Exclusive: Emerald Bay co-founder and chief risk officer Allkins departs Bain-backed startup

By James Thaler

April 14 - (The Insurer) - Emerald Bay co-founder and chief risk officer Miles Allkins has left the company, sources with direct knowledge of the situation said.

The startup specialty (re)insurer was launched in March 2024 asa collaborative underwriting carrier, with more than $100 million in committed capital from Bain Capital.

A spokesperson representing both Emerald Bay and Bain Capital declined to comment. Allkins could not immediately be reached for comment.

Further details on Allkins' departure were not available.

Allkins, who joined Emerald Bay in December 2023, was previously chief underwriting officer at Hippo-owned Spinnaker and held roles at State National, AIR Worldwide and Axis Capital.

The departure comes after Program Manager broke the news in December that CEO Dave Ingrey and head of business development Ken Ingrey, who were also part of the founding team at Spinnaker, were leaving Emerald Bay.

Program Manager was first to report last month that former Liberty Mutual North America programs president Tracey Sharis had been appointed as Emerald Bay's new CEO.

Emerald Bay secured an A-minus VIII financial strength rating at its launch from AM Best as it set about addressing a pipeline of MGA programs opportunities, with a focus on the E&S market.

It was positioned to be able to write admitted and non-admitted business on a nationwide basis and added to its carrier platform by buying Hippo’s Mainsail Insurance Company for $26.6 million.

In November, Emerald Bay struck a deal for its first casualty program, supporting an excess liability facility for risk purchasing group Vanderbilt Properties Associates, which focuses on high-end residential and commercial real estate risks.

The fronting carrier’s first program was unveiled with Arrowhead to support a commercial quake facility. It has also launched a California homeowners facility with Lightspeed Specialty and an E&S commercial property program with Curotech Specialty.

Founding management including Dave and Ken Ingrey were bullish on Emerald Bay's ability to write more than $130 million of gross written premiums in its first year of operation.

It could not immediately be confirmed whether the company has hit that target, although data from S&P Capital IQ shows the carrier had around $40 million in direct written premiums in 2024.

The reasons for the Ingrey exits could not be confirmed, but well-placed sources at the time pointed to a potential divergence of views on the direction of the company.