Three of the largest U.S. wholesale firms, CRC, AmWINS Brokerage, and Swett & Crawford announced the launch of a new $25 million public D&O program at Lloyd’s called the CAS Facility. The facility, which offers Excess and Side A DIC coverages, is only available through those three wholesale brokers and will begin binding risks with effective dates starting on Dec. 1, 2014.

“We are excited to participate in this facility, which brings much-needed public D&O capacity into the wholesale marketplace, and targeted distribution to the Lloyd’s market. It’s a win-win for all parties.”

Aimed at the North American market, the CAS Facility is an A-rated program backed 100 percent by Lloyd’s of London paper. Licensed and permitted in 87 countries, Lloyd’s features a geographical split uncorrelated from North American domestic capacity. An additional layer of protection for CAS policyholders will also be provided by the Lloyd’s Central Fund.

In a statement, Jason White, Managing Director, Swett & Crawford Professional Services Group said, “The $25 million dedicated capacity is bigger than most other D&O markets which typically offer $10 million so it’s a more efficient way to place risk.”

Bill Dixon, Executive Vice President, AmWINS Brokerage, said: “We are pleased to be in a position to offer our public D&O clients…meaningful limits through the newly formed CAS Facility, a cooperative effort among the three leading U.S. wholesale brokerage firms and three of the leading D&O underwriters in the Lloyd’s market.”

Garrett Koehn, Regional Director, CRC said: “We are excited to participate in this facility, which brings much-needed public D&O capacity into the wholesale marketplace, and targeted distribution to the Lloyd’s market. It’s a win-win for all parties.”

Sources: Swett & Crawford, AmWINS, CRC