Four organisations built through steady expansion this year, an Antares Global business division, a Lloyd's syndicate barely two years old, an established European aviation platform, and a specialty MGA still in its founder-led growth phase, made senior appointments this week.
Antares Global has promoted Amelia Hinds (pictured, left) to class underwriter, specie, based in London and reporting to James Glynn, head of marine, who continues to support the specie portfolio.
Hinds has more than 13 years in insurance, almost entirely as a fine art and specie underwriter, having joined Antares in 2021 from roles at Chubb and Canopius.
The promotion follows Mat Storr's move to head of reinsurance in August, continuing a run of internal promotions at Antares this year. Storr has since made his own senior hire, adding James Day, a 20-year treaty veteran from MS Amlin, to Antares's property treaty team, and has spoken publicly about pricing in the current reinsurance cycle becoming more differentiated by portfolio quality and data credibility rather than moving uniformly downward.
Hind's promotion provides critical underwriting continuity and trading stability for fine art and specie brokers, preserving established market relationships and avoiding the friction often caused by external hires.
HIVE Underwriters has appointed Richard Brown (pictured, centre) as head of property to lead the launch of its global property direct and facultative business.
Brown joins from Sompo, where he was head of UK and international property, having previously held senior roles at Generali and Liberty Specialty Markets, bringing more than 30 years of UK and international property experience.
The hire continues a run of expansion at the Bruce Carman-led specialty MGA this year, which has also launched an aviation reinsurance division in May, led by Scott Bradbury and Joshua Down, alongside earlier moves into marine insurance and political violence.
HIVE, founded by Carman in November 2017 after a 30-year Lloyd's underwriting career, describes its approach as "knowledge-led underwriting" combining third-party intelligence threat assessments with exposure modelling.
Carman said Brown's depth of property expertise and track record building successful teams make him well placed to develop this new class, reflecting HIVE's commitment to giving exceptional underwriters the tools and autonomy to perform.
Brown’s appointment gives property brokers access to new, veteran-led Direct & Facultative capacity, offering a strong alternative home for complex or high-value commercial property risks.
However, because HIVE utilizes a knowledge-led model backed by third-party threat intelligence and exposure modeling, brokers will need to provide data-rich risk submissions to unlock optimal terms.
Beyond property alone, HIVE’s rapid cross-class expansion into marine, political violence, and aviation reinsurance allows brokers to leverage a single, autonomous MGA partner across multiple specialized lines of business.
Santam Syndicate 1918 has appointed Hina Shavdia (pictured, right) as chief operating officer, based in London and reporting to chief executive Sam Geddes.
Shavdia brings more than 20 years of insurance and reinsurance transformation experience, joining from Volante Global, where she was group COO, having previously spent four years at AXIS Capital as global head of business change.
The appointment continues a rapid build-out of the syndicate's leadership since Geddes himself joined from MS Amlin in June 2026, succeeding interim chief executive Rob Vetch, who moved into the CFO role.
The syndicate has since added Nigel Tatlock as head of property, Gavin Coley as head of claims, and Atang Matebesi as chief commercial officer, alongside expanding into international motor and property lines this year.
For brokers, bringing in an experienced transformation COO indicates that Santam Syndicate 1918 is prioritising operational scalability, which should translate into faster quote turnarounds, smoother policy administration and efficient claims processing.
As the syndicate continues its aggressive build-out across property, claims, international motor and commercial lines, brokers gain an expanding one-stop Lloyd's platform for non-marine placements, backed by modernised digital workflorws designed to streamline transaction execution.
HDI Global Belgium has launched a dedicated aviation underwriting team for the Benelux and Southern European markets, led by Stijn Keppens and based in Brussels.
Operating within HDI's Aviation Centre of Excellence, the team will focus on private and business aviation, flying clubs, flight schools, helicopter operations, unmanned aerial vehicles, maintenance and repair providers, airfields and hangar-keepers, alongside emerging exposures linked to fleet modernisation, electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, and alternative propulsion technologies.
Jamie Bowes, HDI Global's head of aviation, said the launch strengthens the insurer's specialist aviation capabilities across Europe, combining technical expertise, local market knowledge and HDI's global aviation platform to position the business as a long-term partner for brokers and clients across the region.
Brokers managing Benelux and Southern European aviation risks gain direct access to localised, specialist underwriting capacity across general aviation, flight schools and regional infrastructure, reducing their dependency on London-centric placements.
Meanwhile, HDI's intent to act as a long-term partner signals an open door for brokers seeking bespoke coverage solutions and co-designed risk transfer structures in niche aviation sectors.
