Key Takeaways
- • Crestview Partners, a New York-based middle-market private equity firm with over $10 billion in aggregate fund commitments, has made an investment in Novel Financial Holdings, Inc. to support its expansion in insurance underwriting and services.
- • Novel is a holding company that owns traditional insurance carriers, manages policyholder-owned reciprocal exchanges through attorney-in-fact entities, and operates insurance services businesses, with Novel-managed carriers writing approximately $2 billion of annual gross written premium.
- • The transaction broadens Novel's ownership base, with CEO Rob Bredahl citing Crestview's two decades of insurance and reinsurance investing as a key rationale for the partnership.
- • Howden Capital Markets & Advisory acted as exclusive financial advisor to Novel on the transaction; the deal terms, including the investment amount, were not disclosed in the source material.
Summary
Novel Financial Holdings, Inc. ("Novel"), a Jersey City, N.J.-based holding company building a diversified underwriting and insurance services platform, announced an investment from Crestview Partners ("Crestview"), a private equity firm, according to a Business Wire release. The new equity capital is intended to support Novel's continued expansion across insurance underwriting and services while broadening its ownership base. The announcement did not disclose the size of the investment.
Novel manages policyholder-owned reciprocal exchanges through ownership of attorney-in-fact ("AIF") entities and operates traditional stock insurance companies through direct ownership and service contracts. The company says it combines fee-based earnings from its AIFs and other insurance services businesses with underwriting results from its owned carriers, aiming to increase scale and diversification across underwriting exposures and revenue streams. Novel's portfolio includes Forza Insurance Holdings, owner of the AIF entities that manage SureChoice Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange ("SURE") and Elevate Reciprocal Exchange ("Elevate"), and the GeoVera Nova group of companies, whose AM Best "A" (Excellent) rated entities provide a platform for building additional specialty and casualty underwriting teams.
CEO Rob Bredahl said Novel was excited to partner with Crestview, a firm that has invested across insurance and reinsurance for two decades and has backed insurance businesses through full market cycles. Bredahl said Crestview "brings not only flexible capital but also meaningful sector expertise and relationships." Dan Kilpatrick, Partner and Head of Financial Services at Crestview, said the firm believes Novel has assembled "a unique and compelling set of capabilities" combining underwriting, reciprocal exchange management and specialized insurance services.
Novel's strategy includes continued partnerships with established underwriting organizations, including SageSure and other third-party managing general agents, alongside development of its own individual risk underwriting and expansion into additional specialty and casualty lines. Howden Capital Markets & Advisory served as exclusive financial advisor on the transaction. Novel is backed by Crestview Partners and Flexpoint Ford, according to the company's description.
Novel manages policyholder-owned reciprocal exchanges through ownership of attorney-in-fact ("AIF") entities and operates traditional stock insurance companies through direct ownership and service contracts. The company says it combines fee-based earnings from its AIFs and other insurance services businesses with underwriting results from its owned carriers, aiming to increase scale and diversification across underwriting exposures and revenue streams. Novel's portfolio includes Forza Insurance Holdings, owner of the AIF entities that manage SureChoice Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange ("SURE") and Elevate Reciprocal Exchange ("Elevate"), and the GeoVera Nova group of companies, whose AM Best "A" (Excellent) rated entities provide a platform for building additional specialty and casualty underwriting teams.
CEO Rob Bredahl said Novel was excited to partner with Crestview, a firm that has invested across insurance and reinsurance for two decades and has backed insurance businesses through full market cycles. Bredahl said Crestview "brings not only flexible capital but also meaningful sector expertise and relationships." Dan Kilpatrick, Partner and Head of Financial Services at Crestview, said the firm believes Novel has assembled "a unique and compelling set of capabilities" combining underwriting, reciprocal exchange management and specialized insurance services.
Novel's strategy includes continued partnerships with established underwriting organizations, including SageSure and other third-party managing general agents, alongside development of its own individual risk underwriting and expansion into additional specialty and casualty lines. Howden Capital Markets & Advisory served as exclusive financial advisor on the transaction. Novel is backed by Crestview Partners and Flexpoint Ford, according to the company's description.
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