Trisura business insurance

Overview

In the U.S., Trisura is mostly a name on a declarations page. Its U.S. Programs business, based in Oklahoma City, lends its licenses and A- rating to managing general agents (MGAs) and program administrators. Those partners underwrite and sell the policies. Trisura keeps a small share of each program's risk, typically a 5% to 15% quota share, and cedes the rest to reinsurers. It earns fees on the premium that passes through. This is fronting with some skin in the game, which Trisura calls "hybrid fronting."

That model put the NAIC's TRISURA GRP ranked No. 62 among U.S. business insurers by 2025 commercial lines direct premiums written, with $1.34 billion, based on NAIC market share data. That is about 0.28% of the national commercial market. It is not among the 10 largest writers of any single commercial line nationally. The largest lines are:

• other liability ($479.2 million);
• commercial auto ($399.8 million);
• commercial multiple peril, or package policies ($179.4 million);
• fire ($131.7 million).

Trisura's investor materials rank it fourth in U.S. programs by 2024 direct written premium and in the top five for 2025.

The U.S. companies are:

• Trisura Specialty Insurance Company: a surplus lines insurer that can write in all states.
• Trisura Insurance Company: the company used for admitted programs.
• Bricktown Specialty Insurance Company: another program company. It and the first two are domiciled in Oklahoma.
• First Founders Assurance Company: a U.S. Treasury-listed surety company bought in 2024.

The parent, Trisura Group Ltd., is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSU). It also owns Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company, a Canadian surety, warranty, corporate insurance and fronting carrier. David Clare is president and CEO.

History

• 2006: Trisura Guarantee starts writing business in Canada. It was founded within Brookfield Asset Management.
• 2017: Trisura Group is incorporated in January and spun out of Brookfield as a separately listed company.
• 2018: The U.S. programs business starts writing on Trisura Specialty Insurance Company.
• February 28, 2023: Trisura announces a one-time write-down of reinsurance recoverables in its U.S. fronting business, taken at December 31, 2022. It stems from a dispute over a quota share reinsurance contract on a single program. AM Best put the write-down at C$81.5 million.
• March 17, 2023: AM Best affirms the A- ratings but moves the outlooks to negative. It cites needed improvements in how Trisura managed captive reinsurers in its U.S. operations. The outlooks later return to stable.
• March 15, 2024: Trisura closes the purchase of First Founders Assurance Company for C$18.8 million, giving it Treasury-listed U.S. surety paper.
• December 2025: DBRS upgrades the operating companies to A, and Fitch assigns A- ratings.
• 2026: Trisura issues C$200 million of senior notes in March. It uses part of the money to capitalize the U.S. surety company, which reaches 48 state licenses, including California, Hawaii and Minnesota, by the second quarter.

Trisura has also put some U.S. programs into run-off. It describes these "exited lines" as programs that were not renewed because they no longer fit its risk appetite.

Business insurance products

Programs. Program partners design the products. Trisura's second-quarter 2026 U.S. program premium broke down like this:

• primary and excess casualty: 30.8%;
• commercial auto: 26.0%;
• commercial multiple peril: 14.4%;
• homeowners: 6.2%;
• other: 22.6%, including flood, auto physical damage, inland marine, monoline property, farmowners, products liability and surety.

Surety. Trisura writes contract surety, meaning bid, performance and payment bonds, mainly for construction contractors, suppliers and manufacturers. It also writes commercial surety bonds, such as license and court bonds, and subdivision or site improvement bonds for national and regional home builders and developers. See surety bonds explained: how they differ from insurance and bid, performance and payment bonds: how contract surety works. Trisura says it ranks in the top 30 U.S. sureties by market share.

Corporate insurance. In the U.S., this means a management indemnity package combining D&O, employment practices, fiduciary and crime, and an excess policy over D&O, EPL, fiduciary, cyber, tech E&O and professional liability.

Who it insures

Trisura insures whoever the programs on its paper target. Its own published mix shows mostly casualty, commercial auto and package business, generally for small and mid-sized commercial accounts. Trisura does not publish a list of its MGA partners. The surety unit targets construction companies, service contractors, suppliers and manufacturers (see General contractor insurance), as well as home builders and developers.

Program appetite changes. In the second quarter of 2026, U.S. program premium grew only 1.7% from a year earlier, in Canadian dollars, and AM Best's July 2026 release mentions "ongoing portfolio optimization." Some programs have been put into run-off. If your program loses Trisura's backing, it usually moves to another carrier at renewal.

How to buy

You can't buy a program policy from Trisura directly:

1. Your retail agent places the account with an MGA or program administrator, sometimes through a wholesale broker.
2. The program issues the policy on Trisura Specialty (surplus lines) or Trisura Insurance (admitted).
3. Reinsurers named in the program's treaty carry most of the risk, and Trisura requires collateral from reinsurers rated below A-.

For surety and management liability, Trisura works through contracted brokers; it said it had them in 36 states at the end of 2025. Read fronting arrangements and fronting carriers: how they work and program business: niche insurance through program administrators for how this structure affects you, and check the issuing company on your declarations page. Under excess and surplus lines rules, surplus lines policies are placed by a licensed surplus lines broker and are generally outside state guaranty funds.

Claims

For a program policy, report the claim to the claims contact printed on the policy. That is usually the MGA's claims unit or a third-party administrator. Trisura publishes no U.S. claims phone line. Its U.S. contact form lets you choose "Claims," give the policy number and say whether it is an insurance or surety claim. The Oklahoma City office is at 405-583-6100.

If a claim stalls, Trisura's complaint process starts with the person handling the matter, such as the program administrator or claim handler. It then escalates to Trisura management. For U.S. policies, your state insurance department can also take a complaint against the issuing company.

Financial strength and ratings

AM Best affirmed the A- (Excellent) financial strength rating and "a-" issuer credit ratings of all five operating companies on July 31, 2026, with stable outlooks. The five are Trisura Specialty, Trisura Insurance, Bricktown Specialty, First Founders and Trisura Guarantee. AM Best judged risk-adjusted capital at its strongest level and noted financial leverage of 17.3% at the end of the first quarter of 2026. It also noted favorable reserve development overall, "partially offset by some adverse development in the United States," though that adverse development has been moderating.

Fitch assigned A- insurer financial strength ratings on December 17, 2025. DBRS raised the operating companies to A on December 11, 2025. No S&P or Moody's ratings are published.

Results from Trisura's August 6, 2026 release, in Canadian dollars:

• The consolidated combined ratio for the second quarter was 84.9%.
• Book value passed C$1 billion.
• U.S. Programs gross premiums written were C$583.8 million in the quarter, with a combined ratio of 80.2% excluding exited lines.

Strengths and weaknesses

Trisura gives MGAs admitted and surplus lines paper with a parent that has grown book value steadily. For you, the experience depends on the program you're in. The 2022 reinsurance write-down shows what can go wrong in a fronting model.

• Strengths: All U.S. companies carry an A- (Excellent) AM Best rating, affirmed in July 2026, along with Fitch A- and DBRS A. It has admitted licenses in 49 states and D.C. and surplus lines eligibility in all states. It keeps a 5% to 15% share of program risk, which aligns its interests with program partners, and requires collateral from lower-rated reinsurers. Its Treasury-listed surety company now has 48 state licenses.
• Weaknesses: You can't buy program coverage directly, and there's no U.S. policyholder claims line. Service depends on the MGA. The C$81.5 million recoverable write-down and the 2023 negative outlook exposed weaknesses in managing captive reinsurers. AM Best still notes adverse reserve development in the U.S. Some programs have been non-renewed into run-off.

How to contact Trisura