Bamboo Insurance IPO: how the business makes money

Homeowners pay premiums to Bamboo Insurance, which keeps a commission and passes the rest to the insurers it writes for; those insurers and their reinsurers carry most of the claims risk.

• 01Commissions were $134.6 million of $173.4 million revenue in the six months to Jun 30, 2026. Sutton's two insurers provided 72% of that commission revenue.
• 02Of every $100 of revenue in that period, $27.4 went to the agencies that sold the policies, and $7.9 was left as net income.

Shares sold by existing stockholders

35 million shares

To list on

NYSE

Proposed ticker

BMB

Lock-up on existing holders

180 days

• 01Selling stockholders: two CVC-controlled partnerships sell all the shares and keep the money. Miramar Blocker Holdco sells 25,842,012 and CVC Blocker Holdco 9,157,988 (Cityfort calculation from S-1/A filed Sep 14, 2026: shares before minus shares after).
• 02White Mountains holds through Miramar Blocker Holdco. Its WM Investments shares fall from 26,913,115 to 19,709,661 in the offering, per the S-1/A.
• 03New shares: none. The S-1/A says the offering is meant to create a public market for the Class A stock, ease future access to public equity markets and raise the company's visibility.
• 04Costs: Bamboo Insurance pays offering expenses of about $12,355,000 although it gets no proceeds. The underwriters reimburse up to $2,500,000, and the sellers pay the underwriting discount.
• 05Underwriters' option: up to 5,250,000 more shares within 30 days, all from the selling stockholders.
• 06Structure: the listed company is a holding company formed on Mar 13, 2026. Its main asset is 84% of Miramar Holdco, LLC, which sits above the operating business.
• 07This section uses the terms as filed. The key dates below record a news report about the offering's status.

The company, its officers and directors, and holders of substantially all its stock, including the sellers, agree not to sell for 180 days after the prospectus date. J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley can release them. Registration rights cover up to 121,305,057 shares.

Underwriters

11 named in the S-1 (lead: J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC)

Underwriter conflict of interest

FINRA Rule 5121 applies. Affiliates of underwriter CVC Funding, LLC and financial adviser Teneo Securities LLC are selling stockholders and get 5% or more of net proceeds. CVC affiliates own over 10% of the company and of both firms. The S-1/A says no qualified independent underwriter is required.

Controlled company

Yes. CVC Funds will hold over 50% of voting power through the two partnerships. The company says it intends to elect not to comply with the majority-independent board and fully independent compensation committee requirements.

Directed share programme

Up to 2% of the offered shares may be set aside for employees, business associates, investors, and friends and family, per the S-1/A.

Lead underwriters

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

Transfer agent

Equiniti Trust Company, LLC

Source: Form S-1/A, Amendment No. 1 (filed Sep 14, 2026)

Learn: How to read an S-1: Anthropic's IPO registration statement · Dual-class shares: when votes and ownership don't match · IPO lock-up agreements: what they are and when they end

Learn: IPO lock-up agreements: what they are and when they end

• Home insurance written for partner insurers

  Standard homeowner, renter, condo and dwelling forms (HO-3, HO-4, HO-5, HO-6, DP-3), aimed at mid-market homes. Admitted (state-regulated) policies were about 89% of FY2025 MGU premium; excess and surplus lines, launched in 2023, were about 11%. Commissions were $134.6 million in the six months to Jun 30, 2026.

• Difference-in-conditions policies

  These leave out wildfire and are sold alongside the California FAIR Plan, a state-established program for homeowners who cannot get cover in the private market.

• Bamboo Agency

  Its own retail agency sells Bamboo policies and other carriers' renters, earthquake, flood and other policies, for extra commission and fee income.

• Bamboo Captive

  Its own reinsurer in Bermuda, which holds a small share of the risk. Its share of the largest program fell from 12.5% to 2.5% on Apr 1, 2025, and to 0% on Apr 1, 2026. The S-1/A says it is run at near-breakeven.

• Partner insurers (commissions)

  78%

  of revenue

  $134.6 million, 77.7% of revenue in the six months to Jun 30, 2026. The commission is a negotiated share of premium, 28.8% of MGU premiums written in that period.

