(Reuters) -Neptune Insurance shares jumped 12.5% in their New York Stock Exchange debut on Wednesday, valuing the company at nearly $3.11 billion and making it the latest insurer to capitalize on a buoyant listings market.
Shares of the St. Petersburg, Florida-based flood insurer opened at $22.5 apiece, compared with the $20 issue price.
Neptune and some of its existing shareholders sold 18.4 million shares in an initial public offering on Tuesday, at the top of its target range of $18 to $20 apiece.
Based on the IPO pricing, the company was initially valued at $2.76 billion.
First-time share sales across the U.S. have boomed as a rallying equity market and easing interest rates have tempered investor concerns about trade policy and inflation.
Insurers, viewed as relatively resilient in downturns, have helped drive the long-awaited recovery in the IPO market.
Demand for risk‑mitigation products has been rising as climate‑related events such as floods become more frequent and destructive.
The flood insurance market remains dominated by the National Flood Insurance Program, a federal initiative.
According to its prospectus, Neptune uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to underwrite flood insurance and employs no human underwriters, performing 100% of underwriting through its 'Triton' engine.
(Reporting by Ateev Bhandari and Anuj T in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Tasim Zahid)
