Who we are
Reliable, professional team with an excellent track record of delivering results
Quest was founded in 2005 by Sean McDermott, Jeremy Fall and Graham Combes and is an owner-managed business. We have operations based in London, New York, Zurich, Malta and Japan to service our international client base. Our key principals are also regulatory approved persons in the UK, Ireland, Singapore, New York, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Brazil and Bermuda. Despite our growth, we retain all the benefits of a small company, having a simple ownership structure which makes us transparent, easy to work with, empowers us to make quick decisions, as well as being flexible and proactive.
We understand the need to be discreet and our trusted team brings decades of experience, market insight and regulatory understanding to each transaction. We have a plethora of experience within Quest, employing the best people in their field with backgrounds including accountancy, claims & outsourcing management, insurance restructuring, actuarial and legal. This diversity of background strengthens our approach and counsel enabling us to provide the greatest value for our clients.
What we do
Experts in delivering innovative, flexible and effective services
Quest is an international legacy specialist focused on acquiring discontinued insurance business and managing (re)insurance portfolios in run-off on behalf of insurers. We have circa $200 million of claims under management and a very experienced management team with a unique combination of specialist expertise. We are not afraid of unusual and different transactions and have a strong track record founded upon our ability to create bespoke exit solutions structured to benefit all stakeholders. These transactions include:
- Portfolio transfers
- Company acquisitions (including regulated (re)insurance entities)
- Lloyd’s corporate capital vehicles
- Captives and Protected/Segregated Cell Companies
Quest also provides a range of specialist consultancy and advisory services including, but not limited to:
- Outsourcing
- Corporate restructuring and financial advisory
- Insurance and reinsurance consulting services typically involving complex insurance claims or portfolio investigations
- Arbitration and litigation support
- Collection of insurance debts/receivables and commutations
- Broker replacement services
The team
Please contact any of our team if you are considering selling part or all of your business or portfolio.
James Bolton
Ricardo Cantilo
David Cherry
Jeremy Fall
Sean McDermott
Karl Floyd
Paul Hafner
James Perkins
Andrew Simpson
Russell Streeter
Kyoichi Terada
Our experience
We acquire and manage insurance liabilities from discontinued businesses and portfolios across a range of classes, geographies and sizes. We have successfully navigated the shifting market dynamics since 2005, adapting to the changing environment and building out broad capabilities to ensure we can service all business, ranging from a personal lines UK motor portfolio through to a major construction project in the Middle East. Please refer to our completed transactions by country.
Transactions within the insurance sector can be complex due to the ever-changing regulatory environment but we maintain close relationships throughout the international market with regulators and local advisors to ensure an unparalleled level of insight and understanding.
We are trusted advisors and place confidentiality at the heart of our approach; we work with you as your partner to ensure the transaction structure reflects what you need. We represent safety and security; we ensure our entities are well capitalised and have strong balance sheets – ultimately, we are a safe pair of hands for your business.
Buttonwood
In 2018 we established Buttonwood Holdings Investment Ltd “Buttonwood”, a joint venture vehicle with US investment manager Mangrove Partners. Buttonwood is an insurance group based on the total return structure. It has dedicated capital to support large legacy (re)insurance transactions. Further information on Mangrove Partners can be found at mangrovepartners.com
Contact us
London
New York
Tokyo
London
52-54 Gracechurch Street
London EC3V 0EH
T +44 (0)20 7015 8650
Email London office
New York
1140 Avenue of the Americas,
9th Floor, New York, NY 10036
T +1 732 444 1907
M + 1 732 744 6163
Email New York office
Tokyo
Meiji Seimeikan 8F
2-1-1 Marunouchi,
Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo 100-0005, Japan
T +81-3-6810-0911
Email Tokyo office
Singapore
| Acquisition | Vendor | Liabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Reardon Pte Ltd (Portfolio) | UOB/Overseas Union | Long tail, asbestos and pollution |
| ACAL Underwriting Ltd | Mitsui&Co, Temasek | Various reinsurance |
| Reardon Pte Ltd (Portfolio) | Groupama | Marine transport |
Bermuda
| Acquisition | Vendor | Liabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Insco Ltd | Fortune 50 | Long tail, asbestos and pollution |
