As the property-casualty industry returns to soft-market conditions, financial analysts who follow the excess and surplus lines segment give strong recommendations to E&S insurers willing to ride out the market with a bottom-line focus.
“I'm not so much looking for companies that are having top-line growth. In fact, top-line growth that's excessive really scares me,” said Kenneth Billingsley, senior research analyst for Signal Hill, an investment bank in Baltimore.
“That's why the smaller-cap, mid-cap E&S specialty market appeals to me, and what I try to pitch to investors–'These guys are focused on underwriting profitability,' ” Mr. Billingsley said, highlighting smaller E&S companies such as Bermuda-based American Safety Insurance Holdings, which has U.S. operations in Atlanta, and ProCentury in Columbus, Ohio.
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