Ironshore hopes to have a foothold in the London market by summer, writesRuth O'Kelly-Lynch.

Chief financial officer Mitch Blaser said the company was proud to have established a firm base within Bermuda and was looking forward to further growth in the coming year.

"I think it is no secret that we are looking to expand into London," he said. "We have two or three options that we are exploring there. I would say we will have one of them by the summer time."

Previously the company looked at acquiring London based Heritage Underwriting Agency plc., but said the price was too hight. Heritage was eventually acquired by the Argo Group for £136 million ($269.7 million).

Aside from its efforts to create a London branch, Mr. Blaser said Ironshore has had many successes in its first year.

Last week it announced it was added to the Excess Line Association of New York list. So far the company has been granted permission to operate in 36 states as well as the US Virgin Islands and Mexico. Each state in the US has its own regulatory framework and requirements for insurance companies wanting to operate there.

"It is quite an accomplishment to have gotten that number of states in one year," Mr. Blaser said. "We concentrated on the southeast corridor as many of those states were looking for insurance providers at the same time. But there are some states which require a business to have been operating for three or five years so we just aren't eligible in those states."

Ratings agency AM Best also affirmed the company's A- (excellent) financial strength rating and its A- issuer credit rating. The ratings apply to both Ironshore Insurance and Ironshore Reinsurance.

"We are very pleased with our first year," Mr. Blaser said. "And we are looking forward to this coming year as well and continuing to expand our business."