MARKET NEWS, DATA AND INSIGHT ALL DAY, EVERY DAY ISSUE 5,536

FRIDAY 21 FEBRUARY 2020

Swiss Re says Corporate Solutions will deliver profit in 2021

p2 p3

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Axa XL takes steps to reduce volatility as Greg Hendrick departs

Willis Towers Watson puts Miller up for sale

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Market news, data and insight all day, every dayInsurance Day is the world’s only daily newspaper for the international insurance and reinsurance and risk industries. Its primary focus is on the London market and what affects it, concentrating on the key areas of catastrophe, property and marine, aviation and transportation. It is available in print, PDF, mobile and online versions and is read by more than 10,000 people in more than 70 countries worldwide.

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NEWS www.insuranceday.com | Friday 21 February 20202

Axa XL takes steps to reduce volatility as Greg Hendrick departs

Greg Hendrick has been replaced as chief executive by Scott Gunter

Scott VincentEditor, news services

Axa Group’s management voiced their disappointment with Axa XL’s 2019 perfor-mance after announcing

Greg Hendrick’s departure as the divi-sion’s chief executive.

Hendrick had taken over as Axa XL chief executive on completion of Axa’s $15.3bn acquisition of XL Group in September 2018.

Axa Group chief executive, Thomas Buberl, paid tribute to the “fantastic job” Hendrick had done in bringing to-gether the Axa XL business but said the business was now moving into an “ac-celeration phase” and “we felt it was time to do this with a new man”.

That man is Scott Gunter, former president of Chubb’s North American commercial insurance division. Gunt-er’s departure from Chubb, where he had worked since 1986, was announced in December.

On the back of its disappointment in Axa XL’s performance in 2019, Axa has reduced its target earnings for the divi-sion to €1.2bn ($1.29bn) from its previ-ous €1.4bn target.

Axa XL delivered earnings of €507m in 2019 after incurring a catastrophe bill of €300m during the second half of the year. In addition, the fourth quar-ter saw casualty reserving of €200m and elevated large losses of €100m.

Although Axa XL produced top-line growth of 10%, the division’s combined ratio slipped to 101.5% for 2019 and Axa Group chief financial officer, Eti-enne Bouas-Laurent, admitted Axa XL’s performance had been below its par-ent company’s expectation for 2019.

Bouas-Laurent said several steps had been taken to improve Axa XL’s perfor-mance in 2020.

Axa XL plans a further double-dig-it reduction in its natural catastrophe book in 2020 as parent company, Axa, seeks further reductions in the volatili-ty of the portfolio.

Having reduced natural catastrophe revenues 10% in 2019, Bouas-Laurent said a similar reduction will follow

in 2020. The company said it was not yet receiving the right level of return for much of its reinsurance book, particularly in Europe, prompting the reduction.

The division has also put in place a 15% quota-share on its reinsurance book, as well as a large loss volatility aggregate cover.

For casualty risks, the division has also reduced its line sizes and will seek to take advantages of substantial in-creases in pricing.

Bouas-Laurent said North America excess casualty had seen rate increas-es of 29% in the fourth quarter, rising to 43% in January. “There are not many times in the cycle you will see such high levels of price increase,” he said.

UBS said Axa XL’s second-half result had been weak, delivering earnings of just €5m compared with the consensus forecast of €50m.

Aegis London appoints head of delegated authoritiesAegis London has promoted Nicola Major to the newly created role of head of delegated authorities, writes Lorenzo Spoerry.

Her previous role was delegated un-derwriting audit manager.

In addition to managing Aegis Lon-don’s delegated authority team, Ma-jor’s key responsibilities will include onboarding new coverholders, audit-

ing lead coverholders and ongoing due diligence. She will also be tasked with strengthening controls while ensuring regulatory compliance.

Close to half Aegis London’s gross written premium is derived from del-egated authority business. Most of it is written in Canada, the US, the UK, Aus-tralia and Europe.

Aegis London’s director of risk and

compliance, Graeme Tennyson, said delegated authority business “holds a very significant place in Aegis London’s portfolio”.