• Homeowners (policy fees)

  13%

  of revenue

  $23.3 million, 13.4% of revenue. Policyholders pay these fees and Bamboo Insurance keeps them.

• Premium earned by Bamboo Captive

  7%

  of revenue

  $11.6 million, 6.7% of revenue: net earned premium on the share of risk its own reinsurer keeps. It fell from $16.5 million a year earlier as that share shrank.

• Other income

  2%

  of revenue

  $3.9 million, 2.2% of revenue. The S-1/A says this is mainly interest earned on investments, and it counts within total revenue.

1. 1Homeowners pay premium to Bamboo Insurance. It sends the premium to the insurer, minus its commission, and keeps the policy fees.
2. 2Total revenue was $173.4 million in the six months to Jun 30, 2026, up from $123.9 million a year earlier. Commissions were $134.6 million.
3. 3Agencies that sold the policies took $47.4 million. Staff cost $22.8 million and other overhead $24.4 million.
4. 4Amortization, a non-cash charge spreading the cost of acquired assets, was $36.4 million after the Dec 5, 2025 change of owner. Interest was $16.3 million.
5. 5Operating income was $30.0 million (Cityfort calculation from S-1/A filed Sep 14, 2026). After interest, $13.8 million was left as net income; as a partnership, it paid no income tax. $10.9 million of that is allocated to preferred units.

Each line = amount ÷ total money in × 100. Lines may not add to exactly $100 because of rounding.

• Insurers and reinsurers willing to carry the risk

  95 Capacity Providers at Jun 30, 2026: 7 Program Partners, 60 reinsurers and 28 institutional investors, up from 12 in 2021. The largest quota share provider (one that takes a fixed share of premium and claims) had about 14% of premium at risk.

• Agents

  Nearly 3,500 agents in California and 2,000 in Texas. Independent agencies held 54% of policies in force at Jun 30, 2026, carrier partner agents 43% and point of sale 3%.

• Pricing and processing technology

  The company targets about 85% straight-through processing, meaning no person needs to touch a quote. It says over 75% of quotes were bindable as of February 2026.

• People

  290 employees at Jun 30, 2026. The Midvale, Utah office is leased; the company owns no real estate.

• Texas

  Early

  $16 million of premium and 6,000 policies through June 2026 (S-1/A)

  Entered in September 2025. Texas homeowners premium is about $20 billion, based on S&P Global, as cited in the S-1/A.

  Status: Early, too early to judge.

• California

  Working

  4% share of California homeowners premium at Dec 31, 2025 (S-1/A)

  California homeowners premium is about $18 billion, based on S&P Global, as cited in the S-1/A. California was over 98% of revenue in the six months to Jun 30, 2026.

  Status: Working, on track against what the company said.

• New partners

  Working

  Sutton's share of commission revenue: 99% in FY2024, 72% in the six months to Jun 30, 2026

  Four programs launched with new Program Partners in 2025, per the S-1/A.

  Status: Working, on track against what the company said.

• Condo policies

  New

  Added in 2026 (S-1/A); no separate figures given

  The S-1/A does not report condo premium on its own.

  Status: New, recently announced.

Status compares progress with what the company itself said it would do: Working = on track against what the company said; Mixed = partly on track; Behind = behind the company's own plan; New = recently announced; Early = too early to judge.

EBITDA here = operating income plus depreciation and amortization (from the cash flow statement). Fiscal years are the company's own (December 31). Net profit is the share belonging to the company's owners.

Bamboo Insurance says in its S-1/A that it is an emerging growth company, so the filing gives two audited years instead of three.

Learn: Stock-based compensation and dilution: pay that becomes shares

• Official (GAAP): Net income, six months to Jun 30, 2026

  $13.8M

  Company's own measure: Adjusted EBITDA, six months to Jun 30, 2026

  $77.2M

  The company's measure: net income without interest, amortization, unit-based pay of $0.8 million, IT implementation of $5.3 million, transaction costs of $7.4 million and other items.

