The club manager is buying a majority shareholding in Osprey Holdings, the company that owns Osprey Underwriting.
Osprey offers up to $500m of P&I cover on Lloyd’s security, and is one of a small number of fixed premium schemes prepared to accept US business, although limits of cover for such risks are much lower.
The deal is part of a trend for P&I clubs or their managers to be also active in offering P&I cover on non-mutual fixed premium terms.
The UK Club is the second biggest of the P&I mutuals in terms of shipowners’ tonnage and is one of a stable of Thomas Miller run clubs that includes Through Transport, Hellenic War Risks, UK War Risks, UK Defence Club and ITIC, offering errors and omissons cover to shipping and transport industry professionals.
Osprey is the fourth biggest of the fixed premium P&I schemes, covering some 2,100 vessels with a premium income of $27.5m. According to a recent Arthur J Gallagher report on the commercial P&I market it incurred a $2.5m loss last year.
It covers dry cargo vessels up to 25,000-gt, with a lower limit of 10,000-gt for other vessels but avoids crude tanker and passenger ship business.
Osprey was established in 1991, supported by the Newman Martin and Buchan broking concern but this is now part of the Cooper Gay Swett and Crawford wholesale and reinsurance broking group.
“In purchasing a majority shareholding in Osprey we are bringing into Thomas Miller a business that currently operates in areas adjacent to our current core businesses, and as such, Osprey is a logical extension of our business lines,” said Thomas Miller chairman, Hugo Wynn-Williams.
The Thomas Miller chief said there were plans to further develop the company’s managing agency capability.
“Thomas Miller is an excellent fit for Osprey. Not only do its existing business and values fit well with ours at Osprey, but the infrastructure and support now available to us will enable us to grow and diversify the current Osprey business lines and also diversify into new product areas,” said Osprey chief executive, Guy Pierpoint.