“Nicola has considerable experience of delegated authorities and has seen the business evolve over time,” Tenny-son said. “She’s extremely well quali-fied to lead our team and maintain high standards of management.”

Axa Group’s management says Axa XL is moving into an ‘acceleration phase’ and ‘we felt it was time to do this with a new man’, leading to Greg Hendrick’s departure

NEWSwww.insuranceday.com | Friday 21 February 2020 3

Swiss Re says Corporate Solutions unit will deliver profit in 2021CorSo continues to drag on Swiss Re results in 2019 with a near-128% combined ratio

Scott VincentEditor, news services

Swiss Re said it is on course to deliver an underwrit-ing profit in its Corporate Solutions in 2021 despite

suffering another deterioration in the unit’s performance last year.

Corporate Solutions report-ed a full-year combined ratio of 127.9% in 2019, a 10.4 percentage point deterioration year-on-year, following reserve strengthening for US liability claims.

The troubled segment reported a $647m loss for 2019, up from $405m in 2018.

The result compounded a chal-lenging year for Swiss Re, which saw its core property/casualty (P&C) reinsurance division post a combined ratio of 107.8% on the back of natural and man-made catastrophe losses of $2.3bn.

The company saw a dispropor-tionate hit from last year’s losses as a result of its large market po-sitions in affected regions such as Japan, where it holds a 14% natu-ral catastrophe market share.

Swiss Re also holds an 18% ca-tastrophe market share in Aus-

tralia and a 15% market share in the Caribbean.

Corporate Solutions’ underwrit-ing performance declined across its casualty and specialty class-es, more than offsetting a mod-est improvement in its property combined ratio, with the segment reporting a total claims bill of $1.1bn for the full year.

A casualty combined ratio of

137.6% was driven by adverse prior-year development, with a specialty combined ratio of 129.2% representing a 22.7 percentage point deterioration year-on-year, driven in part by losses related to the liquidation of Thomas Cook.

Despite the challenging result, Swiss Re’s chief executive, Chris-tian Mumenthaler, said Corporate Solutions was progressing well

with the pruning of its portfolio and was on track to achieve its $100m cost savings target.

Mumenthaler said around 25% of the planned cuts to the port-folio took place last year, with 65% planned for this year.

He said the business was tar-geting a 105% combined ratio in 2020 which it hoped to reduce to 98% in 2021.

John Dacey, group chief finan-cial officer, said the actions

taken in 2019 to improve Corporate Solutions’ perfor-mance will take some time to earn through.

“A combined ratio of 127.9% is unac-

ceptable for any reasonable busi-

ness, but we stand firmly behind our 98% target for 2021,” he said.

Brandan Holmes, a senior vice- president at Moody’s, said con-tinued adverse reserve devel-opment at Corporate Solutions “highlights the extent of its un-derwriting difficulties and the challenges the group faces in re-positioning this business”.

In its P&C reinsurance business, Swiss Re saw its combined ratio deteriorate 3.8 percentage points to 107.8% in 2019 after unfavour-able prior-year development add-ed 3.5 percentage points.

The segment saw its P&C and specialty combined ratios deterio-rate, with only specialty generat-ing an underwriting profit.

Swiss Re’s property reinsurance combined ratio was hit by prior- year development from Typhoon Jebi and deteriorated to 101.3%, compared with 99.9% in 2018.

The group’s casualty reinsur-ance combined ratio deteriorated six percentage points to 116.6%, while specialty worsened by 1.9 percentage points to 95.3%.

The group’s P&C reinsurance top line grew to $21.6bn from $16.4bn in 2018 on the back of growth in its nat cat business and large transac-tions in the Americas and Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

At group level, Swiss Re de-livered a net income of $727m, missing analyst forecasts. S&P Global Ratings said it expects this performance to improve in 2020 with a consolidated combined ra-tio of 95% to 99% and net income of around $2.5bn as underwriting benefits from the rate rises ex-pected in 2020 renewals.

Willis Towers Watson puts Miller up for saleWillis Towers Watson has put its Miller Insurance Services sub-sidiary up for sale, writes Lorenzo Spoerry.

