European equipment insurer Acquis enters U.S. market

European equipment insurance product and service provider Acquis is entering the United States market under new leadership as the company looks to translate its success across the pond. 

Newport, Wales-based Acquis is bringing its specialty insurance products for equipment leasing and asset finance companies to the $1 trillion U.S. equipment finance industry, led by Brian Madison, who has 35 years in the industry including leadership roles with Citigroup, Microsoft and Key Equipment Finance.  

Acquis offers asset protection and claims management for agriculture, construction, industrial and material handling equipment through its point-of-sale, post-activation and embedded insurance offerings, according to the company’s website. 

Madison, managing director of Aquis’ North America operation, spoke with Equipment Finance News about the company’s cross-border expansion. 

“It starts with just the simple premise: The U.S. is the largest equipment finance market in the world, so if you’re going to be a player, this is the place to be,” Madison said. “Acquis has definitely established a successful business over in Europe, we’ve been able to enter the 17 markets that we’re in and we’ve had tremendous growth over there, so coming to the U.S. makes an awful lot of sense for us.” 

Acquis’ clients include BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions, CNH Industrial, Deutsche Leasing, Investec Asset Management and Societe Generale Equipment Finance, according to its website. The company’s success in Europe, coupled with the limited number of players in the equipment insurance market in the U.S., presents an opportunity for Acquis, Madison said. 

“It’s a big opportunity for us,” he said. “When we looked at it … there’s only a couple of players in the market here that are the dominant players, and they’ve been at it for a long time.” 

U.S. equipment insurance providers include the Amynta Group, Assurant, Great American Insurance Group, instaCover, Pie Insurance and the RVI Group. 

Conshohocken, Pa.-based global specialty insurance provider NSM Insurance Group acquired Acquis in March, opening the door for stateside expansion thanks to NSM’s nationwide licensing, Madison said