Round-up of the weekly news and developments from the global (re)insurance market with stories from JLT, Willis Towers Watson, LSM and more.
JLT expands European cyber practice with 4 new appointments
JLT Specialty has expanded its European cyber practice based in London and Stockholm with the appointment of four new members, Monica Tigleanu, Claire Davey, Anthony Herring and Jack Elliott-Frey.
Both Tigleanu and Davey join as partners.
Tigleanu joins from Beazley. Before this she was a senior underwriter in cyber risk at AIG.
Davey joins from Marsh, where she served as assistant vice president in technology errors and omissions (E&O) and cyber liability. Prior to this she was a broker at Aon where she was predominantly responsible for professional indemnity insurance. As partner, Davey will focus on growing JLT’s European retail presence.
Anthony Herring joins JLT Specialty as a broker in the European cyber team and will be based in Stockholm.
Previously, Herring was a cyber practice leader for Aon in Sweden and has experience in property insurance. He is expected to bring a new perspective to business interruption to JLT’s cyber team clients.
Lastly, Jack Elliott-Frey joins from Aon Risk Solutions, where he was a cyber broker. Prior to this, he worked for cyber insurance broker Safeonline.
Sarah Stephens, partner and head of cyber at JLT Specialty commented: "Modern and constantly evolving online risks require true multi-disciplinary thinking to address effectively and strategically,”
“These welcome additions to our team are the latest demonstration of our commitment to bringing on board highly skilled individuals from diverse backgrounds such as insurance, business intelligence and IT."
She added: "Our footprint continues to grow significantly across Europe, where there is clearly heightened awareness of cyber risks due to rising numbers of incidents as well as European cyber and data-related regulatory changes. This latest expansion will help us continue to define innovative solutions for companies in the UK, across Europe and around the globe."
Willis Towers Watson bolsters its France Facultative reinsurance hub
Willis Towers Watson has reinforced its existing Facultative (Fac) reinsurance business in France by creating an independent and dedicated team of three specialists based in Paris.
The new Fac team will operate under the Gras Savoye Facultative brand as part of WTW’s global Fac business, and will be led by Amélie des Monstiers.
Des Monstiers established relationships with the market will help engagement with insurance carriers on all business emerging out of Gras Savoye Willis Towers Watson France. This reinforced division will also help lead the company’s facultative strategy across France.
The enhanced hub plays a key part in Willis Towers Watson’s overall strategy for its global Fac business, headed by Toby Wemyss. It complements the company’s other European Fac operations in Madrid, Stockholm, and the team recently established in Munich.
As with those operations, the new team will be aligned to Ghassan Mansour, regional head of facultative reinsurance for Western Europe, Willis Towers Watson, who said: “The French team is a great boost to our regional talent pool as we look to strengthen and sharpen our Fac proposition across Western Europe and align with our global Fac hub based in London.
The team will continue to focus on the growing appetite for developing better reinsurance solutions for all our carrier partnerships by capitalising on their significant experience, and Willis Towers Watson’s exceptional analytical capabilities.”
Jean Rondard, co-head of corporate risk & broking for France, Gras Savoye Willis Towers Watson France, added: “We recognise the importance of our carriers in a challenging and evolving marketplace, so we are responding by creating a highly experienced and specialised independent Fac team in France to serve our local carriers and to provide solutions to their specific needs and strategic objectives.”
Liberty taps AIG duo to expand liability team
Liberty Specialty Markets (LSM) has expanded its liability team by creating two new senior underwriting roles.
Paul Grover becomes LSM’s international casualty underwriting manager while Daniel Munro assumes the role of London market casualty manager.
Both Grover and Munro join LSM from AIG where Grover was international class subject matter expert and Munro was London market manager.
LSM’s head of liability lines, Stuart Sutherland said: “These are strategic positions within Liberty Specialty Markets. Both Dan and Paul bring a strong market following to LSM with their solutions-driven approach to underwriting and their experience developing new opportunities from the international, multinational and UK sectors.”
Pioneer expands CAT team with the appointment of Sharpington
Pioneer Underwriters has appointed James Sharpington as an underwriter in its CAT team, effective July 2018.
Sharpington will be responsible for the development and expansion of the existing property CAT portfolio with a particular emphasis on US business. He will report to David Carson, head underwriter, Pioneer CAT.
Sharpington has experience in the property catastrophe reinsurance market in both broking and account management. He joins from BMS where he served as a senior broker, having started his career at Aon.
Carson commented: “Pioneer CAT’s business has achieved significant growth, driven by the high levels of service that we aspire to and that our capacity providers, clients and brokers expect. James’ market experience and strong analytical skills will make him a valuable addition to the team as he represents Pioneer in the London market and when meeting our brokers and clients across the globe. We are delighted he is joining us.”
