Gen Star

What Gen Star does

GenStar Insurance Services, LLC is a specialty and surplus lines property and casualty insurer that underwrites hard-to-place risks that standard insurance markets will not accept. The company operates exclusively through a network of licensed wholesale brokers and appointed managing general agents (MGAs), distributing primary and excess liability, medical professional liability, property, and delegated program coverages across the United States. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Re Corporation, itself a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

The product portfolio is organized into four core divisions. Casualty Brokerage provides primary and excess liability coverages for specialty classes such as manufacturers, contractors, transportation, habitational, unmanned aircraft systems manufacturers, and criminal justice operations. Medical Professional covers malpractice for physicians, surgeons, dentists, miscellaneous healthcare facilities, and human services organizations. Property Brokerage insures commercial property risks including hotels, motels, and restaurants, with per-location limits up to $2M and per-policy limits up to $10M. Delegated Insurance comprises Property & Casualty coverages (Contractors PAC, Liquor Liability, Products Liability, Inland Marine) and Programs (Allied Health, Churches and Schools, Entertainment, Lawyers Professional Liability, Real Estate Appraisers, Ski Programs, Title Agents E&O, Accountants' Professional Liability) administered through appointed program administrators. Documented technology is limited: a broker extranet (GenStar CONNECT) handles policy access, underwriting guidelines, loss run retrieval, and direct billing, with SSL encryption securing data in transit. Underwriting analytics, predictive modeling, actuarial pricing, and catastrophe management sit organizationally under the Chief Underwriting Officer.

GenStar generates revenue through insurance premiums collected on policies underwritten across its product lines, with coverage written on admitted and surplus lines bases; pricing is not publicly disclosed and is determined individually through the wholesale broker channel. As a subsidiary within the Berkshire Hathaway structure, the company operates with effectively unlimited balance-sheet capacity and holds A.M. Best A++ (Superior) and Standard & Poor's AA+ financial strength ratings. The company maintains five U.S. offices (Stamford HQ, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Atlanta), is admitted as General Star National Insurance Company in all 50 states plus DC and Puerto Rico, and operates General Star Indemnity Company as an eligible surplus lines insurer across all states, DC, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

Name

Gen Star

Legal name

GenStar Insurance Services, LLC

Website

https://generalstar.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

GenStar Insurance Services, LLC is a specialty and surplus lines property and casualty insurer underwriting hard-to-place risks across the United States via licensed wholesale brokers and MGAs, backed by General Re Corporation and Berkshire Hathaway.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Property and Casualty Insurance

NAICS

Insurance Carriers (5241), Other Direct Insurance (except Life, Health, and Medical) Carriers (524128)

SIC

Fire, Marine & Casualty Insurance (6331), Insurance Carriers, Nec (6399)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSAJAGAA

Excess Casualty (Lead/Umbrella/XS)

Financial & Insurance/Insurance — Motor, Property & Casualty/Specialty & Excess/Surplus Lines (E&S)

SECONDARYFSAJAGAB

Surplus Lines Property (CAT/High-Hazard)

Financial & Insurance/Insurance — Motor, Property & Casualty/Specialty & Excess/Surplus Lines (E&S)

SECONDARYFSAEADAK

Insurance Program Administration & MGA/MGU Services

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Insurance Brokerage & Risk Advisory

Keywords

• Specialty property casualty insurance
• Surplus lines coverage
• Excess liability underwriting
• Medical professional liability
• Wholesale broker insurance

Headquarters

HQ city

Stamford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Insurance Premium Revenue: GenStar generates revenue through insurance premiums collected on property and casualty policies underwritten across its product lines (Casualty Brokerage, Medical Professional, Property Brokerage, and Delegated P&C & Programs). Policies are priced based on risk assessment and written on an admitted or surplus lines basis. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Re Corporation, the company operates with the financial backing of Berkshire Hathaway.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Gen Star underwrites and delivers excess, surplus, and specialty property and casualty insurance through four divisions—Casualty Brokerage, Property Brokerage, Medical Professional, and Delegated Property & Casualty and Programs—distributed exclusively via licensed wholesale brokers and managing general agents (MGAs). Coverage is available on both admitted and non-admitted/surplus lines bases across all U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Re Corporation (a Berkshire Hathaway company), Gen Star combines top-tier A.M. Best A++ and S&P AA+ financial strength with underwriting capacity for hard-to-place specialty risks.

