Great Hill Partners has made a strategic investment in Aurenity, backing the technology-enabled excess and surplus insurance managing general agent as it expands its underwriting organization, launches additional specialty programs and invests further in artificial intelligence.
Founding investor Agman and Aurenity’s management team will retain significant equity positions following the transaction.
Founded in 2022 and headquartered in West Hartford, Connecticut, Aurenity operates in the growing E&S insurance market, where specialized underwriters address risks that may not fit conventional admitted insurance markets.
The company has built six core E&S programs spanning primary casualty, lead and excess casualty, public entity and religious organizations, and property.
Its leadership team includes CEO Nick Davies, Chief Underwriting Officer Doug Trainor, Chief Operating Officer Pat Safino, EVP of Excess Casualty Janet Beaver and EVP of Primary Casualty Mark Fuderanan.
Great Hill’s investment is intended to help Aurenity recruit additional underwriting talent, introduce new programs and enhance the technology and automation infrastructure supporting its growth.
Aurenity also plans to increase its use of AI to support faster and more informed underwriting decisions while maintaining human expertise as the core of its risk selection model.
The company’s technology includes its Augment risk models, which provide underwriters with additional data and analytics for evaluating risks.
As part of the transaction, Great Hill Managing Directors Matt Vettel and Nick Cayer and Principal Bob Anderson will join Aurenity’s board.
Great Hill has previous insurance technology investments including One Inc, Pareto and Second Nature.
The private equity firm typically invests between $100 million and $750 million in high-growth companies and has raised more than $19 billion of commitments since its founding in 1998.
KEY QUOTES:
“Great Hill’s investment and experience in both the insurance and technology sectors give us the capital and partnership to continue expanding our underwriting team and bring new programs to market.”
Nick Davies, Chief Executive Officer Of Aurenity
“The structural shift of complex risks into the E&S market and toward specialized underwriters gives us strong conviction that Aurenity is well-positioned for the near and long term.”
Bob Anderson, Principal At Great Hill Partners
