Coaction Specialty business insurance

Overview

Coaction Specialty is a privately owned specialty property and casualty insurer based in Morristown, New Jersey. Until April 2022 it was called ProSight Specialty. Policies are issued by three companies: New York Marine and General Insurance Company, Gotham Insurance Company and Southwest Marine and General Insurance Company. All are owned by Coaction Global, Inc., which in turn is owned by private equity firms TowerBrook Capital Partners and Further Global Capital Management. Its group was ranked No. 58 among U.S. business insurers by 2025 commercial lines direct premiums written, with $1.51 billion, based on NAIC market share data. Nearly half of that, $744.2 million, is other liability, followed by commercial auto ($301.5 million), fire ($152.7 million) and commercial package ($77.0 million). Coaction does not rank in the national top 10 in any line.

The company reports $1.52 billion of 2025 gross written premium, up from $1.36 billion in 2024. In 2024, 53% was written on non-admitted E&S paper and 47% admitted. Coaction targets small and middle-market commercial accounts with specialty exposures, organized into seven verticals. By the first half of 2025, the largest were marine, energy and specialty transportation (29% of premium), excess casualty (20%) and primary casualty (15%). Jonathan Ritz is CEO and Tim Ryan is president.

History

ProSight was founded in 2009 by Joseph Beneducci, a former Fireman's Fund CEO, and a group of industry executives, with backing from TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners. It got its insurance companies by buying NYMAGIC, a New York marine and specialty insurer listed on the NYSE, for $25.75 a share (about $230 million). The deal closed on November 23, 2010, bringing in New York Marine and General, Gotham and Southwest Marine and General. ProSight grew as a niche program and specialty writer and went public in July 2019.

In January 2021, TowerBrook and Further Global agreed to take ProSight private for $12.85 a share in cash, about $586 million, with TowerBrook as majority owner. The deal was conditioned on a reinsurance transaction with Enstar. It closed in August 2021, and Jonathan Ritz, formerly president of Aspen and CEO of Validus Specialty, became CEO. On April 19, 2022, ProSight Global was renamed Coaction Global and converted to a public benefit corporation. Ritz described the change as a move from a niche program administrator to a full specialty underwriter.

The turnaround has been substantial. Coaction says ProSight had about 52 niche offerings and $800 million of premium in 2020, with an over-reliance on programs. It re-underwrote that book into seven verticals. Its owners added about $200 million of equity in September 2023. In the third quarter of 2025, Coaction Global put another $80 million into the insurance companies, funded with holding company debt. Loss portfolio transfer and adverse development covers protect it against further development on legacy reserves. By mid-2026 it had also added Brokerage Light, a streamlined property product for risks outside its binding authority appetite.

Business insurance products

Primary casualty. General liability up to $2 million per occurrence / $4 million aggregate / $4 million products, on occurrence or claims-made forms. Minimum premiums are $10,000 for commercial and manufacturing risks and $15,000 for residential construction, with deductibles from $2,500. Target classes are contractors (general, custom home builders, artisans, HVAC, electrical, solar and cell tower contractors), manufacturers and general casualty such as retail, hospitality and car washes.

Excess casualty. Lead, middle and high excess layers on non-admitted paper in all 50 states, with up to $12.5 million of capacity, a $25,000 minimum premium and underlying carriers rated A- VII or better. Construction is a focus, including OCIP/CCIP wrap-ups, project-specific and owner's interest placements. Manufacturing, real estate, hospitality and retail are also targets.

Property. E&S commercial property, written only through appointed wholesale brokers. Coaction offers $5 million to $10 million working lines, including Florida wind and California earthquake, on target TIVs of $5 million to $150 million. Minimum premium is $25,000. Occupancies include hotels, apartments and condominiums, offices, restaurants, light manufacturing, vacant and unprotected buildings, and wildfire-exposed properties.

Marine, energy and transportation. Multiline programs (GL, auto liability and physical damage, inland marine, workers' comp, USL&H, ocean marine coverages, crime, limited pollution and limited professional) for upstream energy, marine construction, commercial marine, parking facilities, fuel distributors, franchise equipment dealers, pest control contractors, and taxi and bus operators. Excess limits reach $10 million for exposures outside New York City.

Entertainment. Coaction calls itself one of the largest insurers of live events in the U.S. It writes GL, umbrella, auto, property, inland marine and first-dollar workers' comp for artists, promoters, lighting and staging firms, rental houses and studios. Film packages cover cast, props, sets and wardrobe, faulty stock and extra expense, and producer portfolio limits reach $100 million.

