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<\/p>\n\n Chaucer names a new head of UK property and casualty, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty expands into Poland, while Simply Business and Gallagher also make moves\n <\/p>\n
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This week\u2019s appointments span marine war risks, UK property and casualty underwriting, small business distribution, and a specialty insurer\u2019s expansion into Central and Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n
Chaucer appoints Ryan Cushway as head of UK property and casualty<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Cushway joins from Sompo<\/a>, where he was head of international and UK casualty. He previously held senior roles at Aspen<\/a> in similar classes, and worked earlier at Liberty<\/a> Specialty Markets.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s appetite develops.<\/p>\n Berkshire Hathaway<\/a> names Carsten Keune country manager for Poland<\/p>\n 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\u2019s business in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n Andreas Krause, head of DACH at BHSI, said Keune was well placed to establish the insurer\u2019s presence in Poland. Across the region, BHSI offers property, casualty, construction, energy, executive and professional lines, marine and multinational cover.<\/p>\n For London brokers placing multinational programmes with Polish or Central and Eastern European exposures, BHSI\u2019s local presence adds another capacity option for fronting and local policies.<\/p>\n 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).<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n