Mereo Advisors Limited

What Mereo Advisors Limited does

Cedar Trace (formerly Mereo Advisors Limited) is a Bermuda-based insurance, reinsurance, and insurance-linked securities (ILS) platform founded in 2024 and targeting operational launch for the January 1, 2025 reinsurance renewal cycle. The company offers a multi-class underwriting platform spanning Property (including catastrophe excess of loss, wind, earthquake, wildfire, flood, terror, nuclear, industry loss warranties, and parametric covers), Casualty (general and excess liability, professional indemnity, E&O, D&O, and cyber), and Specialty (marine, energy, aviation, space, political risk, A&H, crop, and contingency), supported by a dedicated ILS division under a separate CEO. The firm accepts both proportional (quota share) and non-proportional risk transfer from ceding carriers, targeting Regional, Nationwide, and Global insurers, P&Cs, Lloyd's Syndicates, and MGAs, with a stated catastrophe book split of approximately 70% US and 30% international across Europe, Canada, the Caribbean, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

The business model is a classic reinsurance underwriting model: Cedar Trace generates revenue through reinsurance premiums negotiated on a quote-by-quote basis with ceding counterparties, with capacity backed by Susquehanna as lead private equity investor and supplemented by ILS fund investor capital. Distribution is entirely direct and relationship-driven, accessed through quota share arrangements with proven carriers rather than through brokers. Pricing is non-public, risk-based, and structured around multi-year contracts where applicable. The company has assembled a senior leadership team drawn from AIG, Hamilton Insurance Group, Chubb, AEGIS London, Fidelis Insurance Bermuda, IQUW, Ariel Re, and Swiss Re, providing deep underwriting, ILS, analytics, and capital management expertise to support enterprise-level client engagement from launch.

The underlying technology is described as a unified insurance and reinsurance underwriting platform rather than a proprietary software product. No AI/ML capabilities, APIs, or productized technology offerings are disclosed. Operational differentiation centers on the leadership bench's underwriting track record, the integration of traditional reinsurance with ILS capital through the Cedar Trace ILS subsidiary, and the multi-line underwriting authority that allows the firm to provide capacity across Property, Casualty, and Specialty through a single counterparty relationship.

Name

Mereo Advisors Limited

Legal name

Cedar Trace Limited

Website

https://mereoadvisors.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cedar Trace (formerly Mereo Advisors) is a Bermuda-based reinsurance and ILS platform founded in 2024, offering Property, Casualty, and Specialty risk transfer to global carriers, Lloyd's Syndicates, and MGAs with Susquehanna as lead PE backer.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Reinsurance

NAICS

Insurance Carriers and Related Activities (524), Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage (5231), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Accident & Health Insurance (6321)

akta.pro primary industry

Commercial Lines P&C Reinsurance (FSAOABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Catastrophe Bond / ILS-Linked Reinsurance (FSAOACAM), Property (Non-Cat) Reinsurance (FSAOABAE), Catastrophe Bonds & Insurance-Linked Notes (ILS) (FSACABAO)

Keywords

• Reinsurance underwriting
• Property catastrophe reinsurance
• Casualty reinsurance
• Specialty insurance lines
• Insurance-linked securities

Headquarters

HQ city

Bermuda

HQ country

Bermuda

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Reinsurance Premiums: Cedar Trace generates revenue through reinsurance premiums, accepting both proportional (quota share) and non-proportional (Cat XOL) risk from ceding carriers across Property, Casualty, and Specialty lines.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Cedar Trace (formerly Mereo Advisors Limited) underwrites reinsurance across three core lines — Property, Casualty, and Specialty — offering both proportional (quota share) and non-proportional (Cat XOL) risk transfer to insurance carriers, Lloyd's Syndicates, and MGAs globally. The company also operates a dedicated Insurance-Linked Securities (ILS) platform providing capital markets solutions alongside its traditional reinsurance balance sheet.

