Just five months after Bermuda-based Ironshore Insurance opened its doors as a primary insurer focused on property catastrophe lines, its parent company Ironshore Inc. is getting very busy.

In the first quarter, the company set up Ironshore Reinsurance Ltd. to reinsure its own business, and yesterday that company received the boost of an A- financial strength rating from A.M. Best.

Also yesterday, Ironshore Inc. announced it is entering the professional liability business with the formation of IronPro, a new unit to be based in New York.

IronPro will be headed by Greg Flood as president. It will initially focus on directors and officers liability insurance, with additional professional liability products to be introduced in the near future.

"All of us at Ironshore are excited about the creation of IronPro as a dedicated facility organized to offer Professional Liability insurance, which is a logical business extension of our commitment to meeting specialty insurance market needs," Ironshore CEO Bob Deutsch said.

"Our initial timeline for expanding into this market has been accelerated because of our success in attracting Greg, an industry leader with an incredible track record."

Mr. Flood has specialised in the professional liability insurance sector for more than 25 years, of which 17 were dedicated to a range of leadership positions at American International Group.

Most recently he was executive vice-president and COO of National Union Fire Insurance Company, an AIG subsidiary. He also co-founded and served as chief executive officer of Global Specialty Risk, a D&O insurance entity launched in 2000.

Ironshore also announced that Fred Marra has been named vice-president of operations. Previously, he was vice-president of underwriting services for Arch Insurance Group in New York. He will be responsible for all facets of building and managing the IronPro operation, including administration, human resources, compliance and coordination of support services.

Les Rock, president of Ironshore Insurance, said: "This expansion is consistent with our original plans to offer products beyond property and property catastrophe coverages."

A.M. Best said its A- (excellent) financial strength rating for Ironshore Re reflected the company's "solid capitalisation and conservative business plan, as well as an experienced and highly regarded management team".

Currently, Ironshore is capitalised with approximately $1 billion in common equity from investors, which include Bear Stearns Merchant Banking, Corporate Partners, Calera Capital, TowerBrook Capital Partners. and Greenhill Capital Partners.