The global broking group con-firmed it is “considering strategic alternatives” for the asset and it has retained a financial adviser.

A spokesperson for Willis Tow-ers Watson said: “Since the for-

mation of Willis Towers Watson in 2016, the company strategy has continued to evolve.

“Both parties agree now is the appropriate time to consider next steps for Miller to maximise growth, continue to provide best-in-class client service and solu-tions, and enhance opportunities for colleagues.”

Willis Towers Watson (then Willis Group) took an 85% stake in Miller in 2015.

The spokesperson added that, following a transaction, Willis Towers Watson and Miller expect to have ongoing relationships in certain aspects of the busi-ness where they remain closely aligned.

‘A combined ratio of 127.9% is unacceptable for any reasonable business, but we stand firmly behind our 98% target for 2021’John Dacey Swiss Re

Swiss Re says actions taken in 2019 to improve the performance of Corporate Solutions will take some time to earn through

‘Both parties agree now is the appropriate time to consider next steps for Miller to maximise growth, continue to provide best-in-class client service and solutions and enhance opportunities for colleagues’ Willis Towers Watson

VIEWPOINT www.insuranceday.com | Friday 21 February 20204

Coronavirus will transform the event cancellation marketIn the aftermath of the coronavirus, event organisers may have to consider purchasing communicable disease insurance as an essential, rather than as an optional, cover

One of the world’s larg-est technology confer-ences, the Mobile World Congress in Barcelo-

na, wihch was scheduled to take place at the end of February, has been cancelled amid fears people attending from Asia could be car-rying the coronavirus.

While this may seem overly cau-tious as the event is in Europe, it follows the cancellation of a host of events that were due to take place in Asia including the Chinese For-mula One Grand Prix, the World Athletics Indoor Championships, the Golf Women’s World Champi-onship and the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour.

It has also been announced performing artists are cancelling tours in Asia, the most notable being Stormzy, who is postponing the Asia leg of his tour until a later date (yet to be confirmed).

What is the position in respect of using traditional event cancel-lation insurance to reduce losses?

Typically, communicable dis-ease is excluded on these policies and the extension to endorse can be expensive. Inevitably, event or-ganisers that did not purchase the additional cover and have to can-cel events may have to shoulder the financial loss.

Not only would the organisers lose the revenue from tickets sales, sponsorship, exhibitor fees, tele-vision broadcasting rights and so on, but also they will have already spent the greater part of their bud-get in respect of marketing, renting premises, contracting promotional and management companies and will have been incurring costs for months, if not years, in advance of the event itself.

For those that did not purchase the additional cover yet and would like to purchase it now, it may simply be too late.

At this relatively early stage of the disease, some event organ-

isers are reluctant to cancel, al-though they may have to consider whether going ahead may also cause other issues, such as loss of revenue, if the exhibitors pull out early and tickets sales plummet as a result.

TriggersWith globalisation and the risk of communicable diseases spreading fast, should event organisers con-sider purchasing this cover in the future as a matter of course? Even if purchased, depending on the type of contingency risk, the defi-nition of “communicable disease” will vary and will require differ-ent triggers to be covered. For ex-ample, a representative from the Mobile World Conference claims it was a requirement of its policy the Spanish government declared a national health emergency for the claim to be covered, which, to date, it has not.

Other policies may require sim-ilar declarations from the World Health Organization (WHO) or governmental bodies. At present, the WHO has not yet confirmed this is an influenza-type of virus pandemic and the virus cannot be assimilated to Sars, which may leave a loophole. And while many may think there is a “standard” wording for these exclusions or extensions, our analysis of the policies in force at present reveals this is not strictly true.

Additionally, there are nota-ble differences between sports

season events, touring events and one-off events in terms of whether they can be cancelled or postponed and this may also give rise to different types of financial losses. Some policies would ex-clude communicable disease if the main event artist is affected by the virus, while others will not be so restrictive.

ParametersSome policies also set strict pa-rameters within the extension, such as the geographical spread of the disease, duration and so on.

