Ryan Specialty has consolidated its Canadian managing general underwriting operations into a new holding and operating company, Ryan Specialty Canada.
In connection with this, it has appointed Stephen Stewart as its chief executive officer. Stewart, who remains president and CEO of Stewart Specialty Risk Underwriting, will now lead the newly formed Canadian platform. In the expanded role, he is tasked with driving growth while maintaining the underwriting discipline and specialist focus that have underpinned Stewart Specialty Risk Underwriting and Ryan Specialty's other Canadian units.
With the formation of the Canadian holding entity, Ryan Specialty has completed the amalgamation of the Canadian operations of the following managing general underwriters (MGUs): Alive Risk, Stewart Specialty Risk Underwriting, Global Special Risks, Technical Risk Underwriters, PERse (Power. Energy. Risk.), Trident Marine Managers, and Ryan Transactional Risk.
The legal integration is already underway, and teams are actively engaging with new colleagues across underwriting, operations, and support functions to build a unified Canadian platform, the company said.
The move reflects the growing importance of MGUs and coverholder-style platforms in Canada’s specialty and complex-risk market. As more risks fall outside standard appetites, brokers are increasingly leaning on specialist intermediaries with delegated underwriting authority and access to both domestic and international capacity. Bringing multiple MGUs under a single national structure can make it easier to coordinate appetite, avoid duplication, and present brokers with a clearer route into niche products and expertise.
Miles Wuller, CEO of Ryan Specialty Underwriting Managers (RSUM), said the consolidation is designed to give the group a more connected view of the local market and to make it easier for MGUs to collaborate.
“Bringing together all of our managing general underwriters under one Canadian entity and proven country specialty insurance leader provides RSUM a single, focused view of the wider Canadian market. This consolidation enables each of our MGUs to more seamlessly tap into the broader RSUM platform to better serve our Canadian clients and trading partners,” Wuller said.
For Canadian intermediaries, a unified platform can also help when structuring complex placements that draw on multiple specialties, such as combining technical property, construction, marine, or transactional risk solutions, by simplifying internal referrals and speeding up decision-making.
At the same time, centralizing governance and support functions at the country level is consistent with regulatory expectations around oversight of delegated authority and product governance, while allowing frontline underwriting teams to retain their niche focus.
“Completing the amalgamation and establishing Ryan Specialty Canada Limited is an important milestone for our business,” said Stewart. “It formalizes the structure needed to support long-term growth in Canada and positions our teams to better serve brokers and trading partners nationwide.”