Product overview

GenStar Insurance Services, LLC is the premier provider of excess, surplus, and specialty property and casualty insurance. The company operates as a wholesale broker-only distributor, conducting business exclusively through a select group of wholesale brokers. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Re Corporation (a Berkshire Hathaway company), GenStar offers financial stability and significant underwriting capacity. The product portfolio is organized into four core divisions: Property Brokerage (covering hotels, motels, restaurants, and other property risks), Casualty Brokerage (primary and excess liability for specialty risks including manufacturers, contractors, transport, and commercial entities), Medical Professional (malpractice coverage for healthcare providers and facilities), and Delegated Insurance (Property & Casualty products and Programs offered through appointed Program Administrators). The Delegated Programs include specialty E&O coverages for lawyers, insurance agents, real estate professionals, and title agents. Coverage is available nationwide on both admitted and non-admitted bases.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GenStar Programs Unit: Identifies, develops and manages fully delegated program opportunities on an admitted or non-admitted basis, including Casualty, E&O, Property and Umbrella coverages through appointed Program Administrators.
• GenStar CONNECT

Products and services

• Casualty Brokerage Provides primary and excess liability coverages tailored for hard-to-place specialty and surplus lines risks through a network of wholesale brokers, spanning manufacturers, contractors, transportation, habitational, social services, criminal justice, and other non-standard classes.
• Property Brokerage Property insurance coverage for a wide variety of commercial risks including hotels, motels, and restaurants, delivered through wholesale brokers on an admitted or surplus lines basis.
• Medical Professional Coverage for a wide range of medical malpractice exposures including physicians and surgeons (including non-standard doctors, nurse midwives, CRNAs, dentists, medical directors), miscellaneous healthcare facilities, and primary and excess human services, distributed through wholesale brokers.
• Delegated Property & Casualty Property, General Liability, Inland Marine, and Liquor Liability coverage offered nationwide on a non-admitted basis through designated surplus lines brokers, covering Contractors PAC, products liability for over 100 manufacturing classes, truckers general liability, inland marine floaters, and related lines.
• Delegated Programs Fully delegated program opportunities including Casualty, Errors & Omissions, Property, and Umbrella coverage on an admitted or non-admitted basis through appointed Program Administrators, spanning Allied Health, Churches and Schools, Entertainment, Real Estate Appraisers, Ski Programs, Title Agents E&O, Insurance Agents E&O, Lawyers Professional Liability, and others.
• Accountants' Professional Liability Program Professional liability (errors and omissions) coverage program for accountants, distributed through wholesale brokers and program administrators, consistent with GenStar's delegated Programs model for E&O coverages.

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Vanguard SpecialtyminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorVanguard Specialty serves as the Program Administrator for GenStar's Title Agents E&O program. As the designated program administrator, Vanguard Specialty manages the program operations and distribution of this specialized E&O coverage for Title Agents on behalf of GenStar.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Lexington Insurance Company: AIG-owned excess and surplus lines insurer writing specialty commercial property, casualty, and professional lines through wholesale brokers. Most directly comparable U.S. E&S competitor to GenStar in size, distribution model, and product breadth.
• Scottsdale Insurance Company: Nationwide's excess and surplus lines subsidiary writing specialty commercial casualty, property, and professional liability through wholesale brokers. Highly comparable in distribution model and product mix to GenStar.
• Ironshore Insurance: Liberty Mutual Specialty Insurance business writing excess, surplus, and specialty commercial lines through wholesale brokers. Comparable in target customer (wholesale broker/MGA channel) and specialty line breadth.
• James River Insurance Company: Specialty E&S insurer writing commercial casualty, professional liability, and healthcare liability through wholesale brokers. Highly comparable mid-sized specialty competitor with similar target classes.
• Evanston Insurance Company: Markel's excess and surplus lines carrier writing specialty casualty, property, and professional liability. Directly comparable specialty carrier with similar A-rated financial strength and wholesale distribution.
• Admiral Insurance Group: Specialty commercial E&S insurer (Berkshire Hathaway W.R. Berkley affiliate) writing casualty, professional liability, and healthcare liability through wholesale brokers. Comparable mid-sized specialty competitor.
• Nautilus Insurance Group: W.R. Berkley subsidiary writing specialty commercial casualty and professional liability for difficult-to-place risks through wholesale brokers. Comparable target risk profile (hard-to-place, non-standard classes).
• Capitol Specialty Insurance Corporation: RPS-owned specialty/surplus lines carrier writing casualty, property, and professional liability through wholesale brokers. Directly comparable in distribution model and specialty risk appetite.
• Landmark American Insurance Company: RSUI Group subsidiary writing specialty casualty and property through wholesale brokers. Comparable mid-sized E&S carrier with similar specialty risk appetite and broker distribution.

Broad incumbents

• Genesis Insurance: Sister company under General Re Corporation providing excess casualty and specialty professional liability insurance through wholesale brokers. Operates in the same corporate parent and broadly similar excess casualty space, though focused more narrowly on casualty/professional lines.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/general-star-management-co.

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gen Star