Secure Legal Title serves real estate equity investors and developers, energy and infrastructure investors and developers and mortgage lenders

AXA XL

Image: AXA XL acquires London-based insurance agency. Photo: Courtesy of John9474/Wikipedia.org

AXA XL has completed the acquisition of Secure Legal Title, a London-based insurance agency and Lloyd’s approved coverholder, which operates in the UK, Europe, India and the Americas.

Founded in 2012, Secure Legal Title offers insurance to cover legal risks in property transaction and mortgage finance. The firm serves real estate equity investors and developers, energy and infrastructure investors and developers and mortgage lenders.

Some of the products offered by Secure Legal Title include title insurance, legal indemnities, warranty and indemnity insurance, reinsurance, co-insurance and excess insurance and title to shares insurance for real estate merger & acquisition transactions.

Secure Legal Title chairman Sean Dalton said: “With this transaction, Secure Legal Title builds on its long relationship with AXA XL and its insurers, as well as with Lloyd’s in London and in Brussels.

“There are natural synergies between AXA XL’s property and casualty business and Secure Legal Title’s real estate business, and we are confident that our clients will benefit from access to AXA XL’s infrastructure and additional capacity.”

AXA XL will also acquire Mexico-based Armour Secure Insurance

AXA XL had also entered into an agreement to acquire Armour Secure Insurance (ASI), a Mexican title insurance firm affiliated with Secure Legal Title.

Founded in 2008, ASI offers title insurance and escrow services for institutional and residential clients in Mexico. Headquartered in Mexico City, ASI is claimed to be one of the largest title insurers in the country, whose policies are reinsured by Lloyd’s of London.

The two firms will continue their collaboration to offer title insurance to the Mexican market, pending the completion of the acquisition by AXA XL.

AXA XL crisis management & special risks chief underwriting officer Stephen Ashwell said: “We are delighted to officially welcome our Secure Legal Title colleagues to AXA XL. Secure Legal Title will continue to operate under its brand and will be managed by its co-founders, Sean Dalton, Joel Peck and Jean-Bernard Wurm.

“We expect that the combination of their market-leading expertise and experience with AXA XL’s additional capacity, global network presence and resources will enable Secure Legal Title to further strengthen its position in this specialised marketplace and present a more attractive proposition to clients of theirs and ours.”