Greenlight Re’s Belfatti will be stepping down as COO
Greenlight Capital Re, the specialist hedge fund backed property and casualty (P&C) reinsurer headquartered in the Cayman Islands, has announced that its chief operating officer (COO), Michael Belfatti, will be stepping down from his role for personal reasons.
Belfatti, who was appointed to the newly created role in August 2017, will depart the company as of 1 September 2018.
Before joining Greenlight Re, Belfatti was founder and CEO of consulting firm M. J. Belfatti & Company, before which he held a number of senior roles at Endurance Holdings, Validus Holdings, the Tillinghurst Business of Towers Perrin, and ACE Financial Solutions.
Greenlight Re has been providing specialist P&C risk management products and services to the insurance and reinsurance markets since 2004.
Simon Burton, CEO of Greenlight Re said: “I want to thank Mike for his contributions to Greenlight Re over the last year.”
Belfatti added: “I am proud of our accomplishments during my tenure with Greenlight Re. I wish the company and the team much success.”
Clark replaces Beale as CII president
The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has elected Jonathan Clark as president of the CII for 2018/2019 at the body’s AGM, taking over from Lloyd’s CEO Inga Beale.
Nick Turner, director of NFU Mutual APFS, has been named as deputy president.
Clark has 35 years’ experience in claims handling and has worked with many of the world’s largest corporations on their claims programmes.
In 2013 he joined SCOR as head of claims in London and is now global head of claims for Business Solutions.
Clark has been a member of the executive teams at global adjusting firms Crawford & Company and Cunningham Lindsey, developed a team handing specialist claims at Ellis and Buckle, and was claims director at the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
In 2017, Clark was elected as deputy president of the CII.
Clark commented: “This is an interesting time for the profession and I am really looking forward to my year as president of the CII.
“My focus will be on promoting and developing a united profession during my tenure; united around standards, professionalism and diversity of membership, ensuring that we’re an inclusive profession which is well-positioned to serve our incredibly diverse customer base.
"To this end, I will be championing a renewed focus on the CII’s efforts to promote the profession, to continue to attract young talent and to ensure clients’ and customers’ interests are always at the heart of the profession’s focus.”
Beale’s presidency theme of ‘New Talent’ focused on attracting a new generation of digitally savvy talent who would successfully meet the needs of a more diverse consumer group.
During her tenure, the CII launched its Aspire Apprenticeship Programmes offering employers across the insurance profession access to quality-assured apprenticeship training programmes.
Beale said: “It has been a great honour to serve the CII as its president.
“The past year has been an exciting time as we seek to develop the profession and progress by embracing new technologies in order to attract the very best talent into insurance.
“Launching the Aspire Apprenticeships Programmes was a particular highlight of my term.
“I would like to congratulate Jonathan Clark on his election and it gives me great pleasure to pass on the presidency to him.”
Sian Fisher, chief executive of the CII, added: “His extensive experience and achievements in the market will be a welcome addition and I very much look forward to working with him in the coming months.
“I would also like to thank Inga for all her hard work and dedication in her year as CII president.”
Miller hires Curtin to lead energy construction team
Miller has hired Ian Curtin as head of its energy construction team.
Curtin boasts decades of experience spanning a broad spectrum of the energy world, with a particular specialism in construction. He also brings expertise in all aspects of oil and gas insurance for clients worldwide.
Leading the energy construction team, Curtin will be working with the team in London to develop business for both offshore and onshore projects, as well as upstream and downstream operational business.
Curtin started his insurance career in 1977 and has previously worked for the likes of; Sedgwick, C.E. Heath, Alexander Forbes/Lockton and most recently Marsh.
He has experience with major projects in the UK, Norway and Australia, and designed and placed the insurance programmes for two of the three first floating LNG projects.
Alex Vincent, head of energy at Miller said: “Ian is an excellent addition to Miller’s Energy team. Having been involved in some of the most pioneering megaprojects to date, his experience and knowledge of the sector will be of great value to our clients across the globe.”
Brit hires Quinton as special risks underwriter
Brit has appointed Stephen Quinton as class underwriter in kidnap and ransom (K&R), effective from 3 September.
Quinton joins from Travelers Syndicate Management where he was most recently head of accident & special risks for Travelers Syndicate 5000 (previously St Paul at Lloyd’s), responsible for managing a team writing a diverse portfolio including marine piracy, kidnap and ransom and extortion risks on a global basis.
Quinton has been underwriting with Travelers Syndicate 5000 since 1994 and is said to have launched and led its K&R portfolio of business in 2000.
In his new role, Quinton will report to Andrew Bowers, divisional director of accident & health (A&H).
Speaking of the appointment, Matthew Wilson, CEO at Brit said: “We are pleased to announce the hire of yet another market-leading specialist underwriter by Brit. Adding high quality underwriters underpins Brit’s growth strategy and Stephen’s extensive experience of both underwriting and crisis response makes him well placed to add value for our clients in the K&R space. We believe that Stephen will be a great asset to our well-regarded A&H team and look forward to him joining.”