Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd.ENH

Morningstar Rating

Stock Research and Analysis

by Morningstar Analysts

Endurance Specialty Holdings formed in 2001 with the intent to create a market niche by underwriting specialty coverage in excess of what other insurers and reinsurers were offering; so far, its success has been mixed. Endurance has made notable inroads Read more

Bulls Say

Endurance has a sound risk-management philosophy relying on layered internal controls and proprietary analytics that, historically, has helped smooth claims payouts.

Endurance's investment portfolio is fairly liquid, with a high cash base.

Endurance's insurance unit has grown: 2008 gross premiums were up more than 10% from 2007 on an internal basis and up more than 90% overall, when including the 2007 acquisition of ARMtech, an agriculture insurer. Read more

Bears Say

Once Endurance's flagship unit, the reinsurance segment has seen total premium volume drop significantly year after year since 2005.

Much of Endurance's historical growth has been spurred by acquisitions, and stripping out these gains, the internal growth picture remains weak, pointing to an unstable market position.

As a recently formed specialty insurer and reinsurer that we think lacks an economic moat, Endurance is especially affected by cyclical insurance pricing trends, making premium income volatile. Read more

Strategy

Endurance works to be one of the premier specialty insurers and reinsurers globally by adding foreign business to its U.S. operations (more than 70% of sales) and expanding into related property and Read more

Management

Our view is that stewardship at Endurance is fair. We like that the board has a good makeup of independent directors; experiences range from risk consulting to insurance brokerage to financial advisory. As for the management team, chairman and CEO Kenneth Read more

Profile

Endurance Specialty Holdings is a Bermuda-based holding company focused in specialty insurance and reinsurance, offering property and casualty products. Organized in 2001 Read more

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