It is widely reported funding for vaccination research is woeful-ly short of what is required, evi-denced by the alarming regularity of which fatalities linked to Sars, Mers and Zika still occur. And the issue, which is now a global concern, is clearly not going to be resolved in the immediate or long-term future.

While the full extent and eco-nomic impact of the coronavirus could not have been predicted by event organisers – or their in-surers – the industry as a whole is potentially exposed to this risk like never before and event or-ganisers may now have to consid-er purchasing the communicable disease extension as essential, rather than optional, cover. n

Alex Calver is associate director, entertainment, contingency and special risks at Charles Taylor Adjusting

There are notable differences between sports season events, touring events and one-off events in terms of whether they can be cancelled or postponed and this may also give rise to different types of financial losses

Alex CalverCharles Taylor Adjusting

Performing artists are already cancelling tours in Asia, the most notable being StormzyBen Houdijk/Shutterstock.com

VIEWPOINT www.insuranceday.com | Friday 21 February 2020 5

UK remains challenging environment for credit insurers despite political certainty

While the outlook for 2020 is looking is more positive, key industry sectors in the UK continue to face a heightened risk of insolvency and non-payment

UK growth in 2019 was severely hampered by Brexit uncertainty. The country narrow-

ly avoided recession in the third quarter and saw zero growth in the fourth. However, with the UK’s departure from the EU and the return of a majority govern-ment, there is increasing cause for optimism.

Hopes are high for a bounce in business investment and fiscal spending. According to Bank of England forecasts, UK gross do-mestic product (GDP) growth is expected to pick up in 2020, sup-ported by greater political sta-bility and increased government spending at home, with the re-cent infrastructure approval for

HS2 the most notable example.If, despite the negative impact

of the coronavirus on the global economy, the green shoots of a UK recovery do gather momen-tum in 2020, there will be impli-cations for trade credit risk in a number of key sectors.

ConstructionLast year was, undoubtedly, a turbulent one for the construc-tion industry with a number of high-profile business failures. This year has started with sev-eral insolvencies, but there are signs that the environment is starting to improve. Order books are beginning to look more ro-bust, and the government has promised to spend about £100bn in its infrastructure investment programme.

However, an increase in the volume of work does not auto-matically mean a decrease in insolvencies. Aggressive turn-

over growth and over-ambitious tendering can lead to a cash flow crisis, and with banks generally cautious, careful cash manage-ment is even more essential. Regular and close monitoring of performance, and at times indi-vidual contracts, becomes ever more important.

FoodThe UK’s food sector has also had a tough few years, with Brex-it-related issues adding to struc-tural pressures.

Uncertainty is likely to contin-ue for this sector, which relies heavily on imports – 60% of the food consumed in the UK is im-ported, of which over 70% comes directly from the EU.

With EU trade negotiations due to start in earnest shortly, the prospect of higher tariffs re-mains a concern for the sector, where low margins make it chal-lenging to absorb sudden price increases.

Labour cost in the food sector is another factor impacting cost. The number of EU workers in the UK, which account for around 63% of UK restaurant staff and 99% of seasonal agricultural pickers, have decreased, a trend that is likely to continue while

trade negotiations are ongoing.Costs are also under pressure

from wage inflation – the sector faces a 6.2% increase in the na-tional living wage in April.

Overall, we would expect the food sector to continue to battle with cost increases in 2020. As such, a further increase in insol-vencies is quite likely, and the need to be assessing and moni-toring existing and new clients closely is heightened.

RetailAlready disrupted by the growth in online shopping, political un-certainty in recent years has negatively impacted consumer demand. The state of retail health deteriorated every quarter last year, with over 40 major retail failures in 2019. Unfortunate-ly, sales over the always-critical Christmas period failed to make up for lost ground, and failures continued into 2020, most re-cently with Hawkins Bazaar and the department store Beales.

While the political outlook has improved, retailers contin-ue to navigate a perfect storm in 2020. The sector faces con-siderable challenges, including low consumer demand, thin margins and shifting consumer

behaviours. On the supply side, upcoming EU trade negotiations will be key, with implications for future exchange rates, transport costs and labour.

