Somerset Reinsurance has announced the appointment of Thomas Porter as its new chief underwriting officer.

Prior transitions to Somerset from Hannover Re, where he had served as the head of financial reporting & valuation since 2020. He also held other key positions and was involved in financial solutions structured reinsurance, captive, and derivative transactions.

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At Somerset, Porter will perform his duties from Bermuda and report directly to CEO and chairman Jeff Burt. His new role encompasses the management of the company’s underwriting and pricing strategies for all new reinsurance business and retrocessions.

Commenting on Porter’s appointment, Burt said: “Building on our approach of being a liability-driven organisation, we are delighted to add Thomas’s deep reinsurance experience as the lead of our underwriting team.”

“As we continue our track record of stable and consistent growth, his combination of finance and valuation experience together with demonstrated client-facing successes will help accelerate our expansion across the market.”

Porter also shared his positive outlook on joining Somerset, noting his nine-year history as a client of the company.

“As a client of Somerset over the past nine years, I had the opportunity and pleasure to work with much of the team across a number of transactions,” said Porter. “It was clear that the Somerset Re team’s capabilities, vision, and execution was unparalleled, and joining them to help fulfil their long-term and client-focused strategy was an easy decision.

Porter’s appointment comes after Somerset named Manisha Dias as its head of new business development.

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