• Official (GAAP): Net income, FY2025 (two periods combined)

  $33.5M

  Company's own measure: Adjusted EBITDA, FY2025 (two periods combined)

  $104M

  Same definition; the company states about $104 million. Transaction costs left out were $22.7 million, mostly the CVC deal (Cityfort calculation from S-1/A filed Sep 14, 2026). Adjusted EBITDA margin (what this means)EBITDA marginOperating profit before wear-and-tear charges (depreciation and amortization). As a margin: per $100 of sales. was 38% of revenue, as the company measures it.

• Official (GAAP): MGU segment revenue, six months to Jun 30, 2026

  $162M

  Company's own measure: MGU Segment Adjusted EBITDA, six months to Jun 30, 2026

  $72.9M

  The company's segment profit measure. The Captive segment's was $4.3 million in the same period, against a $3.0 million loss a year earlier.

• Official (GAAP): Total revenue, six months to Jun 30, 2026

  $173M

  Company's own measure: Managed Premium, Jun 30, 2026

  $879M

  The company's measure: annualized premium of all active policies at a date, including third-party policies sold through its agency. It is premium, not revenue. It was $765.7 million at Dec 31, 2025, up 58% in the company's own figure.

• Official (GAAP)

  No official figure measures this; it is the company's own operating measure.

  Company's own measure: Policies in Force, Jun 30, 2026

  401,787 policies

  As the company counts them; 354,085 at Dec 31, 2025 and 263,522 at Dec 31, 2024.

• Official (GAAP)

  No official figure measures this; it is the company's own operating measure.

  Company's own measure: Policy Retention, twelve months to Jun 30, 2026

  88%

  The company's measure: policies renewed divided by policies offered renewal, over twelve months. It was 87% in FY2025 and 85% in FY2024.

• Official (GAAP)

  No official figure measures this; it is the company's own operating measure.

  Company's own measure: Attritional loss and claim-cost ratio, FY2025

  35%

  The company's measure: incurred losses and claim-handling costs as a share of premiums earned, excluding catastrophe losses. The January 2025 California wildfires are separate: the S-1/A estimates a program-level gross loss of $165 million before recoveries from parties at fault, at Dec 31, 2025.

These are the company's own measures, defined by the company. They are not comparable across companies, and they are not added together. Each sits beside the nearest official (GAAP) figure.

Learn: Non-GAAP measures: what a company's "adjusted" numbers leave out

• $111.7 million of fiduciary cash, held for others, is not the company's and is left out. So is $78.4 million of trading investments, of which $56.3 million is collateral for Bamboo Captive.
• Long-term debt on the balance sheet is $531.1 million; $548.0 million is the principal owed. Debt to equity uses the principal (Cityfort calculation from S-1/A filed Sep 14, 2026).
• A $150 million term loan added on Jun 4, 2026 went out as a return of capital to equity owners. This offering repays no debt, because the company gets no proceeds.
• The loans mature on Dec 5, 2031 at Term SOFR plus 4.50% to 5.00%, secured by substantially all assets of the borrower group. A $40 million revolving credit line was undrawn. The maximum total leverage covenant is 6.50 to 1.00, and the company says it complied.
• Goodwill and other intangibles were 83.7% of total assets of $2,011.2 million, mostly from the change of owner (Cityfort calculation from S-1/A filed Sep 14, 2026).

Officers and directors (as a group), shares

8.7%

From the prospectus table of principal stockholders. Holdings fall after the IPO when new shares are sold; the prospectus also shows the holding after the offering.

• John Chu

  Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman

  Age 62. Earlier chief executive of McGraw Group of Affiliated Companies, 2013 to 2017. 2025 pay was $5,680,595, including a $2,000,000 bonus that includes cash transaction bonuses.

• Tim Tuller

  Chief Financial Officer · since 2024

  Age 46. Joined from Kemper. 2025 pay was $1,917,500.

• Taylor Mobley

  Chief Operating Officer · since 2026

  Age 41. 2025 pay was $1,751,500.

• Brian Suzuki

  Chief Insurance Officer · since 2020

  Age 53.

• Lorne Somerville

  Director

  Works at CVC.

• Daniel Brand

  Director

  Works at CVC.

• Omar Shalaby

  Director

  Works at CVC.

