Chaucer names a new head of UK property and casualty, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty expands into Poland, while Simply Business and Gallagher also make moves
This week’s appointments span marine war risks, UK property and casualty underwriting, small business distribution, and a specialty insurer’s expansion into Central and Eastern Europe.
Chaucer appoints Ryan Cushway as head of UK property and casualty
Chaucer has appointed Ryan Cushway (pictured, left) as head of UK property and casualty, effective immediately, as it builds out a UK P&C proposition.
Cushway joins from Sompo, where he was head of international and UK casualty. He previously held senior roles at Aspen in similar classes, and worked earlier at Liberty Specialty Markets.
Paul Restarick, head of non-marine insurance at Chaucer, described the appointment as a significant investment in its property and casualty capabilities, and pointed to the scale of capacity Chaucer is deploying.
A new UK P&C build from a well-capitalised specialty group adds capacity for brokers. In a soft commercial market, though, a new entrant is likely to compete hard on price and terms, and brokers should watch how Chaucer’s appetite develops.
Berkshire Hathaway names Carsten Keune country manager for Poland
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) has entered the Polish market and appointed Carsten Keune (pictured, right) as country manager for Poland. He will lead BHSI’s business in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe.
Andreas Krause, head of DACH at BHSI, said Keune was well placed to establish the insurer’s presence in Poland. Across the region, BHSI offers property, casualty, construction, energy, executive and professional lines, marine and multinational cover.
For London brokers placing multinational programmes with Polish or Central and Eastern European exposures, BHSI’s local presence adds another capacity option for fronting and local policies.
Digital broker Simply Business has appointed Kulchetan Sanga as UK chief commercial officer and Mark Potter as managing director of its in-house managing general agent (MGA).
Sanga will lead the commercial function, covering partnerships, product strategy and customer propositions. He has held senior roles at price comparison sites and media organisations, and has experience scaling consumer finance platforms. Potter has more than 20 years in insurance, scaling MGA and underwriting businesses and securing insurer and reinsurance capacity.
UK chief executive Julie Fisher said the in-house MGA had long been a key driver of profitable growth and innovation. Simply Business reached one million UK customers earlier this year and has grown its customer base by more than 50% since 2020.
Simply Business is a major competitor for small business and landlord customers. Strengthening its MGA and hiring a commercial chief with comparison site experience signals a push to grow both distribution and underwriting margin, adding pressure on brokers in the micro-SME segment.
Gallagher names Darren Rowland executive director of hull and war risks
Gallagher has appointed Darren Rowland as executive director of hull and war risks in its global marine practice, based in London. He reports to Andrew James, managing director of marine.
Rowland has more than 40 years of marine broking experience. He joins from specialist Lloyd’s marine and energy broker ATL, where he was lead marine broker for seven years. Before that, he spent more than 20 years at Willis in senior marine broking roles in London and Hong Kong.
James said hull and war cover was vital for the marine industry given current geopolitical uncertainty.
“I have strong relationships with key stakeholders throughout the sector, including ship owners, charterers and global insurance markets, which puts us in a great position,” said Rowland.
War risk has become one of the most volatile parts of the marine market, with conflict driving rapid changes to listed areas, additional premiums and cover availability, as Insurance Business has reported in its coverage of the hidden insurance crisis from the Iran war. A veteran hull and war broker strengthens Gallagher in a class where relationships with underwriters matter more than ever.