--New equity capital will support Novel’s continued build-out as a diversified underwriting and insurance services holding company--

Novel Financial Holdings, Inc. (“Novel” or the “Company”), a holding company that is building a diversified underwriting and insurance services platform, today announced an investment from Crestview Partners (“Crestview”), a leading private equity firm. The investment will support Novel's continued expansion across insurance underwriting and services while broadening its ownership base.

Led by a team of respected industry veterans, Novel manages both policyholder-owned reciprocal exchanges through ownership of attorney-in-fact (“AIF”) entities and traditional stock insurance companies through direct ownership and service contracts. By combining fee-based earnings from AIFs and other insurance services businesses with operating results from its owned insurance carriers, Novel is continuing to build a business with increased scale and diversification across underwriting exposures and revenue streams to deliver returns through market cycles.

Rob Bredahl, Chief Executive Officer of Novel, said, “As we continue to scale and diversify Novel, we are excited to partner with Crestview, a firm that has been investing across insurance and reinsurance for two decades and has backed insurance businesses through full market cycles. Crestview brings not only flexible capital but also meaningful sector expertise and relationships that will support our growth for years to come.”

Crestview has invested across financial services since its founding in 2004, with a sustained focus on insurance and reinsurance. The firm has extensive experience partnering with management teams to build differentiated platforms. Novel expects to benefit from Crestview’s insurance expertise, extensive industry relationships and ability to provide additional capital to support the Company’s continued growth.

Dan Kilpatrick, Partner and Head of Financial Services at Crestview noted, “We are thrilled to be partnering with Rob and the terrific team at Novel. We believe Novel has assembled a unique and compelling set of capabilities combining insurance underwriting, reciprocal exchange management, and specialized insurance services that positions it to thrive in today’s fast evolving insurance market. We are excited to help the organization drive further growth.”

Novel's strategy includes continued partnerships with established underwriting organizations, including SageSure and other third-party managing general agents, alongside the development of its own individual risk underwriting capabilities and expansion into additional specialty and casualty lines of business.

Novel’s portfolio currently includes Forza Insurance Holdings, owner of the AIF entities that manage SureChoice Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (“SURE”) and Elevate Reciprocal Exchange (“Elevate”), and the GeoVera Nova group of companies (“GeoVera Nova”). Across these businesses, Novel supports an existing portfolio of diversified residential and commercial property products, with GeoVera Nova’s AM Best “A” (Excellent) rated entities providing a platform for the build-out of additional specialty and casualty underwriting teams.

Howden Capital Markets & Advisory served as exclusive financial advisor to Novel on the transaction.

About Novel Financial Holdings
Novel Financial Holdings, Inc. is a diversified underwriting and insurance services holding company. Through its subsidiaries, Novel owns traditional insurance carriers, manages policyholder-owned reciprocal exchanges, and operates specialized insurance services businesses, including attorneys-in-fact, insurance management, and underwriting-related services. Novel's strategy integrates partnerships with established managing general agents and underwriting organizations, the development of its own individual risk underwriting capabilities, and expansion into specialty and casualty insurance markets. Across its platform, Novel-managed carriers currently write approximately $2 billion of annual gross written premium. By combining underwriting income from its owned insurance carriers with fee-based earnings from its insurance services businesses, Novel is continuing to build a diversified platform with multiple revenue streams and growth opportunities. Novel is backed by Crestview Partners and Flexpoint Ford. For additional information, visit novelfh.com.

About Crestview Partners
Founded in 2004, Crestview is a private equity firm focused on the middle market. The firm is based in New York and manages funds with over $10 billion of aggregate capital commitments. The firm is led by a group of partners who have complementary experience and distinguished backgrounds in private equity, finance, operations and management. Crestview has senior investment professionals focused on sourcing and managing investments in each of the specialty areas of the firm: financial services, industrials and media. For additional information, visit www.crestview.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261103030823/en/

"Crestview brings not only flexible capital but also meaningful sector expertise and relationships that will support our growth for years to come."