Professional lines. D&O (including excess and Side A DIC for public companies, and the Coaction Collaborator management liability policy for private and nonprofit organizations), EPL, fiduciary, crime, E&O, cyber, transactional liability, surety and financial institution coverages. Coaction describes itself as a leading writer of credit union coverage. See Directors and officers (D&O) insurance explained.

Small business. A binding authority platform writes package GL and property for artisan contractors, small general contractors and remodelers, dwellings, hotels and motels, lessor's risk only, offices, warehouses and small manufacturers and distributors. Property limits are up to $2 million TIV per location and $4 million per policy. Brokerage Light takes package or monoline property up to $7 million per policy, with coastal capacity.

Who it insures

Coaction targets specialty, non-commodity accounts in the small-to-middle market. Construction, from General contractor insurance to artisan trades, runs through primary casualty, excess casualty and binding authority. Marine, energy and transportation is its largest vertical. Entertainment, including live events and film production, and professional lines are more specialized niches. Coaction also publishes what it avoids in primary casualty: habitational real estate, crane and scaffolding, bridge and highway, tunneling, mining, oil and gas, snow plowing, New York risks, New Jersey residential general contractors, cannabis, firearms, pharmaceuticals and tobacco. Its E&S property unit avoids builders risk, dealers' open lots, petrochemical, power generation and frame habitational accounts in Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado.

How to buy

Through a broker. Coaction's E&S business comes mainly from wholesale brokers, and the company says it has meaningful relationships with the three largest U.S. wholesalers. Specialty retail brokers complement the wholesale channel, and small accounts go through binding authority. Program business is limited to partners with relationships of 10 years or more. Submissions get 90-day clearance, and brokers use the Coaction Online for Partners portal. There is no direct quoting for business owners. See wholesale brokers and surplus lines placement: how hard risks get insured for how a wholesale placement works.

Claims

Report claims through your broker, the claims reporting page on coactionspecialty.com, or Coaction's toll-free line, 800-774-2755, which its contact page lists for bill pay, account support, claims and corporate questions. Coaction Direct customers have a separate line, 800-774-7335. Coaction says its claims adjusters average more than 15 years of experience and are organized by underwriting vertical. Professional liability claims are handled by licensed attorneys and senior examiners averaging 25 years of experience, and D&O claim attorneys handle both primary and excess claims. Insured design professionals get up to one hour of contract review and risk counseling through a partnership with the law firm Kelley Kronenberg.

Financial strength and ratings

On January 30, 2026, AM Best affirmed the A- (Excellent) financial strength rating and "a-" issuer credit rating of New York Marine and General, Gotham and Southwest Marine and General and revised the outlooks to positive. It also affirmed Coaction Global's "bbb-" issuer rating with a positive outlook. AM Best cited a very strong balance sheet and stabilizing loss reserves after strengthening in prior years. Other factors were protection from the loss portfolio transfer and adverse development covers, and the $80 million capital contribution. AM Best noted the contribution raised holding company leverage, though it remained within guidelines. Coaction's materials list AM Best Financial Size Category XI.

Coaction reports $861.3 million of policyholder surplus and $4.5 billion of total assets at year-end 2025, a 2025 accident-year combined ratio of 94.8%, and $118.2 million of adjusted operating income. These are company figures; Coaction notes that some of its published financial data are not audited.

Strengths and weaknesses

Coaction has turned a program-heavy ProSight into a broker-focused specialty underwriter with clear appetites and an improving rating outlook. It is still a mid-sized, private-equity-owned carrier rated A- with legacy reserve history.

• Strengths: Positive AM Best outlook since January 2026, backed by a $200 million equity raise from its owners in 2023 and an $80 million parent contribution in 2025. Detailed published appetites, limits and minimum premiums by vertical. Strong niches in live events and film, marine and energy, and credit union coverage. Admitted and E&S paper, plus binding authority for small accounts.
• Weaknesses: A- rating, below many E&S competitors such as Kinsale Insurance. Legacy reserve strengthening required LPT and ADC protection and a debt-funded capital injection in 2025. Long exclusion lists in primary casualty, including New York risks. Private equity ownership makes an eventual sale or IPO possible; CEO Jonathan Ritz has said there is no timeline for an IPO.

How to contact Coaction Specialty