EUROPEAN EXPANSION
Strengthening Our Presence, Accelerating Our Growth
A unified presence across key European markets.
Madrid, Milan and Rome
Barents Surety continues to consolidate its presence in Europe through two strategic hubs in Spain and Italy-delivering local expertise, specialized surety solutions, and long-term partnerships that support sustainable growth across key markets.
Barents Surety Spain
Office in Madrid
Based in Madrid, Barents Surety Spain provides specialized insurance brokerage services focused on surety bonds and risk management. With strong knowledge of the Spanish market, the team develops tailored solutions for industrial companies, contractors, infrastructure projects, and organizations seeking specialized support for their business and risk management needs.
Barents Surety Italy
Offices in Milan and Rome
Through its offices in Milan and Rome, Barents Surety Italy provides specialized insurance brokerage services focused on surety bonds and risk advisory. Combining local market knowledge and complementary expertise, both offices work as one coordinated operation to deliver tailored solutions for industrial companies, contractors, infrastructure projects, public procurement initiatives, and organizations across the Italian market.
Barents Surety | Madrid, Spain
Located in Spain’s financial hub, Barents Surety Madrid operates as a specialized surety insurance underwriting agency. As part of the Barents Surety strategic partner network, this office plays a critical role in the design, analysis, and execution of custom surety programs for both public and private sector clients.
Barents Surety | Milan, Italy
Barents Surety Milan is a specialized insurance brokerage firm focused on surety bonds and risk management. Drawing on its strong knowledge of the Italian market, the office provides tailored solutions for industrial companies, contractors, and public sector organizations, supporting their evolving business and risk management needs.
Barents Surety | Rome, Italy
Barents Surety Rome is a specialized insurance brokerage firm focused on surety bonds and risk advisory services. Drawing on its strong knowledge of the Italian market, the office provides tailored solutions for infrastructure projects, public procurement initiatives, and companies seeking specialized support for their business development needs.
Key Highlights
In 2025, Barents Surety achieved significant growth across its European operations, more than doubling gross written premiums while maintaining a disciplined and selective underwriting approach. Strong performance in Spain and Italy, together with a profitable first year of underwriting in Bulgaria, reflected the strength of our people, technical expertise and commitment to building a reliable, diversified and sustainable European platform.
Gross Written Premiums more than Doubled
European surety operations achieved significant growth across the region.
42% Growth in Spain
The Spanish operation maintained strong momentum in an established market.
132% Growth in Italy
taly delivered exceptional expansion, becoming a major driver of European growth.
Successful First Underwriting Year in Bulgaria
Barents Insurance welcomed its first major accounts and built a balanced portfolio from the ground up.
Profitability from the First Year
Bulgaria concluded its inaugural year of underwriting with a net profit—a significant milestone for a newly established insurer.
S&P A− Rating Secured
Barents Insurance earned a prestigious financial strength rating, reinforcing confidence among brokers, clients and partners.
Nearly 50 Professionals Across Europe
The European team continued to expand, strengthening its underwriting and technical capabilities.
Investment in Technology and Governance
Barents advanced purpose-built surety tools, low-code solutions and strong governance standards to support sustainable growth.
BARENTS SURETY
Message from the CEO
Our European surety operations more than doubled their gross written premiums in 2025. Behind that number are underwriters who stayed late to structure a complex bond, an operations team that kept the business running while deploying new systems, and colleagues in Sofia building an institution from scratch under demanding regulatory scrutiny.
2025 was a year of keeping our word. We told our Board and our partners that investing in people, technology and governance would bear fruit. It did. Spain grew 42%. Italy grew 132%. Bulgaria completed its first full year of underwriting. Simultaneously, we are closing a new European bonds reinsurance programme led by prime partners — a milestone that validates our underwriting discipline and underpins the growth ahead.
Attracting the right people — people who share our technical standards and our conviction that this business is, at its core, a service to others — remains a pillar of our strategy. I was glad to see Todor Danailov join Alexander Gospodinov as co-CEO in Bulgaria, bringing decades of experience and proven technical excellence. We are now close to fifty across Europe and launching a new surety underwriting centre in Greece.
Technology is our second strategic pillar. Our surety underwriters will have the most advanced tools, purpose-built for surety, a product unlike any other in the sector. We are exploring artificial intelligence with conviction and prudence. We are adopting low-code solutions so our infrastructure can keep pace with business needs that always move ahead of systems.
