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GCAN Insurance Company |
Business Description
GCAN is a Toronto-based commercial line property and casualty insurance company that has operated in Canada since 1956. The company was formerly the Canadian primary property and casualty operation of the German insurance conglomerate, Gerling Group.
GCAN focuses on “niche” insurance lines that require technical expertise to assess risk attributes and determine appropriate policy provisions. The company employs highly experienced underwriters, engineers and loss control experts that provide specialized insurance expertise from offices in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. The company uses its underwriting and loss control expertise to build a degree of brand loyalty among brokers and insured.
Investment Thesis
GCAN’s management team has consistently grown premium volume while continuing to earn underwriting profit. The company has achieved this due to its focus on niche insurance business with no personal lines, a strong broker distribution network, and excellent direct relationships with its customers. TorQuest’s plan was to maintain management’s successful yet prudent growth strategy while assessing potential acquisitions of targeted books of business in similar lines and with similar risk profiles to the company’s current portfolio.
Investment Results
On October 7 th 2005, GCAN was sold to a large financial buyer. During the period of TorQuest’s ownership, GCAN‘s annual net income increased from $10.7 million to $19.0, while book value increased from $75.3 million to approximately $107.0 million. Under TorQuest’s leadership, the company was successfully re-branded as GCAN Insurance Company and improved its AM Best rating to “A”.
Trademarks owned by the respective companies