Thus far, optimism in the UK economy has yet to filter through to consumer sentiment. While a recovery in retail from a his-torically poor 2019 is still possi-ble in 2020, we would expect to see a further increase in retail casualties as the sector contin-ues to adapt to the changing environment.

MetalsBrexit, the US trade war and a struggling manufacturing sector made for a difficult 2019 for the metals sector. Flat demand and reducing steel prices over the course of the year led to a num-ber of high-profile steel insol-vencies, including that of British Steel, which continues to trade under a government appointed official receiver.

Much like the food sector, the outlook for metals is linked to EU trade talks, which are likely to have important implications for manufacturing. The auto-motive industry, for example, is concerned about the potential for tariffs and delay of goods at the border affecting just-in-time manufacturing. In the near term, we see the global oversupply of steel continuing, leading to further instability for the UK market.

Premium growthWhile the outlook for 2020 is looking more positive, key sec-tors continue to face a heightened risk of insolvency and non-pay-ment. Even if the UK economy experiences a “bounce” in 2020, previous economic cycles have shown that the first 12 months are likely to see more business insolvencies in the short term, as order books buckle and working capital is stretched too far.

At Tokio Marine HCC, we are already seeing an increase in enquiries for trade credit poli-cies as businesses prepare for an interesting and pivotal year ahead. n

Ray Massey is underwriting director – credit at Tokio Marine HCC

Ray MasseyTokio Marine HHC

The state of retail health deteriorated every quarter last year, and failures continued into 2020, including department store Beales

RichartPhotos/Shutterstock.com

SHARES ANALYSIS6 www.insuranceday.com | Friday 21 February 2020 7 www.insuranceday.com | Friday 21 February 2020

Graph: Stock index comparisons

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S&P 500 Stoxx Europe

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Graph: Stock index comparisons (%)

Company Exchange Currency Close One-week change (%)

Year-to-date change (%)

One-year change (%)

52-week high

52-week low

Market cap Price-earnings ratio

Lloyd’s companies

Beazley LSE Sterling (p)

Hiscox LSE Sterling (p)

Lancashire LSE Sterling (p)

Average

European groups

Allianz Xetra Euro

Aviva LSE Sterling (p)

Axa EN Paris Euro

Generali Milan SE Euro

Hannover Re Xetra Euro

Munich Re Xetra Euro

RSA LSE Sterling (p)

Scor EN Paris Euro

Swiss Re SIX Swiss Ex Swiss franc

Talanx Xetra Euro

Zurich SIX Swiss Ex Swiss franc

Average

Bermudians

Arch Capital Nasdaq US dollar

Argo Group Nasdaq US dollar

Axis Capital NYSE US dollar

Everest Re NYSE US dollar

RenaissanceRe Nasdaq US dollar

Third Point Re Nasdaq US dollar

Average

US

AIG NYSE US dollar

Chubb NYSE US dollar

Fairfax Toronto Can dollar

Greenlight Re Nasdaq US dollar

Markel Corp NYSE US dollar

Travelers NYSE US dollar

Average

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Aon NYSE US dollar

MMC NYSE US dollar

Willis Towers Watson NYSE US dollar

Average

Share prices for Insurance Day’s selected companies, week ending Feb 19

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Chart: Rolling week-on-week average change, five company groups

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10%

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Sep 11

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Nov 6

Nov 13

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Nov 27

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Feb 5

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Lloyd's Europeans Bermudians US Brokers

1.46

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Zurich stock up 4.41% as Europeans register strong 2019 results

Shares in Zurich rose 4.41% this week after the Swiss giant reported a 16% rise in operating profits and

upped its dividend.Competitor Swiss Re reported

an even better 73% rise in annu-al profits and also raised its divi-dend, although its stock price rose by a more modest 2.32%.

Talanx, which revealed re-cord annual profits close to €1bn ($1.08bn) on February 6, also ad-vanced 2.29%, helping Insurance Day’s selected stocks rise 1.34% on average for the week.