Product overview

Cedar Trace (formerly Mereo Advisors) operates as a unified insurance and reinsurance platform offering three core product lines: Property, Casualty, and Specialty insurance/reinsurance. The company also operates a dedicated ILS (Insurance-Linked Securities) division for capital markets solutions. The platform covers both proportional and non-proportional opportunities across its business lines, serving Regional, Nationwide and Global carriers as well as Lloyd's Syndicates and MGAs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Property Reinsurance Property reinsurance coverage including Cat XOL (excess of loss) with a 70% US and 30% international cat split, covering wind, earthquake, wildfire, SCS, flood, PV, Terror, Nuclear, ILWs and Parametrics. Target appetite includes international spread across Europe, Canada, Caribbean, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Sold to Regional, Nationwide and Global insurance carriers.
• Specialty Reinsurance Broad mix of specialty classes including Marine, Energy, Aviation, Space, Political Risks, A&H, Crop and Contingency, offered on both proportional and non-proportional basis with modest appetite for Retro. Target clients include Globals, P&Cs, Lloyd's Syndicates and MGAs.
• Casualty Reinsurance Broad-based Casualty class covering General and Excess Liability, Professional Indemnity, E&O, D&O and Cyber for Marine, Energy, Transportation, Financial Lines, Mid-Market General Liability and Cyber sectors. Accessed through quota share arrangements with proven carriers that have impressive track records.
• Insurance-Linked Securities (ILS) Dedicated Insurance-Linked Securities platform led by Neil Strong (CEO of Cedar Trace ILS) providing capital markets solutions and reinsurance integration, with ILS fund investor backing.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Natural Disaster FundminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNeil Strong, President of Cedar Trace and CEO of Cedar Trace ILS, currently advises and sits on the Investment Committee of the Natural Disaster Fund, an entity backed by the UK and German governments providing parametric insurance and reinsurance solutions to developing nations, communities and economies.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Beazley: Lloyd's-based specialty insurer with growing reinsurance and ILS operations. Comparable specialty class mix (Marine, Energy, Cyber, A&H, Political Risks) and explicit use of third-party capital to support underwriting.
• Hamilton Insurance Group: Bermuda specialty insurer/reinsurer with deep Lloyd's and ILS franchises. Cedar Trace's Executive Chairman and CFO both led functions at Hamilton, and the multi-line P&C plus ILS business model closely parallels Hamilton's structure.
• Fidelis Insurance Group: Established Bermuda-based specialty insurer and reinsurer. Directly comparable: Cedar Trace's CUO ILS (Richard Holden) ran $2.9B of group income as Global CEO Reinsurance at Fidelis, and Cedar Trace targets the same proportional and non-proportional specialty and property book.
• Hiscox Re / Hiscox Group: London-listed specialty (re)insurer with strong Lloyd's and ILS capabilities (Hiscox ILS). Comparable in product breadth across Property, Casualty and Specialty, with overlapping global carrier and Syndicate client base.

Direct peers

• Oak Re: New Bermuda-domiciled P&C reinsurance start-up also aiming for the 1/1/2025 launch, alongside Cedar Trace. Direct peer given identical vintage, target classes (Property, Casualty, Specialty) and same renewal window.
• AEGIS London: Lloyd's managing agency writing specialty and reinsurance business; Cedar Trace CEO David Croom Johnson previously led AEGIS London to doubled size and profitability. Overlapping leadership and Lloyd's franchise make it a highly comparable peer.
• Alpine Re: Another 2025-vintage Bermuda reinsurance start-up targeting the same January 1 renewal, competing head-to-head for ceding carriers' capital allocation in Property and Specialty lines.
• IQUW (IQUW ILS): London/Bermuda specialty reinsurer with a dedicated ILS arm; Cedar Trace's ILS CEO and Head of Underwriting Management both came directly from IQUW, and the ILS-plus-specialty underwriting mix is highly comparable.
• Ariel Re: Bermuda-domiciled specialty reinsurer serving global carriers and MGAs across Property, Casualty, Marine and Energy. Cedar Trace's Chief Analytics & Risk Officer led analytics at Ariel Re, and the underwriting approach (data-driven catastrophe and specialty) is closely aligned.

Emerging players

• Third Point Reinsurance: Bermuda-based specialty reinsurer linking capital-markets investors with reinsurance underwriting. Comparable ILS/reinsurance integration model and Property/Specialty underwriting appetite to Cedar Trace's ILS division.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mereo-advisors-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Mereo Advisors Limited