PE-backed Orchid adds two to team

Orchid Underwriters Insurance Agency LLC, a portfolio company of Gryphon Investors, has appointed Robert J. Rose as senior vice president of underwriting and programs and Bryan Schofield as vice president of commercial lines. Previously, Rose worked at International Catastrophic Insurance Managers LLC where he was senior vice president while Schofield worked at Bankers Insurance Group, where he most recently served as vice president of sales.

PRESS RELEASE

Vero Beach, FL, October 26, 2015 — Orchid Underwriters Insurance Agency, LLC (“Orchid”), a leading specialty underwriter of property insurance focusing on coastal properties, announced today it has named Robert J. Rose Senior Vice President of Underwriting and Programs and Bryan Schofield Vice President of Commercial Lines. Both are newly created positions. Mr. Rose will be a member of the firm’s Executive Team and will oversee the strategic development, delivery and evaluation of programs and be responsible for all external relationship management. In addition, he will manage research and development and risk analysis of new products, as well as compliance with government regulations. Mr. Schofield will be responsible for developing and overseeing Orchid’s new small commercial Excess and Surplus (“E&S”) lines business.

“We are pleased to welcome Bob and Bryan to our team,” said Brad Emmons, President. “Bob has a long history of growing premium and increasing margins, and Bryan is a proven leader in analytics and multi-disciplinary collaboration. We are confident that they will each help our team drive performance through sophisticated pricing strategies, operational improvements, expanded product expertise, and managing strategic carrier relationships.”

Concurrent with Mr. Schofield’s hiring, Orchid is entering the small commercial E&S lines business, with the aim of becoming a leading Managing General Underwriter in that market. Ken LeStrange, Director, said, “Demand in this market has been rapidly growing due to rate flexibility and tightening of admitted markets. We see a significant opportunity for E&S small commercial property-related coverage across the U.S., particularly in the 16 Eastern and Gulf Coast states that complement Orchid’s existing footprint and are most affected by coastal risk. In keeping with our reputation as a first class specialty coastal underwriter, Orchid is deeply committed to being the first choice in the small commercial E&S market by offering fast quoting and issuance, competitive pricing and the highest level of integrity and service.”

Mr. Rose is an accomplished insurance executive, with 25 years of experience and leadership in various aspects of the industry, including strategy development, operational execution, pricing and underwriting, sales and marketing, and measurement and analytics. Before joining Orchid, he served as Senior Vice President at International Catastrophic Insurance Managers, LLC (ICAT) for seven years. Prior to that, he spent 17 years, most recently as General Manager, Customer Experience, at Progressive Insurance Company. Mr. Rose holds a BS in Accounting from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia and an MBA from the Colgate Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.

Mr. Schofield, also a seasoned executive with 13 years of experience in the industry, comes to Orchid from Bankers Insurance Group, where he held several positions, most recently Vice President of Sales. Earlier in his career, he worked in a variety of capacities at Travelers, Markel Corporation, and State Farm. Mr. Schofield holds a BS in Risk Management and Insurance from Florida State University.

“I am pleased to be joining Orchid. Ken, Brad and everyone on the team are doing an impressive job of building and growing a uniquely focused specialty insurance business. I hope to help the company pursue additional opportunities that will create value for their insureds, agents, and carriers,” Mr. Rose said. Mr. Schofield added, “I look forward to leading the effort to design unique, flexible products that will give agents vastly improved options in the markets we serve.”

About Orchid Underwriters
Founded in 1998 and based in Vero Beach, FL, Orchid specializes in providing specialty insurance products for homeowners and small businesses throughout the United States and the Caribbean. The Company’s comprehensive product offering provides customers with a single, comprehensive solution for homeowners and condominium property insurance, including wind and wind only, general and excess flood, earthquake, builder’s risk and others. Orchid aims to be agents’ first choice by offering superior process, policy and pricing options, high quality system technologies, expertise in the E&S market with coastally-exposed risks; and extensive knowledge of coastal CAT-exposed market areas in the East and Gulf Coast states. Orchid only represents well-known A.M. Best A-rated insurance carriers and is a market leader with over $25 billion of insurance in-force. In November 2014, private equity firm Gryphon Investors made a majority investment in Orchid.

About Gryphon Investors
Based in San Francisco, Gryphon Investors (www.gryphoninvestors.com) is a leading private equity (“PE”) firm focused on profitably growing and competitively enhancing middle-market companies in partnership with experienced management. For numerous consecutive quarters and years, Gryphon has been ranked in Preqin’s prestigious quarterly PE report as one of North America’s top-decile firms based on consistency of strong investment returns. With approximately $1.5 billion of cumulative equity commitments, the firm has an extensive track record of leading equity investments of $25 to $150 million per portfolio company with sales ranging from approximately $50 to $500 million. Gryphon prioritizes investment opportunities where it can form proactive partnerships with owners and executives to build leading companies, utilizing Gryphon’s capital, specialized professional resources and operational expertise.