The year ahead brings opportunity and responsibility. We are committed to building something durable: a European operation that earns its place through the quality of its work and the reliability of its word.
2025 was a year of keeping our word. We told our Board and our partners that investing in people, technology and governance would bear fruit. It did. Spain grew 42%. Italy grew 132%.
Bulgaria completed its first full year of underwriting. Simultaneously, we are closing a new European bonds reinsurance programme led by prime partners — a milestone that validates our underwriting discipline and underpins the growth ahead.
Antonio Wesolowski
Europe CEO - Barents Surety
Barents Insurance
Sofia, Bulgaria
Barents Insurance is a European-licensed insurance company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Barents Reinsurance Company Inc. Established to develop specialized lines of business across the European market, it combines the financial strength and international expertise of the Barents Group with local market knowledge, technical excellence, and tailored insurance solutions.
In 2025, its inaugural year of underwriting, Barents Insurance successfully established its operations in Bulgaria, secured an A− rating from S&P, welcomed its first major accounts, and achieved profitability through disciplined risk selection and prudent underwriting. Supported by strong relationships with brokers, clients, and strategic partners, the company is building a trusted and scalable European platform, with plans to broaden its product offering and strengthen its presence across Southeast Europe.
BARENTS INSURANCE
Message from Alexander Gospodinov
Building an insurance company from the ground up is, above all, an exercise in earning trust. In 2025, our first year of underwriting, Barents Insurance set out to demonstrate that a new carrier could offer the security of a strong international group together with the responsiveness and market knowledge of a local partner. The market’s answer was unambiguous: leading brokers and clients across placed their confidence in us, and our portfolio grew steadily, account by account, always on terms consistent with our disciplined risk appetite.
Commercial ambition and underwriting prudence are often presented as opposites. We regard them as inseparable. Every account we won in 2025 was won on quality — technical expertise, speed of response, and solutions structured around each client’s specific needs — never on price alone. This selective approach enabled us to close our first year of operations with a balanced, profitable portfolio and, just as importantly, with partnerships built to last.
Looking to 2026 and beyond, our commercial priorities are clear. We will deepen our presence in the Bulgarian market, broaden our product offering, and extend our reach across Southeast Europe, where Greece represents our next step. The planned integration of the Group’s established operations in Spain and Italy will bring greater scale and diversification to our platform, further strengthening the security we stand behind for every partner. At the same time, prudent capital management, rigorous risk selection and the exemplary governance standards of our Group will remain the foundation on which all of this growth is built.
Our commitment is unchanged: measured growth, conservative evaluation of every risk we write, and a standard of service our partners can rely on without exception. Our ambition is not simply to be the fastest-growing company in our market — it is to be the most trusted one.
Alexander Gospodinov
Executive Director
BARENTS INSURANCE
Message from Todor Danailov
2025 marked the inaugural year of underwriting for Barents Insurance in Bulgaria, and it was a defining period for our team. We welcomed our first major accounts, secured a prestigious A- rating from S&P, and built a cohesive organization from scratch. Our partners quickly recognized that Barents brings a unique combination of technical excellence and tailored solutions to the market.
In parallel, our strict underwriting discipline allowed us to conclude our very first year of operations with a net profit. Achieving profitability at this stage is a rare milestone in our industry, a clear validation of our strategy, and an achievement our entire team is immensely proud of.
Looking ahead, we remain fully committed to upholding the exemplary corporate governance standards set by our Group. As we scale, our next strategic milestone is the integration of our Group’s established operations in Spain and Italy. By absorbing these high-performing portfolios—backed by 14–15 years of deep local market expertise—and developing the Greek market where we have already onboarded our first local colleague, we are significantly diversifying our risk profile, expanding our versatility, and accelerating our profitability. This powerful synergy sets the stage for a truly robust, multi-national European operation.
Throughout 2026, our focus centers on elevating this foundation. We will continue strengthening our corporate governance framework while ensuring we deliver the uncompromising, top-notch service our partners expect. Simultaneously, we are embarking on the implementation of a state-of-the-art core IT system—an infrastructure designed to embed artificial intelligence directly into our workflows, driving unprecedented efficiency and precision in our underwriting.
Looking ahead, we remain fully committed to upholding the exemplary corporate governance standards set by our Group. As we scale, our next strategic milestone is the integration of our Group’s established operations in Spain and Italy.
Todor Danailov
Executive Director