European groups have made a strong start to 2020, up 4.96% on average, beating average year-to-date gains in Bermuda, Lloyd’s and North America. Zurich’s shares have returned 10.78% year-to-date and on February 19, Talanx was up 9.14%. Han-nover Re, which gained 2.07% this week, is 2020’s top performer,

having gained 11.61% year-to-date.In London, shares in Lan-

cashire Holdings gained 3.37% as the insurer trebled profits in 2019. Lancashire and Beazley have both made a positive start to the year, leaving Hiscox trailing at -5.9% year-to-date.

Insurance stocks performed poorly in the US, where inves-tors’ reaction to AIG swinging to a fourth-quarter profit and beating

Swiss Re, Hannover Re and Talanx up as profits grow

Antony IrelandJournalist

0.560.20

(1.03)

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— Lloyd’s companies— Bermudians— US

— Brokers — European groups

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Zu

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2.32

Sw

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Re

2.29

Tal

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2.07

Han

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Sco

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Th

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591.50 1.55 6.38 9.66 634.00 501.50 £3.13bn 17.16

1,340.00 (0.52) (5.90) (12.49) 1,795.00 1,140.00 £3.87bn 40.88

798.00 3.37 4.04 23.93 827.00 622.50 £1.62bn –

1.46 1.51 7.03

231.00 0.70 5.77 26.55 232.80 188.58 €96.35bn 12.56

409.70 (0.65) (2.15) 5.03 442.30 350.00 £16.07bn 6.96

25.37 0.40 1.04 29.23 25.62 20.53 €61.33bn 41.11

18.88 1.61 2.61 31.37 19.63 15.09 €29.64bn 13.27

192.30 2.07 11.61 53.99 193.00 123.48 €23.16bn 17.34

281.10 1.26 6.88 43.35 284.20 202.50 €40.57bn 14.69

575.00 (1.34) 1.66 11.48 600.20 497.20 £5.93bn 24.01

37.32 1.63 (0.27) 2.08 40.46 34.69 €6.98bn 18.12

116.80 2.32 7.45 27.11 117.05 89.26 SFr38.24bn 94.12

48.22 2.29 9.14 50.18 48.60 33.04 €12.21bn 12.74

439.90 4.41 10.78 44.50 439.90 313.30 SFr65.68bn –

1.34 4.96 29.53

48.18 2.42 12.33 50.23 48.32 31.31 $19.54bn 15.43

62.93 (5.31) (4.29) (7.14) 78.57 60.36 $2.16bn 29.52

63.26 (1.71) 6.43 14.57 67.51 54.47 $5.31bn 23.24

290.58 1.01 4.96 35.50 294.31 210.13 $11.86bn 13.71

198.76 0.04 1.40 38.97 202.68 141.00 $8.78bn 20.26

11.11 (0.45) 5.61 (0.63) 11.95 9.16 $1.05bn –

(0.67) 4.41 21.92

49.41 (8.97) (3.74) 17.88 58.66 41.11 $42.99bn 12.41

164.21 0.20 5.49 25.23 167.74 131.63 $74.42bn 16.66

626.93 1.48 2.82 (0.15) 667.23 542.57 C$18.19bn 18.78

9.02 (3.74) (10.78) (21.29) 12.60 8.03 $0.33bn 7.31

1,336.68 2.04 16.93 31.45 1,340.72 950.16 $18.44bn 34.58

134.51 (0.88) (1.78) 6.60 155.09 128.01 $34.30bn 13.99

(1.65) 1.49 9.95

237.43 2.82 13.99 38.76 238.19 156.09 $54.99bn 23.94

118.48 (0.23) 6.35 31.74 119.88 88.86 $59.79bn 25.73

211.76 (0.45) 4.86 25.75 220.97 166.13 $27.23bn 26.13

0.71 8.40 32.08

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expectations spoke volumes of the fragility of sentiment for the US stalwart. AIG’s share price briefly spiked on release of the results, then sold off by more than 10% that same day, and AIG was on Wednesday evening worth 8.97% less than a week before.

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Hires include Aon’s Matt Donohue and Willis Towers Watson’s Thomas Klaus

Lorenzo SpoerryDeputy editor

Gallagher has expanded its aerospace practice with six senior appointments in New York and London.