• Christopher Delehanty

  Director

  Works at White Mountains.

• Ty Shay

  Director

  President of SimpliSafe.

• Mark Anquillare

  Director

  Formerly at Verisk.

Auditor

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Auditor changes

None in the period covered

Audit qualifications

None reported

Related-party dealings

White Mountains reinsurers take part in quota share programs on Bamboo business, earning about $22.2 million of premium in FY2025 and $32.7 million in FY2024. Teneo firms, CVC affiliates, are paid fees for this offering; the amounts are not stated. The S-1/A also describes a Tax Receivable Agreement with existing owners.

Credit rating

No public credit rating found

• CVC Funding, LLC, a CVC affiliate, is an underwriter of the offering, and CVC affiliates are among the sellers. Teneo Securities and Teneo Strategy, affiliates of the company and CVC Funds, are paid as adviser and consultant.
• CVC may designate up to five director nominees, per the S-1/A. After the offering at $19.00, per the S-1/A of Sep 14, 2026, CVC Funds and White Mountains would hold about 61% of votes and 73% of Class A economics.
• White Mountains reinsurers earned about $22.2 million of premium in FY2025 and $32.7 million in FY2024 on Bamboo business. White Mountains would hold about 15% of Class A after the offering, a stake inside CVC's 73%.
• A Tax Receivable Agreement pays 85% of certain tax benefits to Continuing Equity Owners and the Blocker Shareholders.
• A $150 million term loan went out as a return of capital to equity owners in June 2026. Return of capital was also $96.4 million from Jan 1 to Dec 4, 2025.

Cases are listed as the offer document describes them. A pending case is an allegation until a court or regulator decides it.

• Concentration

  Partners could pull back

  Bamboo Insurance takes no significant balance sheet risk, so it depends on Capacity Providers to carry it. The S-1/A says they could end or reduce support.

  Watch The count of Capacity Providers, 95 at Jun 30, 2026, and the largest one's share.

• Concentration

  One partner group provides most commissions

  Sutton provided 72% of commission revenue in the six months to Jun 30, 2026. Either side can give non-renewal notice by Jan 1, with termination at least 27 months after notice.

  Watch Sutton's share of commission revenue in the next filing.

• Regulation

  Almost all revenue is from California

  California was over 98% of revenue in the six months to Jun 30, 2026. State regulators, FAIR Plan changes, disasters or the local economy could affect the whole business.

  Watch Texas premium, $16 million through June 2026, and any new state.

• Other

  Wildfires and other catastrophes

  Big events raise claims on its policies and hurt its partners. The S-1/A estimates a $165 million program-level gross loss before recoveries from parties at fault, from the January 2025 California wildfires.

  Watch Wildfire and earthquake losses, and how partners respond at renewal.

• Execution

  Underwriting models could misjudge risk

  The S-1/A says its underwriting and models may misjudge risk, which can lose partners. About 98% of its California policies were moderate or lower wildfire risk at Dec 31, 2025, by the company's own categories.

  Watch The company's loss ratios in later filings.

• Pricing

  A softer insurance market

  The company says the market is transitioning to a soft market cycle, when premiums come under pressure, and that it has performed better in hard markets.

  Watch Commission as a share of MGU premiums written, 28.8% in the six months to Jun 30, 2026.

• Competition

  Reliance on outside agents

  Third-party producers sell its policies, and their commission demands can rise. Agency commission was 10.2% of MGU premiums written in the six months to Jun 30, 2026.

  Watch Agency commission as a share of MGU premiums written.

• Debt

  Floating-rate debt

  Principal was $548.0 million at Jun 30, 2026, with restrictive covenants. A 1% rate move is about $5.5 million a year before a $270 million swap, per the S-1/A.

  Watch Interest expense, $16.3 million in the six months to Jun 30, 2026.

• Status of the offering is unclear

  Insurance Journal reported on Sep 23, 2026, citing unnamed people, that the IPO was postponed. No company statement was found, and EDGAR showed no later filing or withdrawal as of Nov 5, 2026. The filed terms may change.

• The company gets no money

  All the money goes to the selling stockholders, and the company pays about $12,355,000 of costs. The offering repays none of its debt.

