Bermudian-based Antares Re is backing a reinsurance offering from a US-based managing general agency.

Distinguished Programmes announced its expansion into the reinsurance market with the addition of DistinguishedRe. The new platform is open for business with its first group focused on property reinsurance, led by Frank DiPaola, who will take on the role of president, DistinguishedRe Property.

Antares Re, which writes property, casualty and specialty lines of business, is the reinsurance arm of the Antares Global insurance group, owned by Qatar Insurance Company.

Distinguished said the property reinsurance group offered a broad appetite for excess of loss facultative, semiautomatic and property treaty placements, with up to $50 million in capacity.

“Expanding into reinsurance is a natural next step for us, as we see strong potential for the MGA structure in this space,” said Jason Rotman, president of Distinguished. “Ultimately, our strategy is to invest behind experienced and talented teams, and we are thrilled that Frank and his colleagues have joined us. We are equally excited to work with the Antares team as we collectively build this programme.”

DiPaola brings more than 25 years of reinsurance experience to the role and will lead a dedicated team of facultative and treaty underwriters, pricing actuaries, catastrophe modelling professionals and legal specialists.

“We see a strong opportunity to bring a more thoughtful, disciplined approach to the property reinsurance market,” said Mr DiPaola. “I’m excited to lead this expansion as we build a well-balanced portfolio across key markets and partners.”