By Mia MacGregor

March 27 - (The Insurer) - SiriusPoint has partnered with North American MGU Balance Partners as a capacity provider for its new excess construction liability program, Vertical.

The program underwrites lead and following excess layers of up to $5 million, covering New York-based tradespeople including electricians, plumbers, masons, drywall and glass installers and HVAC service providers.

Program Manager previously reported that the new program will add to a growing portfolio of premiums on the Balance Partners platform, which lean on the company's established operational and administrative resources, including its technology stack.

Vertical will be led by John LoPorto, head of Balance Partners’ New York excess construction division.

He noted that while the U.S. construction industry struggled during the COVID-19 lockdown, activity has since rebounded, creating a gap in the market for excess contractors insurance.

“We recognized a significant need in the market for alternative capacity in excess construction liability, in addition to strong appetite from the broker market for innovative solutions in this space,” LoPorto said.

BV Investment Partners-backed Balance Partners has grown since its launch by Michael Sillat and Joe Calise in 2019 to roughly $300 million to $350 million of premium volume across 15 programs. Ten are operated as in-house programs with another five on its incubator platform, Springboard.

In addition to de-novo programs driving organic growth, Balance Partners earlier this month closed its first M&A deal with the acquisition of MGA and programs platform Vanguard Specialty.