• Payments to existing owners

  The Tax Receivable Agreement pays 85% of certain tax benefits to existing owners. About $251.8 million would be due if it ended right after the IPO transactions, at $19.00, per the S-1/A of Sep 14, 2026. On certain changes of control, each party to the agreement may elect to end it, which would accelerate payments to that party.

• CVC keeps control

  CVC Funds and White Mountains would hold about 61% of votes after the offering. CVC may name up to five directors and has consent rights, and the S-1/A says its interests may conflict with other holders'.

• Fewer independence rules

  As a controlled company, it intends not to meet the majority-independent board and fully independent compensation committee requirements.

• Results look different after the IPO

  The business paid no income tax as a partnership. Pro forma for the IPO transactions, net loss was $71.8 million in FY2025 and $1.9 million in the six months to Jun 30, 2026, with added pay, tax and interest.

• Dilution

  At $19.00, per the S-1/A of Sep 14, 2026, dilution is $23.95 per share, because pro forma net tangible book value is negative $4.95 per share.

• Shares unlocked after 180 days

  Holders of substantially all stock are locked up for 180 days, and registration rights cover up to 121,305,057 shares. The S-1/A lists later sales as a risk.

• Holding company and takeover terms

  The company relies on distributions from Miramar Holdco. It has a classified board, can issue preferred stock without a stockholder vote, and has no current plan to pay regular dividends.

What does Bamboo Insurance do?

Bamboo Insurance is a managing general underwriter (MGU) for homeowners insurance in California and Texas. It handles data, underwriting, policy administration, distribution and claims, while partner insurers issue the policies. California was over 98% of revenue in the six months to Jun 30, 2026, per its S-1/A.

How does Bamboo Insurance make money?

Bamboo Insurance earns a commission on the premiums it writes for insurers, plus policy fees. In the six months to Jun 30, 2026, commissions were $134.6 million and fees $23.3 million of $173.4 million total revenue, per its S-1/A.

Is Bamboo Insurance profitable?

Bamboo Insurance reported net income of $13.8 million in the six months to Jun 30, 2026, down from $23.7 million a year earlier, and paid no income tax as a partnership. Its S-1/A shows a pro forma net loss of $1.9 million for the 2026 period after the IPO transactions.

What is Bamboo Insurance's revenue by segment?

Bamboo Insurance's MGU segment had revenue of $162.3 million in the six months to Jun 30, 2026, and its captive reinsurance segment $12.3 million. Total revenue was $173.4 million after removing business between the two, per its S-1/A.

What kinds of home insurance does Bamboo Insurance write?

Bamboo Insurance writes HO-3, HO-4, HO-5, HO-6 and DP-3 home policies. Admitted (state-regulated) policies were about 89% of its FY2025 MGU premium and excess and surplus lines about 11%, per its S-1/A. It added condo policies in 2026.

Who are Bamboo Insurance's customers?

Bamboo Insurance's policies are bought by homeowners, mostly through independent agencies, which held 54% of policies in force at Jun 30, 2026. Its commissions come from partner insurers: Sutton National and Sutton Specialty provided 72% of commission revenue in the six months to Jun 30, 2026.

How big is Bamboo Insurance?

Bamboo Insurance had revenue of $271.2 million in FY2025 (a Cityfort calculation adding two audited periods from its S-1/A filed Sep 14, 2026), up from $179.8 million in FY2024. It had 290 employees at Jun 30, 2026.

Who owns Bamboo Insurance?

CVC Funds control Bamboo Insurance after buying a majority from White Mountains on Dec 5, 2025; White Mountains kept a minority stake. After the offering at $19.00, CVC Funds and White Mountains would hold about 61% of votes and founder John Chu 6%, per the S-1/A of Sep 14, 2026.

What is the Bamboo Insurance IPO?

Bamboo Insurance's S-1/A of Sep 14, 2026 offers 35,000,000 Class A shares on the NYSE as BMB, all sold by existing holders, so the company gets no money. Insurance Journal reported on Sep 23, 2026, citing unnamed people, that the IPO was postponed. No company statement was found as of Nov 5, 2026.

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