Pine Walk Capital Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bermudian-based Fidelis MGU, has joined forces with US-headquartered global alternative investment manager Castlelake LP to create Itasca MGA, an aviation-focused managing general agent.

Itasca MGA will specialise in underwriting, structuring and managing risk associated with secured commercial aviation financing on behalf of Fidelis MGU Group and Itasca Re Limited, a Bermuda-licensed reinsurance company established by Castlelake that specialises in insurance-backed financing solutions for buyers and owners of commercial aircraft assets.

To support airline and lessor customers, Itasca MGA will use insurance provided by Fidelis Insurance Ireland DAC and Fidelis Underwriting Limited alongside Starr Europe Insurance Limited and Starr Europe Insurance Limited, with the latter two continuing to be reinsured by Itasca Re.

Since its launch in 2017, Pine Walk has established seven MGAs offering custom underwriting and operational and regulatory frameworks focused on closely defined business lines.

Itasca MGA, representing the eighth MGA in the Pine Walk Group, will further expand Pine Walk’s distribution into the specialised aviation sector and provide Fidelis enhanced opportunity to add further aviation industry exposure that is highly complementary to its current portfolio.

Rinku Patel, group COO of Fidelis MGU and CEO of Pine Walk, said: “Fidelis MGU and Pine Walk are continually looking for ways to strengthen our underwriting portfolio. The launch of Itasca MGA brings further market-leading expertise and distribution into the group and further underlines Pine Walk’s ambitious growth agenda over the next five years.”

Richard Coulson, CEO of insurance and deputy group CUO, added: “We look forward to combining Pine Walk’s specialised services with Castlelake’s aviation expertise and Itasca Re’s insurance market experience to accelerate and broaden the scope of clients the Fidelis Group’s bespoke aviation solutions reach.”

Armin Rothauser, partner, asset-backed direct lending at Castlelake, said: “In the context of the current market, we believe aircraft non-payment insurance has the potential to unlock attractive financing that is increasingly out of reach for a large subset of aircraft buyers and owners.

“We are excited to partner with the experienced Fidelis MGU team to establish this specialised MGA and expand the reach and capacity of Itasca Re’s solutions to attempt to address this growing demand.”