The hires to Gallagher’s aero-space team in New York include Matt Donohue and Thomas Klaus. They both join as senior vice-presidents.

Donohue joins from Aon, where he worked for the past 10 years as a vice-president in its aerospace division.

Klaus joins Gallagher from Willis Towers Watson, where he held the position of vice-president and general aviation practice leader since 2013.

In London, Graham Herbert and Paul Wrenn come on board as account executives at partner level. Andrew Gardener will be joining the business as account manager and Peter Jury will be

joining in February as operations and control manager.

Herbert will focus on new business development. He joins the team from Allianz, where he was a senior underwriter in its airline team.

Wrenn joins the dedicated manufacturers and infrastruc-ture team in Gallagher’s aero-space practice from Allianz, most recently holding the position of senior underwriter in its prod-ucts and airports team.

Gardener joins from the avia-

Gallagher expands aerospace practice with six additions

Apollo builds out casualty businessApollo has made a series of senior appointments to its casualty busi-ness, including bringing on board Colm Lyons as head of casualty for Apollo syndicate 1969, writes Lorenzo Spoerry.

Lyons joins from Fidelis Insur-ance in Dublin, where he was chief executive and chief under-writing officer. Before joining Fi-delis, Lyons spent more than 10 years at XL Catlin as chief excess casualty officer.

At Apollo syndicate 1969, he will lead both the international and US casualty teams and focus on developing tailored products for clients.

Apollo also announced Lee Ack-erman will join as a senior US ca-sualty underwriter. Most recently, Ackerman spent more than 16 years as assistant vice-president and senior underwriter at Liberty Mutual Insurance, managing sev-eral high-profile US primary and umbrella casualty portfolios.

James Perrott and Tom Graham will also come on board as US casualty underwriters. Perrott’s experience includes working at Liberty Specialty Markets as ex-cess casualty underwriting man-ager since 2015. Before that, he was an assistant vice-president at Swiss Re between 2013 and 2015.

Graham started his career in 2012 at Aon and has since held various broking roles in its US ca-sualty and healthcare divisions.

Matt Newman, Apollo’s head of casualty, said the group is “reso-lutely committed to investing in talent and growing our portfolio as market conditions improve”.

tion division of Marsh, where he was senior vice-president in its client advisory team, having be-gun his career in the industry at Sedgwick in 1996.

Jury also joins the team from Marsh, where he was most recent-ly head of financial reporting.

Peter Elson, chief executive of Gallagher’s aerospace team, said the appointments “[reflect] our ongoing commitment to invest-ing in industry-leading talent, en-abling us to pursue our ambitions for further growth”.

Colm Lyons joins Apollo as head of casualty for syndicate 1969

Nexus launches into US financial linesManaging general agent (MGA) Nexus Group has launched a fi-nancial lines division in the US, writes Lorenzo Spoerry.

It will be led by Stacy Paquet, who joined Nexus last summer as head of management and profes-sional liability, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Paquet brings more than 15 years of experience in the US management liability under-writing market and “extensive”

distribution relationships to the role, Nexus said.

Capacity will be provided by Professional Solutions Insurance Company (PSIC), which has an A rating from AM Best.

In the second half of last year, Nexus said it would grow its US portfolio using a “buy and build” strategy. As part of the move, it rebranded the US operations of its trade credit subsidiary, Equinox Global, as Nexus Spec-

ialty, with plans to add new lines.The financial lines division will

fall under the Nexus Specialty umbrella.

Adam Kembrooke, chief execu-tive officer and president of Nex-us Specialty, said the company has “ambitious plans” to grow in the specialty insurance market in the US and to “replicate the suc-cess” Nexus has had in the UK and Europe.

“As a group, we were found-

ed as a financial lines MGA and already have a tremendous rep-utation and track record in this sector – I am delighted to have Stacy join us and to have such a great carrier partner in PSIC to continue building on that success in the US,” Kembrooke said.

The underwriting and claims functions for the new financial lines division will be operated from an office in the Chicago area.

Gallagher has bolstered its aerospace practice in London and New York with a series of hires

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