Origin Specialty

Origin Specialty is a renowned specialty insurance provider, founded in 2018 by Dan and Neno Djordjevic, a father and son duo, drawing on their combined 40 years of expertise in restaurant and hospitality underwriting. A full-service managing general agent (MGA) and managing general underwriter (MGU), the company’s goal has always been to carve out a niche in the competitive marketplace.

“We recognized very early on a significant demand from specialty insurance agents and brokers for a more responsive and client-focused approach that prioritized superior customer service,” says Neno, president and CEO, Origin Specialty.

To that end, in an industry often characterized by impersonal, outsourced services, Origin Specialty chose a different path. The company decided to keep all operations in-house—from loss control, claims handling, and policy issuance to administrative functions— and build its own internal expertise. This has attributed to the company’s success in offering competitively priced, high-quality insurance products while building a strong reputation and enduring presence in the market.

The company primarily offers general liability insurance for restaurants, hotels and excavation contractors, as well as property insurance specifically designed for restaurants and bar risks. Origin Specialty also provides excess of casualty coverage up to $5 million for its clients, along with Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) and cyber insurance, including various endorsements as part of its policies. An exciting development is their ongoing effort to introduce a workers' compensation program by the end of the year.

Origin Specialty partners with top-rated carriers and are supported by leading reinsurers, ensuring robust coverage and substantial reinsurance capacity. Each department, including underwriting, claims, and loss control, is led by industry experts with deep experience, providing a wealth of in-house knowledge and reducing the need for external consultations.

The team’s commitment to technological innovation has played a significant role in Origin Specialty’s operations, enhancing efficiency, responsiveness, and profitability. The company was a pioneer in implementing mobile loss control applications before the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing insureds to conduct loss control surveys via mobile devices. This technology has enhanced communication with clients by allowing quicker interactions and providing easy access to their in-house loss control director and team for any queries or issues.

However, despite leveraging the latest technology in the underwriting process, each of the over 40,000 submissions the company receives annually is reviewed by a person. Every submission is individually assessed to make decisions on eligibility, coverage, and pricing, ensuring that each account and quote is customized.

Owing to the attention paid to enhance customer-service, client feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, the key reason why Origin Specialty continues to lead the insurance space in the restaurant and hospitality sectors. In the coming years, the company will further expand and customize its coverage options as part of its insurance offerings.