If you’re going to hire a new member of your senior team then why not pick up one with a wealth of industry experience?
That is exactly what
Tokio Marine Kiln has done with its appointment of Stuart Somerville as senior underwriter for its property owners team.
Somerville has chalked up more than a decade in the property owners market and is a well-known figure in the industry. He most recently served as senior European underwriting for property investors at
Aviva and, prior to Aviva, he was the international underwriter of real estate at
Zurich.
Now, as part of the Tokio Marine Kiln team, he will be responsible for underwriting TMK’s property owners business, both managing the current book and profitably increasing underwriting volume. The appointment comes after TMK recently hired Ann Kelly as property owners strategic director to develop TMK’s proposition in this class. Stuart will work closely with Ann to increase underwriting capabilities in this area and to further develop the product offering, in what is a targeted area of growth for the company.
Commenting on the appointment, Paul Dreblow, head of corporate property underwriting, outlined that Somerville’s contacts and experience were key to his appointment.
“TMK is committed to increasing its presence in the property owners market,” he said. “Our plan has been to hire experienced people who have the contacts and knowledge to profitably grow our book. Stuart will be a great addition to the team who, given his past experience, will be able to focus on increasing our underwriting capabilities and ensuring that our product is right for our clients.”
Paul Culham, group chief underwriting officer, added: “Our group underwriting strategy emphasises finding niche areas of insurance and using exceptional underwriting talent to write profitable business, whilst providing superior assistance to clients. Property owners is an example of where we see TMK being able to enact this strategy and we will continue to expand our offering in this area with the best underwriters in the market.”
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