Ireland
| Acquisition | Vendor | Liabilities |
|---|---|---|
| EIFlow Insurance Ltd (Portfolio) | Icarom Plc | Long tail, asbestos and pollution |
| EIFlow Insurance Ltd (Portfolio) | PMI Europe | Mortgage indemnity insurance |
| Cardinal Re DAC | Mitsui Sumitomo Re | Reinsurance |
| Cardinal Re DAC | ILS P&C Re | Reinsurance |
Guernsey
| Acquisition | Vendor | Liabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Berkley Berry Birch PLC | BBB PLC | Captive insurance |
| Kistler Underwriting Guernsey ICC Ltd | Pioneer Underwriting | Reinsurance (Lloyd’s and Company Market Quota Share) |
UK
| Acquisition | Vendor | Liabilities |
|---|---|---|
| EIFlow Insurance Ltd (Portfolio) | Groupama | Marine transport |
| Walsham Bros & Co Ltd | Various | N/A |
USA
| Acquisition | Vendor | Liabilities |
|---|---|---|
| United Americas Insurance Company | IRB Brasil Re | Long tail, asbestos and pollution |
Gibraltar
| Acquisition | Vendor | Liabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Beacon Insurance Ltd | SBT Alliance | Reinsurance |
| Preserve Insurance Co Ltd | ILS P&C Re | Motor insurance |
| EIFlow Insurance Ltd (Portfolio) | Lamp Insurance | ATE Insurance |
Brazil
| Acquisition | Vendor | Liabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Fairway Seguros | Global Insurer | Property & Casualty |
James Bolton
Director, London
Chartered Accountant and qualified Insolvency Practitioner, insurance restructuring specialist, expertise on portfolio transfers, acquisitions, schemes of arrangement and other tools used to restructure insurance businesses. Board Member of the Insurance and Reinsurance Legacy Association (“IRLA”).
+44 20 7015 8677
jbolton@quest-group.co.uk
Ricardo Cantilo
Director, New York
Lawyer with over 25 years of experience in acquisition and management of live and discontinued re/insurance operations, exit strategies, dispute resolution and regulation.
+1 732 444 1907
rcantilo@questconsultingusa.com
David Cherry
Director, London
Reinsurance claims professional with 30+ years management experience of both assumed and ceded accounts of all classes of reinsurance. In depth knowledge and market expert in commutations, litigation support, reinsurance collections, detailed on site due diligence / inspection of records.
+44 20 7015 8656
dcherry@quest-group.co.uk
Jeremy Fall
Director, London
Chartered Insurance Practitioner with over 30 years’ experience as a claims specialist. Experienced negotiator in complex claims, disputes and commutations. Factual and expert witness. Detailed on-site claim investigations/inspection of records. Arbitrator and ARIAS UK Panel Member.
+44 20 7015 8653
jfall@quest-group.co.uk
Sean McDermott
Director, London
Chartered Accountant and insurance restructuring specialist with 20+ years international experience in acquisitions, portfolio transfers, disposals, mergers, schemes of arrangement and other insurance restructuring tools.
+44 20 7015 8655
smcdermott@quest-group.co.uk
Karl Floyd
Associate Director, Zurich
Chartered Insurance Practitioner with 40 years international insurance and reinsurance experience. Dedicated professional specialising in inspections of records and other technical consulting areas covering all classes of business, contract types and operational areas.
+41 76 4767980
kfloyd@quest-group.co.uk
Paul Hafner
Associate Director, London
Chartered Insurance Practitioner with over 15 years’ experience of insurance and reinsurance claims handling including litigation and commutations. Expertise in claims management, including insolvent insurance companies, and TPA management and transfer solutions.
+44 20 7015 8654
phafner@quest-group.co.uk
Andrew Simpson
Group Actuary, Malta
Qualified Actuary with over 20 years of experience in the commercial insurance sector including reserving, capital modelling, pricing, financial planning and exit solutions for legacy portfolios.
+44 203 287 2884
asimpson@quest-group.co.uk
James Perkins
Associate Director, London
Market professional with over 25 years of experience that includes run-off company management, financial accounting, Solvency II capital modelling, international legacy portfolio data migration, bespoke IT solutions and actuarial analysis.
+44 20 7015 8664
jperkins@quest-group.co.uk
Kyoichi Terada
Director, Quest Japan, Tokyo
U.S. Certified Public Accountant, associate of the Institute of Actuaries of Japan and Fellow of the Japanese Society of Insurance Science with over 30 years’ experience of both direct insurance and reinsurance business in Japan.
+81 3 6230 9540
terada@quest-japan.co.jp
Russell Streeter
Associate Director, Finance. London
Chartered Certified Accountant with over 20 years’ experience in financial reporting, analysis and controls, particularly with insurance and reinsurance businesses in Europe, the Caribbean and Asia.
+44 787 157 1434
rstreeter@quest-group.co.uk