A wave of senior appointments across the UK insurance market this week spans broking, underwriting and binder operations, with firms including Konsileo, Specialty MGA and AbbeyAutoline all adding experienced talent to their ranks.
Novus Underwriting, the specialist global wholesale warranty and affinity MGA and part of Rokstone, has appointed Mark Noble (pictured, left) to its underwriting team.
Noble joins from Canopius, where he held the position of assistant underwriter in its specialist consumer products team. His experience covers a range of consumer protection insurance products, with a particular emphasis on accident, sickness and unemployment insurance. He brings five years of experience to the role.
Konsileo has appointed Dawn Derbyshire (pictured, centre) as head of commercial strategy, bringing more than 35 years of experience across multiple broking sectors to the role.
Derbyshire joins from TEn Insurance Services, now trading as Eleven Network, where she served as managing director with responsibility for regulatory and operational oversight, network growth and retention, strategic direction and stakeholder management within the employee-owned business.
In her new role she will focus on strategic execution, proposition development, growth and distribution, working closely with Client Directors, key partners and the wider business.
Northern Ireland's largest insurance broker, AbbeyAutoline, has appointed Ciaran McGurgan (pictured, right) as corporate business director and Kate Moore as head of private clients.
McGurgan brings more than 22 years of industry experience and joined AbbeyAutoline through the acquisition of his family business, BMG Insurance in Portadown. In his new role he will support the commercial director in driving growth across the commercial division while leading the strategic development of AbbeyAutoline's private client, property owners, haulage and private medical insurance propositions.
Moore brings 23 years of experience spanning personal lines, client management and operational leadership. CII and APA qualified, she began her career with AbbeyAutoline in branch before progressing through a series of senior roles, including personal lines senior manager and senior client manager. She will lead the private clients division and oversee the property owners and private medical insurance teams.
Specialty MGA, part of MNK Group, has appointed Marcus Smithson (pictured immediately above) as head of financial lines and cyber as it continues to scale its international specialty capabilities.
Smithson brings more than 30 years of experience in the financial lines sector and joins from a senior role in the financial institutions team at Marsh. His career includes nearly a decade at Generali, where he established and led its Latin American financial lines and cyber portfolio, as well as earlier roles in underwriting and portfolio management at QBE in London.
Based in the firm's London office, he will lead the existing underwriting team and grow a diversified book covering directors and officers, financial institutions professional indemnity and bankers blanket bond.
Independent insurance consultancy Broadstone has appointed Simon Grout (pictured immediately above) as senior actuarial director within its insurance advisory and remediation division.
Grout joins from FTI Consulting, where he was a senior advisor in the firm's global insurance services practice, and brings nearly 40 years of experience as an actuarial and management consultant across EMEA.
His career began at Bacon and Woodrow in 1987, before roles at William M. Mercer, and following Oliver Wyman's acquisition by Marsh McLennan in 2003, in Oliver Wyman's EMEA Insurance Practice across the UK, Middle East and Nordic regions.
United Insurance Brokers (UIB) has appointed Kevin Webb (pictured immediately above) as divisional director for binders, strengthening the firm's capabilities in the transportation and US binder markets.
Webb brings more than 25 years of experience in the insurance market, with a strong track record in North American business and commercial transportation risks. He joins from Burns and Wilcox Global Solutions, having previously held roles at Bowood Insurance Brokers and Howden Insurance Brokers.
In his new role, Webb will focus on building a US-focused binder team with a particular emphasis on transportation business and will work towards establishing UIB London as an approved Lloyd's coverholder.
