Starr Insurance Companies business insurance

Overview

Starr is a privately held, New York-based specialty insurer that brokers turn to for large property, aviation, marine, energy and construction risks. Its U.S. companies ranked No. 18 among U.S. business insurers by 2025 commercial lines direct premiums written, with $7.29 billion, based on NAIC market share data. Starr is the largest U.S. writer of commercial fire insurance and of aircraft insurance, and second in ocean marine. Fire ($2.42 billion) and other liability ($2.24 billion) were its two biggest lines in 2025, and nearly all of its U.S. premium is commercial.

The NAIC group has three U.S. insurers: Starr Indemnity & Liability Company (the admitted flagship, domiciled in Texas and run from New York), Starr Surplus Lines Insurance Company and Starr Specialty Insurance Company, which write excess and surplus lines and specialty business. Outside the U.S., Starr operates insurers in Europe and Asia, a Bermuda reinsurer and Lloyd's syndicates.

"Starr" is the marketing name for the insurance and travel assistance companies of Starr International Company, Inc., a Switzerland-based private holding company, and the investment business of C. V. Starr & Co., Inc. Starr reported $12.4 billion of gross written premium, $43.9 billion of assets and $14.9 billion of shareholders' equity at December 31, 2025. There is no public stock, so outside buyers see far less financial detail than they would for a listed carrier.

History

Starr traces its roots to 1919, when Cornelius Vander Starr started an insurance business in Shanghai. AIG also traces its roots to that 1919 Shanghai agency, American Asiatic Underwriters, and the two organizations stay linked through Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg, the former AIG chief executive who went on to serve as chairman and CEO of C. V. Starr & Co. (see AIG). As of the company's October 2025 and March 2026 announcements, Jeff Greenberg was chairman and co-CEO of Starr, and Steve Blakey, named president and CEO of Starr Insurance Holdings in December 2017, ran the insurance operation.

Deals that shaped today's business:

• 2016: acquired Wright USA, a federal employee professional liability agency and TPA, now marketed as Starr-Wright USA.
• 2018: took over the renewal rights to Aspen Insurance's aviation book (more than $50 million of premium) when Aspen exited aviation.
• 2024: launched Twin Maples Specialty, a wholesale division in Alpharetta, Georgia, for professional liability and financial lines.
• 2025–2026: agreed in October 2025 to buy IQUW Group, a Lloyd's business with about $1.9 billion of gross written premium, and closed the deal on March 23, 2026. Starr says its managing agency is now the ninth largest at Lloyd's. IQUW's Syndicate 1856 is being rebranded Starr, IQUW Re now trades as Starr Re, and ERS, a U.K. motor syndicate, keeps its name.

Business insurance products

Starr is a lead and layered market for large accounts more than a package carrier:

• Property: primary, buffer, middle and excess layers on shared and layered programs, including catastrophe-exposed locations, or as sole insurer; plus builders risk, inland marine and technical risks (equipment breakdown and engineering lines). In September 2026 it named a head of U.S. middle-market retail property to grow that platform.
• Casualty: primary and excess casualty, national accounts, construction wrap-ups, contractors and site pollution, workers' compensation and business auto.
• Aviation and space: airlines and aerospace manufacturers, general and corporate aviation, light aircraft, airports, an aviation workers' comp program, and space risks. See aviation insurance for business aircraft owners and operators.
• Marine and energy: hull, marine liability, ocean cargo and energy coverage. See ocean marine and cargo insurance: how shipment and vessel coverage works.
• Financial and professional lines: D&O for public, private and nonprofit companies (including a 2026 public company D&O suite for U.S. and U.K. listed businesses), Side A, financial institutions, crime and fidelity, cyber, lawyers and accountants professional liability, and technology and media E&O.
• Specialty: kidnap, ransom and extortion, political risk, product recall, federal employee liability, and travel accident.

Who it insures

Starr's sweet spot is mid-sized and large companies with complex exposures: aviation operators and manufacturers, contractors and project owners, energy companies, shippers and marine operators, real estate owners, manufacturers, retailers and hospitality groups. The company says it can write in more than 170 countries, which matters to U.S. firms with foreign locations or contracts.

It is not built for a small business shopping for a basic package policy. Smaller accounts tend to reach Starr through specialty niches, such as light aircraft, small airports, and professional or financial lines placed through Twin Maples.

How to buy

Starr sells through brokers. Retail brokers place most business, wholesale brokers reach the surplus lines companies and Twin Maples, and Starr has regional underwriting offices across the U.S. There is no direct or online quoting for business owners. Brokers use the StarrLink portal, which has offered online quoting for U.S. airports with liability limits up to $10 million and no more than one million annual enplanements since 2013.

Claims

Report claims through your broker or directly to Starr's claims unit at 855-782-7725 (855-STARR25), by fax at 646-786-3950, by email at [email protected], or with the online claims form. Starr handles claims with in-house professionals who bring in independent adjusters, engineers and forensic accountants on complex property and business interruption losses. Its aviation safety and loss control team, which Starr says has more than 70 years of experience, provides on-site assessments, Safety Management System gap analysis and IS-BAO and IS-BAH audit support at no cost to aviation clients.

Financial strength and ratings

AM Best affirmed the A (Excellent) financial strength rating and "a+" issuer credit rating of Starr Indemnity & Liability, Starr Surplus Lines and Starr Specialty in February 2026 and revised the outlooks to positive from stable. AM Best pointed to a materially lower underwriting expense base, more consistent underwriting results and the expected diversification from IQUW. The "a+" issuer rating dates to an upgrade in December 2022. Starr's Lloyd's syndicate carries the Lloyd's market ratings, including A+ (Strong) from S&P.

An A (Excellent) sits one notch below A+ on AM Best's scale, so check it against any contract or lender clause that demands A+ paper. Starr is not ranked in J.D. Power's small commercial study.

Strengths and weaknesses

Starr is a deep specialty market for hard-to-place and large risks, with a balance sheet AM Best assesses as strongest, but it is private, rated A rather than A+, and not set up for small package business.

• Strengths: No. 1 in U.S. commercial fire and aircraft and No. 2 in ocean marine in 2025; layered and sole-insurer property capacity, including catastrophe-exposed risks; global reach in more than 170 countries and, since 2026, a much larger Lloyd's platform; positive AM Best outlook as of February 2026.
• Weaknesses: AM Best rating of A (Excellent) trails several large peers; privately held, so financial disclosure is limited; broker-only distribution with little appetite for small package accounts; the IQUW integration and syndicate rebranding are still in progress in 2026.

Brokers typically compare Starr with AIG, Chubb and AXA XL on large property, aviation and marine placements.

How to contact Starr Insurance Companies