XL Group’s American reinsurance operation has acquired Global Ag Insurance Services, a California-based crop insurance provider specialising in the needs of farmers in the western US.

XL Reinsurance America has been partnering with the Fresno-headquartered company to deliver crop insurance solutions to western specialty crop producers and growers through the USDA multi-peril crop insurance programme.

And it was Global’s Ag’s regional expertise that played a significant role XL’s decision to buy the company.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed

XL said in a press release yesterday that the two companies recognised that conventional risk management and crop insurance solutions were not typically designed to address the needs of producers in the region, so they built a specialised platform to offer an alternative to growers and agents in the western US.

Adverse conditions for farmers in the Midwest in 2012 and 2013 highlighted Global Ag’s strength in the western US and helped the company achieve strong growth in the region.

John Welch, president and CEO of XL Reinsurance America, said: “Having been in the crop business for more than a decade, we at XL understood early on that regional expertise is critically important for long-term success in highly specialised markets like crop insurance.

“We’ve been impressed with the calibre of the Global Ag team and very pleased with the results of our partnership. Taking this next step of bringing on board the Global Ag team fully fits with XL’s strategy of adding high quality teams in attractive markets.

“We believe now is the time to accelerate growth by leveraging the strength of the XL platform and building upon the success of a regionally focused crop insurance model.”

By becoming a part of XL, Global Ag believes it can build one of the most accomplished teams of adjusters and underwriters in the industry and drive continued improvement in the delivery of agricultural risk management solutions.

“Our partnership with XL has been instrumental in our success over the past few years. We’re excited about the opportunity to build on that success and drive continued growth by leveraging XL’s global platform, financial strength and proven track record in agricultural risk management,” said Jordan Roach, CEO of Global Ag.

“Having worked side by side with the team at XL over the past few years we admire their demonstrated commitment to attracting and retaining talented individuals. As we look ahead we see significant opportunities for growth in crop insurance and we understand that our ability to recruit top performers across the industry will be one of the most important determinants of our success,” added Brandon Roach, president of Global Ag.