Arch Insurance business insurance

Overview

Arch Insurance is the U.S. insurance business of Arch Capital Group, a Bermuda-based, Nasdaq-listed insurer, reinsurer and mortgage insurer. Arch's U.S. group ranked No. 25 among U.S. business insurers by 2025 commercial lines direct premiums written, with $5.61 billion, based on NAIC market share data. Other liability is the largest piece at $2.24 billion, followed by commercial auto, workers' compensation and fire, and Arch ranks fourth nationally in excess workers' compensation, the coverage self-insured employers buy above their retention.

Policies are issued mainly by Arch Insurance Company (admitted in every state) and Arch Specialty Insurance Company (its excess and surplus lines carrier), with Arch Indemnity, Arch Wilsure (formerly Watford Insurance Company) and Watford Specialty in the same NAIC group. The group's all-lines total also includes Arch's U.S. mortgage insurers and Coface North America Insurance Company; Arch owns about 29.5% of Coface, the French trade credit insurer.

Arch sells through retail and wholesale brokers, MGAs and program administrators. Matthew Shulman is CEO of Arch Insurance North America, and Nicolas Papadopoulo is CEO of Arch Capital. U.S. executive offices are in New York City, with an operations center in Jersey City, New Jersey, and regional offices in New York, Alpharetta (Atlanta), Chicago, San Francisco and Dallas.

History

Arch Capital was formed in 2000, and in October 2001 it launched its current underwriting business with $763.2 million of new equity and new management teams, deliberately free of significant pre-2002 liabilities. The U.S. insurance group grew from that start, adding a U.K. carrier in 2004, Canada in 2005, a Lloyd's syndicate in 2009 and the Barbican Lloyd's business in 2019. Arch entered U.S. mortgage insurance in 2014 and expanded it with the 2016 purchase of United Guaranty Corporation.

On the U.S. specialty side, Arch bought McNeil & Company, a program administrator in Cortland, New York, in 2018 and Thimble, the on-demand small business insurtech, in April 2023 (Thimble). It took a 29.5% stake in Coface in 2021 and owns 30% of Greysbridge, parent of the former Watford Re.

The largest U.S. move came on August 1, 2024, when Arch completed its acquisition of Allianz Commercial's U.S. MidCorp (middle market property-casualty) and Entertainment businesses. Arch paid $450 million in cash, assumed about $2 billion of loss reserves and took on about 500 employees. Because the business had been written on Fireman's Fund paper, Arch took over the policies from accident year 2016 onward through reinsurance and administration agreements, while the Fireman's Fund companies themselves stayed with Allianz. The book had written $1.7 billion of gross premium in 2023, and it gave Arch both a large middle market platform and an entertainment insurance unit, a new niche for the company. See when your insurer is sold or merges: what happens to your policy.

Business insurance products

Arch's U.S. product list is long and specialty-heavy:

• Middle market commercial: package property and casualty for mid-sized companies, built largely on the former Allianz MidCorp book.
• Casualty and excess casualty: primary general liability, excess liability and construction casualty, supported by specialty claims units for complex claims, New York Labor Law and construction defect.
• Alternative markets: loss-sensitive and large deductible programs, captives and excess workers' comp for self-insured employers. See large deductible workers' comp programs: how they work and what they cost.
• E&S: property and casualty for hard-to-place risks through wholesale brokers.
• Professional and management liability: D&O, E&O, cyber and technology, healthcare professional liability and transactional risk.
• Specialty: marine, entertainment (the former Fireman's Fund entertainment book), scholastic and student accident, travel, accident and disability (including paid family and medical leave), and warranty and lender solutions.
• Surety: contract and commercial bonds. See surety bonds explained: how they differ from insurance.
• Programs: capacity for MGAs and program administrators, including McNeil & Company. See program business: niche insurance through program administrators.

In 2025 Arch's global insurance segment wrote $10.4 billion of gross premium and $7.8 billion of net premium, up 13%, with growth in North America driven mainly by the middle market and entertainment platform.

Who it insures

Arch targets corporations, professional firms and financial institutions, from the middle market up to large accounts. Its industry pages name construction, energy, financial institutions, healthcare, private equity and real estate, and its specialty units serve entertainment productions, schools and colleges, travel providers and lenders. Small businesses mostly reach Arch through Thimble or a program administrator rather than through Arch's own underwriters.

How to buy

Arch does not sell directly to business owners. A retail broker places middle market, casualty, professional and specialty business with Arch's regional underwriters; wholesalers access Arch Specialty for E&S risks; and MGAs and program administrators write delegated business on Arch paper. Thimble sells small business policies online and by app, by the job, month or year, using Arch and other carriers. Expect Arch underwriting to be selective and broker-led, with certificates and policy changes handled through your broker.

Claims

Arch organizes claims by product line, with a claim account manager as the main contact on larger accounts. For commercial auto and general liability claims, use Arch's online claims portal or its incident reporting form. Property claims go by form to Arch's claims email or by fax to 866-266-3630. Cyber, D&O, EPL, healthcare, professional liability and other claims go by mail to Arch Insurance Claims Department, P.O. Box 542033, Omaha, NE 68154, by email or by fax. For workers' compensation, Arch says to follow the reporting instructions in your policy or call claims customer service at 877-688-2724. Travel claims use 877-722-1959, and disability and paid leave claims 877-369-0979.

Financial strength and ratings

Arch's investor relations site, as listed in October 2026, shows Arch Insurance Company and Arch Specialty Insurance Company at A+ (Superior) from AM Best, AA- from S&P, A1 from Moody's and AA- from Fitch; Arch Indemnity carries AA- from S&P and Fitch and A+ from AM Best. Arch Capital ended 2025 with about $26.9 billion of capital and $4.4 billion of net income available to common shareholders. Its insurance segment's 2025 combined ratio was 95.2%, burdened in the first quarter by the California wildfires. Arch is not ranked in J.D. Power's small commercial study.

Strengths and weaknesses

Arch combines AA- ratings with a broad specialty menu and, since 2024, real middle market scale. The trade-offs are access and integration: it is a broker market, and the Allianz book was still being integrated and re-underwritten through 2025.

• Strengths: AA- from S&P and Fitch and A+ from AM Best; fourth nationally in excess workers' comp; deep specialty and program capability; admitted and E&S paper in every state; dedicated construction defect and New York Labor Law claims units.
• Weaknesses: No direct sales outside Thimble; middle market book acquired in 2024 still being integrated; claims reporting for several lines is by form, email or mail rather than a single first-notice phone line; former Fireman's Fund middle market and entertainment policyholders should check which company now issues their policy.

Brokers usually weigh Arch against W. R. Berkley, Markel, AXIS and Tokio Marine for specialty casualty, E&S and program business.

How to contact Arch Insurance