  News & InfoDelos Insurance Group Announces E&S Joint Venture with Avoca Insurance HoldingsNaxos Avondale Specialty Casualty Inc. Created to Serve Surplus Lines Market NEW YORK and BOSTON—August 10, 2009 – Delos Insurance Group, a leader in program business, today announced the signing of a joint venture agreement with Avoca Insurance Holdings (Avoca), a specialty underwriting management company. The newly formed underwriting management company called Naxos Avondale Specialty Casualty Inc. (Naxos Avondale) will enhance Delos’ underwriting and service capabilities in the specialty casualty excess and surplus lines (E&S) market. Under terms of the agreement, Naxos Avondale, which has significant underwriting expertise will be the exclusive excess and surplus lines underwriting manager for Naxos Insurance Company, the wholly-owned E&S subsidiary of Delos Insurance Group. Naxos Avondale will primarily write a broad range of casualty classes with a focus on small to mid-sized specialty casualty lines of business. The management team of Naxos Avondale will be led by Chris Maciejewski, an industry veteran with extensive experience in the specialty casualty sector. Maciejewski most recently served as President of Aspen Specialty Insurance Company and as Senior Vice President of First State Management Group. David Lewis, formally of Aspen Specialty and Hartford Specialty, also joins Naxos Avondale as Chief Underwriting Officer. David brings more than 20 years of E&S casualty underwriting experience to this newly formed operation. Naxos Avondale is headquartered in Boston, and business will be sourced through wholesale brokers. The company will work closely in its distribution efforts with Avoca subsidiary Avondale Insurance Associates, led by Peter Coghlan. “For a strong underwriting company, the specialty casualty segment presents excellent long-term value creation opportunities,” said Maciejewski, who will be President and CEO of the company. “At Naxos Avondale, our core underwriting approach is based on developing solutions for niche segments and supported by our considerable product depth. I am very glad to be working with Peter, David and our partners at Naxos Insurance Company. Together we look forward to bringing our experience and creative underwriting solutions to the specialty E&S marketplace.” “Naxos Avondale’s expertise and capabilities place us in a strong position to compete within the E&S market while enhancing the overall diversification of our group and enabling us to leverage our competencies. We believe this transaction will deliver significant long-term value for our customers and shareholders," said Bill Davis, CEO of Delos Insurance Group. Participation in this joint venture was organized through Lightyear Delos Acquisition Corp., the parent holding company for Delos Insurance Group, and through Avoca Insurance Holdings. SFRi LLC, a boutique merchant banking firm serving the insurance and risk management industries acted as financial advisor to the joint venture formation. About Delos Insurance Group The Delos Insurance Group of companies has emerged as a leading provider of specialty insuranceprograms with significant experience managing unusual program books through the company’s successful outsourcing model. Delos created Naxos Insurance in 2007 to add significant value to the company’s business model and provide an alternative approach to customized coverages, offering more flexibility and innovative underwriting for the E&S marketplace. Delos and Naxos are rated A- (Excellent) by A.M. Best Company. Visit www.delosinsurance.com or www.naxosinsurance.com for more information. About Naxos Avondale Specialty Casualty Inc. Naxos Avondale is a specialty underwriting manager headquartered in Boston. Visit www.naxosavondale.com for more information or contact Chris Maciejewski at cmaciejewski@naxosavondale.com. About Avoca Insurance Holdings Avoca Insurance Holdings is a Bermuda-based company that, through Avoca Underwriting Partners, specializes in building and operating insurance underwriting and distribution platforms. For more information contact Peter Coghlan at pcoghlan@avocaup.com. # # # For more information, please contact: Kathleen Ferrari Stanton Public Relations & Marketing (646) 502-3534 or kferrari@stantonprm.com   |
