A new property MGA for the UK and US markets
Property underwriting
for brokers who want an answer.
Bezant Underwriting is a new managing general agent (MGA) for commercial and residential property in the UK, from a single let flat to a mixed portfolio, and it builds specialised property insurance programmes for the US market. We work closely with distribution partners, deliver stable, well-rated capacity, and build long-term relationships grounded in discipline and mutual respect. We are preparing to open for business, and brokers and partners who register now will receive our appetite and terms ahead of the opening date.
- What we write
- Commercial and residential property owners' insurance in the UK, and specialised property insurance programmes for the US market.
- Who it is for
- UK brokers placing SME and mid-market real estate, from a single asset to a portfolio of two hundred, and US distribution partners placing property programmes.
- How we trade
- Open market with an underwriter who can bind, e-trade for smaller UK risks, and programme business on delegated authority backed by stable, well-rated capacity.
- When
- Launching soon. Registered brokers and partners receive our appetite, wording and indicative terms ahead of the opening date.
What we do
Bezant writes property owners' business for the SME and mid-market: blocks of flats, mixed-use parades, industrial units, offices and the portfolios that hold them.
Our appetite takes in the sound, ordinary risks that larger insurers rate without reading, and the non-standard ones that need an underwriter rather than a rating engine.
Every submission is read by an underwriter with the authority to decide, and every decision comes with a reason. If a risk sits outside our appetite we say so the same day, so the broker can place it elsewhere without losing time.
In the United States, Bezant builds specialised property insurance programmes with the distribution partners who place them, delivering stable, well-rated capacity and building long-term relationships grounded in discipline and mutual respect.
Typical risks
- Residential blocks and converted houses
- Mixed-use parades with flats above
- Industrial and warehouse units
- Offices and business centres
- Portfolios from two properties to two hundred
- Unoccupied, listed and non-standard construction, by referral
- Residential blocks and converted houses
- Mixed-use parades with flats above
- Industrial and warehouse units
- Offices and business centres
- US property programmes: habitational, mixed-use and light industrial schedules, through distribution partners
The name
The bezant was the gold coin of the medieval world.
Struck at Constantinople from the fourth century, it held its weight and purity for some seven hundred years and passed as good money from Britain to India, which is why the historian Robert Lopez called it the dollar of the Middle Ages. In heraldry it survives as the plain roundel.
We took the name because it stands for what an underwriter should be: consistent, sound and honoured wherever it is presented.
A gold coin first struck at Byzantium; in heraldry, a plain roundel.
Pronounced bi-ZANT.How we work
A referral is answered by the underwriter who can bind it, on the day it arrives.
Decisions on the day
Our underwriters carry their own authority. A referral is answered by the person who can bind it, not passed along a chain.
One wording, in plain English
The same policy wording across every channel, written to be read by a broker and a landlord, with the extensions on the schedule rather than in an endorsement library.
An appetite that holds
We publish what we write and keep to it, so a broker knows before sending a risk whether it belongs with us.
Partnerships that last
In the US we work closely with distribution partners, delivering stable, well-rated capacity and building long-term relationships grounded in discipline and mutual respect.
Products and services
Our UK real estate product covers commercial and residential property as a single asset or as part of a mixed portfolio, and our US programmes cover schedules placed through distribution partners.
Property damage, loss of rent, property owners' liability and employers' liability are standard sections. Legal expenses cover can be added as an optional section; details of that cover and its provider will be published at launch.
- Property damage: the building and landlord's contents, against the named perils
- Loss of rent: the income lost while the flats cannot be let after a loss
- Employers' liability: injury to the owner's own staff in the course of their work
- Property owners' liability: injury or damage to others arising from owning the building
Property damage
Material damage to buildings and landlords' contents from the perils named in the wording: fire, lightning, earthquake, aircraft, storm, flood, escape of water, sprinkler leakage, theft, malicious damage, impact, subsidence and accidental damage.
As standard
- Day-one uplift of 35%, with the option to increase to 50%
- Landlords' contents of £25,000, with higher limits available in line with sums insured
Extensions
- Contract works up to £250,000
- Capital additions
- Third-party failure to insure
- Fly tipping
- Malicious damage by residential tenants
- Archaeological costs
- Subrogation waiver
Loss of rent
Loss of rental income following damage to the buildings or landlords' contents by an insured peril, including the cost of re-letting, business rates and increased cost of working.
As standard
- Alternative residential accommodation and rent, up to a 33.3% limit
- 36-month indemnity period
Extensions
- Anticipated rent
- Loss of attraction
- Denial of access
- Compulsory closure
Property owners' liability
Legal liability for accidental injury to any person or accidental damage to property arising from the ownership of the premises, together with wrongful arrest, nuisance, trespass and obstruction claims as set out in the wording, within the territorial limits.
As standard
- £5,000,000 limit, with £10,000,000 available
Extensions
- Indemnity to principals
- Legionella, with a limit of £5,000,000
- Overseas personal liability
Employers' liability
Legal liability for injury to employees in the course of their employment with the insured business, within the territorial limits.
As standard
- £10,000,000 limit
Extensions
- Court attendance costs
- Unsatisfied court judgements
- Work overseas
- Cross liabilities
Limits and extensions are set out in full in the policy wording, which will be published before launch.
United States property programmes
Bezant builds specialised property insurance programmes for the US market with the distribution partners who place them, backed by stable, well-rated capacity. Programmes are written on a special form with replacement cost valuation, and the standard sections are building and contents, business income and rental value, ordinance or law, and equipment breakdown, with limits and deductibles set per programme and shown on the declarations.
- Habitational schedules: apartments and condominiums
- Mixed-use buildings with retail below and residential above
- Light industrial and warehousing
- Office buildings and business parks
- Vacant, frame and non-standard construction, by referral
Programme forms and declarations are published to registered distribution partners before launch.
Digital trading
The same appetite, wording and risk assessment, available to e-trade.
SME and mid-market real estate risks will be quotable inside a broker's own system from launch. Policies up to a set premium bind automatically. Anything referred is answered by an underwriter within half an hour, with the reason for the decision.
US programme business will quote and bind through a partner portal and API, with policies, endorsements and loss runs issued from the same place.
Platform partners to be announced before launch.
- Up to 20 properties on one policy
- Total sums insured up to £20 million
- Automatic quotes up to £10,000 premium, with referrals above that
- Referrals answered within 30 minutes
- The same appetite, wording and risk assessment as the open-market product
- A named underwriter behind every referral
Claims
A policy is worth what it pays.
Before we open we will appoint a loss adjusting partner in the UK and a claims administrator in the US, and publish a claims telephone number and email address for each on this page. Every notification will be acknowledged within one working day, every claim will have a named handler, and we will not argue about cover that the wording does not support.
Contact
For brokers, distribution partners, capacity providers and press enquiries ahead of launch:
Office and telephone details will be published at launch.
Find out the price and terms you could secure with us
Leave your details and we will come back with our appetite, our wording and the terms you could expect, ahead of the opening date. We will use them for nothing else.