2024: John Fitzgerald was appointed President, broadening his role from CFO to include oversight of human capital, claims, and regulatory matters post-acquisition. MS Transverse retains deep access to the global reinsurance market through its parent and has won Fronting Carrier of the Year in 2022, 2024, and 2025. MS Transverse's structural differentiator is its hybrid approach: it retains risk as a direct carrier while leveraging the scale and rating of a top-10 global P&C group. This allows the firm to offer MGAs and program administrators both balance-sheet capacity and the flexibility to use their own systems and products — an uncommon combination in the program carrier market.