Kinsale Insurance business insurance

Overview

Kinsale is a pure excess and surplus lines insurer: it writes only non-admitted business, for small and midsize accounts that standard carriers will not take, and it sells only through surplus lines brokers. Kinsale Insurance Company was ranked No. 48 among U.S. business insurers by 2025 commercial lines direct premiums written, with $1.93 billion, based on NAIC market share data. More than half of that is other liability (general and excess liability), followed by fire, products liability and allied lines property. It ranks seventh nationally in products liability, a striking position for a company founded in 2009.

The NAIC "group" is a single company, Kinsale Insurance Company, which AM Best lists in Little Rock, Arkansas. Its parent, Kinsale Capital Group, Inc., is a public company based in Richmond, Virginia, and trades on the New York Stock Exchange as KNSL. Michael P. Kehoe is chairman, president and CEO.

Kinsale's pitch to brokers is speed and appetite: it says its underwriting is contrarian ("when other carriers say no, Kinsale will say yes") and that it aims to deliver quotes within 24 hours, supported by Transit, its in-house suite of underwriting and policy systems.

History

Kinsale was founded in Richmond in 2009; Brian Haney, who retired as president in 2026, had been with the company since its founding. It grew by focusing on small, hard-to-place E&S accounts and keeping costs low with its own technology, which management credits for its "technology-enabled low costs."

• July 28, 2016: Kinsale Capital Group's shares began trading on Nasdaq after an initial public offering of 6.6 million shares at $16.
• December 2021: the company announced it was transferring its listing to the New York Stock Exchange.
• December 2022: Kinsale bought real estate in Richmond for a new campus, Kinsale Center, whose first phase was completed in November 2025.
• March 1, 2024: Kehoe became chairman as well as CEO, Haney became president, and Stuart Winston became chief underwriting officer.
• March 2, 2026: Haney retired and joined the board, Kehoe added the title of president, and Winston was promoted to executive vice president and chief underwriting officer.

Business insurance products

Kinsale is organized in underwriting divisions, each with its own submission mailbox:

• Casualty: general casualty, construction (commercial, industrial, residential and specialty trades, typically contractors with more than $2 million in revenue, including railroad liability and owners and contractors protective coverage) and excess casualty, which offers up to $10 million of supported or unsupported follow-form excess at lead, buffer or high attachment points.
• Small business: a division for small risks, defined as revenue under $2.5 million, apartments under 200 units, buildings under 200,000 square feet and vacant land under 1,500 acres. It focuses on artisan and trade contractors and nearly 200 premises classes (apartments, condo associations, hotels, lessor's risk, shopping centers, vacant buildings), writing occurrence-form general liability with deductibles of $1,000 to $10,000 and generally quoting within four hours.
• Specialty casualty: products liability, product recall, life sciences, energy, entertainment and environmental.
• Professional lines: professional liability, excess professional, allied health and health care, management liability and public entity.
• Property: E&S commercial property (all risk, difference in conditions or single peril, up to $12.5 million of capacity, plus primary quota share on schedules up to $250 million and excess layers on schedules up to $5 billion of insured value) and a small property unit.
• Transportation and agribusiness: commercial auto, aviation, inland and ocean marine, and agribusiness casualty and property. Kinsale also writes high-value homeowners on an E&S basis.

Who it insures

Kinsale wants what others decline: contractors with poor loss histories, cannabis growers and dispensaries, firearms makers and distributors, security guard firms, special events, habitational and vacant property, and high-hazard manufacturers. Its industry pages also cover aerospace, education, energy, hospitality, life sciences, medical professionals, real estate, religious organizations, retail and warehousing.

The trade-off is that every Kinsale policy is non-admitted. Rates and forms are not filed or approved by the state the way admitted policies are, surplus lines taxes apply, and the policy is not backed by the state guaranty fund if the insurer fails. See admitted vs non-admitted insurers: what the difference means. If an admitted carrier will write the risk on reasonable terms, many buyers prefer that.

How to buy

You cannot buy from Kinsale directly, and most retail agents cannot either. Your agent places the account through a wholesale broker appointed with Kinsale; the "Find a Broker" tool on Kinsale's site lists appointed brokers by state. Brokers email submissions to the right division (for example, small business, construction or commercial property), and Kinsale publishes appetite lists and submission requirements for each. Expect underwriting questions about loss history, operations and subcontractor controls, and expect a quick answer either way. See wholesale brokers and surplus lines placement: how hard risks get insured.

Claims

Kinsale requires every claim, loss or incident to be reported in writing to its claims department. Business policyholders report by email to the new-claim mailbox or by fax at 804-482-2762, or through their agent; homeowners can also call 804-289-1394. Include the policy number, your contact details, the date and location of loss, a short description and claimant and witness contacts. Kinsale assigns a claims professional as your point of contact and handles claims from a single office in Richmond, with examiners and staff attorneys organized by specialty. Report as soon as practicable, and do not admit fault or settle without the adjuster.

Financial strength and ratings

In August 2026, AM Best affirmed Kinsale Insurance Company's Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and upgraded its Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to "a+" from "a," with stable outlooks, citing its increased scale, established E&S position and disciplined, profitable growth. It also upgraded Kinsale Capital Group's issuer rating to "bbb+" from "bbb."

Kinsale's results are among the strongest in the industry. For 2025 it reported gross written premiums of $2.0 billion, up 5.7%, a combined ratio of 75.9%, net income of $503.6 million and operating return on equity of 26.4%. Growth is slowing, though: its Commercial Property Division, the largest, shrank 17.9% in 2025 on lower rates and competition, including from standard carriers, and gross written premiums fell 2.9% in the first half of 2026, with a 76.4% combined ratio.

Strengths and weaknesses

Kinsale built its business on answering small, hard-to-place E&S submissions fast and saying yes more often than many markets. Its limits are structural: E&S-only paper, broker-only access and an A rating rather than A+.

• Strengths: Broad appetite for hard-to-place small and midsize risks, including classes many carriers exclude. Fast turnaround (often same day for small business). A combined ratio around 76% and AM Best's issuer rating upgrade in August 2026. No. 7 nationally in products liability.
• Weaknesses: Non-admitted only, so no guaranty fund protection and surplus lines taxes. Reachable only through appointed wholesale brokers. Financial strength rating of A (Excellent), a notch below some E&S rivals. Claims must be reported in writing; there is no business claims phone line. Property premium is shrinking as standard carriers return.

How to contact Kinsale Insurance