Bold Penguin Acquires SquareRisk, Expanding E&S and Specialty Markets While Adding Digital Wholesale Operations

Leading digital solution platform, Bold Penguin recently announced it has acquired SquareRisk, a purpose-built marketplace that discovers, quotes, and binds specialty MGA products across 45+ carriers through a single interface. Bold Penguin users will now have additional commercial insurance policy coverage options beyond the admitted space to fill the evolving needs of business owners. Additionally, the acquisition positions Bold Penguin to accelerate its integration speed and expansion into specialty and excess and surplus (E&S) markets while building immediate scale into their digital wholesale operations.  

Bold Penguin President and CEO, Peter Settel, stated, “We are extremely excited to announce the enhancement of Bold Penguin’s offerings with the acquisition of SquareRisk. Together, with the leadership of SquareRisk, we saw and seized this opportunity to join forces and make meaningful impact to provide a seamless, comprehensive solution for hard-to-place risk.” Settel continued, “By leveraging all of Bold Penguin’s capabilities, bolstered by SquareRisk’s specialty and E&S market access and wholesale operations, we can place more risks in the admitted and non-admitted spaces, ensuring our customers have markets for the businesses they work with to provide coverage.”

Founded in 2022 after experiencing firsthand the challenges that agents face, SquareRisk sought to reimagine P&C wholesale distribution. SquareRisk will now enable Bold Penguin users to seamlessly access specialty insurance from 45+ carriers and MGAs covering several thousand business classifications, across several complex industries including contractors, transportation, hospitality, manufacturing, and more. 

“In Bold Penguin, we found a partner who not only shares our passion for innovation but has also built the industry’s leading commercial insurance ecosystem,” shared Monesh Jain, Founder and CEO of SquareRisk. “By integrating our marketplace and wholesale operations with their extensive platform, we can dramatically accelerate our shared goal of providing agents and brokers the fastest, most intelligent path to place even the most difficult-to-insure risks. This combination represents a monumental leap forward for the entire specialty market.”

Nicole Farley, Bold Penguin’s Senior Vice President, Chief Insurance Officer, added that “According to a recent Conning study, the excess and surplus market achieved a 21% compound annual growth rate over the past five years. We are witnessing unprecedented momentum in the specialty, non-admitted space as risks become more complex and demand for creative solutions accelerates. The acquisition of SquareRisk accelerates Bold Penguin’s vision for digital wholesale—broadening carrier access, streamlining placements, and solidifying our leadership as the industry’s most comprehensive, tech-enabled solution for agents, carriers, and partners.”