A round up of the latest senior hires across the insurance sector, plus some interesting broker news from Harbour Underwriting;
HARBOUR UNDERWRITING
Harbour Underwriting has launched this month with an ATE commercial dispute insurance proposition. This product is purchased after a dispute has arisen and protects the claimant or defendant by reducing the potential downside in bringing or defending a legal claim.
The launch of Harbour Underwriting, formerly known as QLCC, is led by Sharon Brown who joined the business last year. Sharon was previously chief sales officer at Miles Smith where she spearheaded the development and successful distribution of a number of schemes specialising in hard markets and high risks areas.
Sharon says: “I joined Harbour because I saw a tremendous opportunity for brokers in the evolving world of ATE insurance. Law firms we are speaking to are already seeing an upsurge in potential cases following the pandemic and the legal complexities relating to the lockdown. Lawyers involved in litigation are under a duty to advise their clients on all appropriate insurance and funding options, including where relevant ATE insurance. Brokers should be aware of the opportunities this presents.
“Harbour Underwriting is here to have a conversation with insurance brokers and their clients about how an ATE insurance policy can help to mitigate the risk of adverse costs, own side expenses and solicitors’ fees, whichever side of the dispute their client is on.
“We’re looking forward to working in partnership with more brokers to explain the many ways in which ATE can help their clients and become part of the conversation about risk mitigation.”
The underwriting team is led by Rocco Pirozzolo, who for the last 20 years has been at the forefront of developing legal costs insurance policies.
GALLAGHER RE
Gallagher Re, the specialist global reinsurance broker, has appointed Thiago Navega as Director of its Brazilian operation.
Reflecting Gallagher Re’s growing presence and investment in Latin America, Thiago’s appointment will bolster the expertise of the reinsurance broker’s expanding team in the region, with a particular focus on the global energy sector. With offices in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Santiago and Miami, Gallagher Re’s Latin American operation, established in 2016, offers the full range of treaty reinsurance solutions across the region. In Brazil, the service extends to facultative placements, facilities and portfolio solutions.
GALLAGHER UK
Insurance, risk management and consulting firm Gallagher announces that Gareth Parry-Jones has been appointed Regional Managing Director of the Midlands.
In his new role, Gareth is responsible for leading over 200 colleagues across branches in Birmingham, Coventry and Leicester. Gallagher looks after a wide range of businesses in the region from SMEs to large corporate organisations, and also operates teams specialising in risk management for charities, real estate, construction, professional indemnity and life sciences. Gareth will report into Peter Matthews, Managing Director of the North in Gallagher’s UK Retail division.
Gareth has over 30 years’ insurance experience and joined Gallagher in 2014 as Managing Director of the East Midlands. Prior to that, he held several leadership roles at The Oval Group, which was acquired by Gallagher in 2014.
ARAG
Leading legal expenses and assistance provider ARAG has appointed Simon Barrett as the company’s next Chief Financial Officer, in preparation for the retirement of longstanding CFO Bob Moreton, next year.
Simon has worked in the insurance industry for most of his career, including senior roles with Mitsui Sumitomo, QBE, XL Group, Hamilton Insurance Group and Markel International.
“I’m very pleased to be welcoming Simon to the ARAG team.” commented Managing Director, Tony Buss. “He obviously brings with him a wealth of experience from several major insurance businesses that will be a great benefit to us as ARAG continues to grow.”
Responding to Tony’s comments, Simon added “I’m excited to be joining ARAG at such an important time in the company’s growth. It is clearly a very difficult time for so many businesses, all around the world, but ARAG has established a strong market position and has the backing of a very large and secure European group, which has provided a very solid foundation on which to build.”
ALLIANZ
Allianz Engineering, Construction & Power has appointed Peter Carless as chief engineer. He replaces Martin Butler who recently retired from the business.
Having originally joined Allianz in 1999 as the principal mechanical engineer, Peter is returning to the company after working in the energy and water sectors. During the past 12 years he has held the positions of operations and engineering manager in the directorates of waste water operations and asset management.
