Shepherd Doubles GWP Run Rate in First Half 2026, Partners with Intact to Back U.S. Casualty Growth

PR Newswire

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 20, 2026

After doubling total GWP run rate through the first half of 2026, and growing revenue 23x from 2022 to 2025, Shepherd now adds Intact, a global provider of property and casualty insurance, as a capacity partner for primary and excess casualty, expanding Shepherd's capabilities.

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Shepherd, the AI-native commercial insurance platform for high-hazard industries, today announced a new partnership with Intact Financial Corporation (TSX:IFC), a global provider of property and casualty insurance, to write primary and excess casualty on Intact's AM Best A+ (Superior)1 rated paper across the United States, effective July 1, 2026.

Shepherd and Intact announce strategic partnership granting Shepherd delegated underwriting authority and insurance capacity for U.S. casualty.

For Shepherd, the agreement is a marker of strong, sustained momentum since their initial launch in 2022. The company doubled its GWP run-rate through the first half of 2026 and grew 23x from 2022 to 2025, building a portfolio of Property & Casualty offerings across multiple verticals. Shepherd now adds a global P&C insurer with a growing commercial and specialty solutions network as a capacity partner under a delegated authority model. Intact Private Capital led Shepherd's $42M Series B earlier this year. The capacity agreement was underwritten on its own against Shepherd's risk selection, underwriting discipline, and technology innovation, the same qualities that brought the two companies together in the first place. Together, they form the foundations of a strategic relationship built for long-term profitability.

For the brokers who place business with Shepherd and for the builders, operators, owners and developers they insure, the signal is clear: Shepherd is positioned for long-term durability and accelerated product innovation.

What the partnership means for Shepherd

In five years, Shepherd has established one of the fastest-growing underwriting operations in commercial insurance, an expanding set of programs, and customer base that includes the highest-quality builders and operators in the industries they serve. This partnership adds to that platform: it gives Shepherd another top-rated balance sheet to grow with, more options for its clients, and the runway to scale its insurance capabilities and offerings broadly across more physical asset industries.

The Intact program is oriented, at launch, around casualty: Shepherd will write primary and excess casualty on Intact's A+ rated1 admitted and non-admitted paper in support of contractor practice programs as well as project-specific placements for large construction. Shepherd also works alongside Intact's underwriting teams to provide property and builders risk solutions for those accounts, packaged under a single servicing relationship. The Intact relationship complements Shepherd's existing program relationships, which continue to scale in parallel.

Everything that has made Shepherd succeed to date is accelerated by this partnership: an innovative, autonomous AI underwriting platform that enables pricing risk 10-to-15 times faster than traditional carriers, differentiated pricing, programs like Shepherd Savings, and a level of service brokers and insureds do not get from legacy markets. This also arrives in a moment when the AI infrastructure boom is driving construction and energy demand to record highs. That plays directly to Shepherd's strengths and abilities to cover and service complex risk with the speed and precision this wave requires.

"We continue to believe that commercial insurance is plagued by outdated systems and high-friction workflows. We built Shepherd to modernize the delivery of high-quality insurance products and innovate using data and technology. We're thrilled that Intact recognized that, and are proud of the work our teams have done together over the last several years to reach our program launch on July 1," said Justin Levine, CEO and Co-Founder of Shepherd. "When one of the largest carriers in the world puts its balance sheet behind you, it says something powerful about the team and everything we have built to get here. What excites me most is what comes next. This is where we start, but we are already mapping out with Intact what we build together from here. There is a lot more coming."

What the partnership means for Intact

For Intact, Shepherd represents another growth lever in the U.S. market with differentiated distribution in the retail brokerage channel. The partnership aligns the global P&C provider with a specialized underwriting team, an AI-native approach, and a data advantage that Intact got to know early on.

For Intact Insurance U.S., this partnership adds both a distribution channel and a casualty product for commercial construction that complements its existing book. Combining insights across data and technology with expertise in pricing and risk selection provides a competitive advantage. It's a compelling proposition for brokers – underwriting expertise, deep pricing and risk selection insights with speed and efficiency on the delivery – by bringing the strengths of Shepherd and Intact together. In short, it is a partnership built on a platform for long-term profitable growth. 

"We are selective about the partners we put our capacity behind and invest in, and Shepherd earned that through the discipline in how their team selects and prices risk," said Michael Seff, Senior Vice President, Specialty Lines at Intact Insurance. "Specialty casualty is a segment where deep expertise, live data, speed and service make a real difference, and Shepherd has all of those. As part of our partnership, we are working closely with Shepherd on deepening insights for pricing and risk selection and claims service for clients. We are genuinely excited about working with Shepherd and fully expect to add our expertise in pricing and risk selection to the platform as it grows."

Only the beginning

Shepherd has issued more than 1,600 policies for over 630 customers, including the general contractors, specialty builders, and energy developers constructing the data centers, power production, and infrastructure behind the AI economy.

Shepherd's casualty offerings are positioned to support the highest-quality, most technology-forward clients in construction and renewable energy. Shepherd also works alongside Intact's underwriting teams to provide property and builders risk solutions for those accounts, packaged under a single servicing relationship.

Shepherd and Intact intend to identify more areas to grow together, and brokers should expect further program announcements ahead.

By the numbers

About Shepherd

Shepherd is an AI-native insurance technology platform making risk frictionless for the builders and operators shaping the physical world. The company combines proprietary underwriting technology, real-time construction and energy data integrations, and deep industry expertise to deliver commercial property and casualty insurance for construction, renewable energy and power industries with speed, precision, and intelligence that legacy carriers cannot match. Shepherd operates as a managing general underwriter, partnering with carriers to provide coverage while retaining underwriting authority. It insures construction, energy, and infrastructure projects for companies ranging from mid-market general contractors to the firms building frontier AI infrastructure. Shepherd is headquartered in San Francisco with offices nationwide. Learn more at shepherdinsurance.com.

About Intact

Intact Financial Corporation (TSX: IFC) is a global provider of property and casualty insurance founded on core values and a belief that insurance is about people, not things. Intact's success is fueled by its 32,000 employees worldwide who embody the company's purpose: to help people, businesses and society prosper in good times and be resilient in bad times. To achieve its ambitions, Intact seeks to ensure customers are its advocates, its people are engaged, and the company is one of the most respected.

Intact is the largest provider of property and casualty insurance in Canada and has successfully exported its strengths across North America, the UK, and Europe. Its growing commercial and specialty solutions network now spans over 150 countries. With a customer-driven mindset, Intact has expanded its operations to include insurance distribution, restoration, and prevention.

Intact solidifies its outperformance by leveraging its competitive advantages: global leadership in data and AI for pricing and risk selection; deep claims expertise and integrated supply chain network; and strong capital and investment management. Intact's total annual operating Direct Premiums Written has tripled over the last decade to $25 billion.

Media Inquiries: Julian Clarke, julian@withshepherd.com
media@intact.net

1 Intact is backed by the financial strength of Atlantic Specialty Insurance Company, an indirect subsidiary of Intact Financial Corporation (TSX:IFC), rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best. For more information on Intact's credit ratings, see www.intactfc.com/investors/credit-ratings

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SOURCE Shepherd; Intact Financial Corporation