Fronting holding company Obsidian acquires California insurer

Fronting insurance holding company Obsidian Insurance Holdings Inc. said Wednesday it has acquired admitted insurer Western Home Insurance Co. from Western National Mutual Insurance Co.

New York-based Obsidian said together with its existing admitted insurer, Obsidian Insurance Co., Western Home will provide its program managers with access to countrywide admitted insurance capabilities, including the California market, where Western Home is domiciled.

Western Home, which was incorporated in 1973, had been a personal and commercial lines subsidiary of Western National. It will be renamed post-closing, the statement said.

Terms of the transaction were not revealed in the statement.

Obsidian was formed in 2020 with backing from San Francisco-based Genstar Capital LLC.

In April, it was announced that Trinity Underwriting Managers, a unit of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Amwins Group Inc., will offer insurance for towing, automotive repossession, sand and gravel, paratransit and intermodal trucking businesses with Obsidian.