As chief engineer, Peter will be responsible for maintaining the health, safety, quality and engineering standards which apply to the delivery of Allianz’s inspection services. In addition, working in partnership with customers and brokers, he will be assisting the Allianz Engineering, Construction & Power senior management team in preparing the business for the future and ensuring a world class inspection service.
Peter is a fellow member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and has sat on the members council of the Pump Centre for the past six years. This has given him a broad understanding of the water industry, combined with 20 years’ experience working in the marine and land based inspection business.
CHARLES TAYLOR
Charles Taylor, the leading provider of services and technology solutions to the global insurance market, today announced that it has promoted Michael Guy and Dallas Hirsche as Managing Director and Regional Head of Canada, and Deputy Managing Director and Deputy Regional Head of Canada, respectively.
These appointments represent the continued growth of Charles Taylor’s Canadian Adjusting business and its strategy to bring strong talent to the leadership team. Michael will report directly to Damian Ely, CEO, Charles Taylor Adjusting.
“With their strong track record of success within our adjusting business, I’m pleased to welcome both Michael and Dallas to their new roles in our Canadian leadership team,” said Damian Ely. “We want to thank Bob Moore for his distinguished work for Charles Taylor for the last 23 years, and his contributions to help create a market-leading practice in Canada.”
GRP
Grant Strickland has joined Global Risk Partners (GRP) in the newly created role of Chief Data & Analytics Officer.
Grant, who will report to Group CEO, Mike Bruce, has over thirty years of experience in data and analytics, including leading the business intelligence functions for AJ Gallagher and Hyperion.
This role will build on GRP’s data strategy, leading the development of the Group’s data infrastructure, and using data analytics to deliver business insight which in turn drives value for clients and insurer partners.
Mike Bruce, GRP CEO said: “Grant is a valuable addition to GRP’s team. Harnessing the power of our data assets has always been central to our organic growth strategy, and we have made significant progress in creating a data warehouse which integrates with our various businesses systems and holds data from over 300,000 clients.
RGI SOLUTIONS
As RGI Solutions celebrates our 30-year anniversary, they are thrilled to announce the appointment of two new members to the board.
After helping to shape and develop the Company for many years Sarah Glenn and Anthony Byrne will take on the respective positions of Commercial
Director and Operations Director. Ray Glenn said:
“Joyce, Tim and myself are excited to welcome Sarah and Anthony on to the board, paving the way for the future success and sustainability of our company. Their competencies and skills have grown over their years at RGI and we are confident that we have achieved a business leadership team that will take us to new heights. We wish them every success”.
BRIDGE INSURANCE BROKERS
Bridge Insurance Brokers Ltd has made three senior appointments at its Manchester headquarters.
Rob Morrison has joined the Real Estate team as an account executive following 12 years in the property team at Reich, while Laura Whitby and Joanne Pitcher have been appointed into the FlatGUARD division. Laura takes on the role of client service executive, moving over from RSA, while Joanne joins as a claims executive following 14 years at Mansons.
Michael Regan, director of Real Estate, comments: “The construction industry has had a kickstart this year after a period of uncertainty, and we are hugely busy thanks to the Owner-Controlled Insurance Programmes, which cover a range of risks and puts the developer back in control. Rob’s experience means we can continue to drive this industry shift with existing and new clients.”
Martin Kent-Heath, FlatGUARD operations manager, adds: “The residential flat insurance business has been the focus of much interest, and rightly so. Our team has been working hard to support any changes in the industry and the result of that work is that we now need to expand the team to manage the growth – which is across the UK. We’re delighted to welcome Laura and Jo to the team.”
Bridge is celebrating 50 years of business this year and employs over 100 people in its London office and Manchester offices on Charlotte street.
As well as the Real Estate, Property and Construction teams, Bridge specialises in Credit, Corporate, International, Specialist Risks and operates bespoke schemes.
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