Kemah Capital

The true essence of a professionally-operated managing general agency (MGA) is to provide easy and efficient market access and egress, lower ongoing costs, a structure that enables superior underwriting and reduced impact of market pressures.

“An MGA must conduct a permanent balancing act that involves striking the right equilibrium between providing the best possible coverage to its clients while ensuring that all of its underwriting books of businesses are viable, balanced, and profitable,” says Graham Bell, President of Kemah Capital.

This philosophy has made Kemah Capital a leading international specialty line MGA, committed to delivering quality solutions to meet the specialty insurance and reinsurance needs of clients. It drives value for clients and brokers via its responsive service and helps them manage a wide range of risks and exposures.

Kemah Capital is known for handling underwriting infrastructure and processes, reporting mechanisms, claims management, broker marketing, and relationships.

“We pride ourselves on delivering top-notch support, impactful decision-making, and underwriters who offer alternative solutions and transparent explanations for any declinature. We partner with our clients, providing them with the highest quality and dependable insurance and reinsurance protection,” says Bell. “Our firm strongly believes in fostering relationships with risk carriers that are equally committed to long-term relationships that can withstand the cyclical nature of the risk industry.”

In the face of the multifaceted challenges clients confront, Kemah Capital stands as a steadfast ally. It understands that inflation on their assets demands expanded coverage and the economic implications of this. The company also recognizes that supply chain disruptions pose additional hurdles for clients. Compounding these issues is a significant market hardening in all major insurance and reinsurance sectors, leading to higher insurance and reinsurance premiums and more restrictive terms and conditions.

In response, Kemah Capital has developed a proprietary underwriting and risk management system, Lighthouse, to assist it in generating portfolios that maximize returns and minimize the downside relative to portfolio-level risk. This carefully crafted framework takes into account a diverse array of factors culminating in a pricing process that delivers Kemah’s products. Lighthouse is the fulcrum of Kemah’s underwriting process, which is critical in delivering the outcomes mentioned above.

Renowned globally as an MGA powerhouse, Kemah Capital has strategically partnered with DATARighT, a Mexico City-based company specializing in data analysis, processing, and cleansing to drive operational efficiency, delivering high-quality work while effectively managing costs.

Currently, the biggest element of Kemah Capital’s underwriting is in the property insurance space, which forms the mainstay of its operations, supporting clients in the U.S., the Caribbean, and Latin America. Its underwriting office in Manhattan handles the U.S. book, while the office in the Brickell area of Miami handles the Latin American and Caribbean book.

Kemah Capital writes an excess of loss treaty insurance book from its Houston office.

The focus is currently on the African marketplace and has been so since inception; however, plans are in place to gradually expand this book from 2024. It also focuses on two select aspects of the marine market— the yacht and cargo books of business in the U.S., written from its marine underwriting office in Essex, Connecticut.

By selectively writing a bespoke, high-quality, and appropriately priced portion of different market segments, Kemah Capital has created an enviable market reputation. Leveraging automation in its underwriting process, it delivers a superior portfolio to capacity providers at a lower cost than most competitors. Kemah Capital’s commitment to excellence, innovation, and market awareness drives it to continuously provide exceptional value and exceed expectations in the ever-evolving risk transfer industry.