MSIG UK is adding construction and marine cargo underwriting to its London Market operation, bringing in two senior practitioners to establish the lines and extending a build-out of company paper capacity that the insurer began last year.
Andrew Morris joins on November 9 as head of construction, reporting to Paul Keaveney, head of non-marine. Morris most recently served as head of construction at Zurich Commercial Insurance UK and has previously held senior construction roles at both Zurich and Chubb across the UK, Australia and the wider Asia-Pacific region.
Leigh Meekings joins on the same date as head of marine, reporting to Tim Harris, acting chief underwriting officer. Meekings brings more than 25 years of cargo underwriting experience, including over 13 years in the London Market, and joins from Everest Global Markets, where he was senior cargo underwriter.
The two classes sit alongside property and casualty capabilities that MSIG UK launched last year, filling out what the company has described as a specialist London Market and UK underwriting proposition.
The expansion is part of a wider effort by parent group Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance (MSI) to strengthen its UK company market presence alongside its Lloyd’s platform. In March 2025, MS Amlin, MSIG UK’s Lloyd’s sister company, launched a dual-stamp underwriting capability that allowed brokers to access both Lloyd’s and MSIG UK company paper through a single entry point. The construction and marine cargo launch continues that logic, expanding the range of classes where MSIG UK can offer company market paper independently of Lloyd’s.
MSIG UK trades as the UK entity of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company (Europe), Limited, and traces its London Market presence to 1924, a heritage the group formally marked at its centenary in February 2024. The rebranding from MSI Europe to MSIG UK was part of a deliberate move to diversify the business beyond primarily Japanese client business and build a broader specialist UK and London Market position.
Both classes are entering markets where conditions are actively shifting. In construction, London capacity has expanded considerably over the past two years, with new entrants including Arch and Markel strengthening their propositions. Rates on construction all risks are also continuing to trend lower into 2026, according to Gallagher’s Construction Insurance Midyear Market Update, published in August 2026. The pool of technically experienced construction underwriters remains limited relative to the appetite for growth, which is part of what makes experienced hires like Morris a differentiator in establishing a credible new portfolio.
Marine cargo presents a similar dynamic. London capacity in the class has reached an all-time high, according to Lockton’s cargo market update published in early 2025, with new entrants now seeking lead positions having built confidence over recent years and further capacity continuing to arrive. Meekings’ background in cargo lead underwriting at Everest is directly relevant in a market where positioning on lead or follow is a central question for any new entrant.
MSIG UK has said further appointments and underwriting proposition details will be announced in early 2027, so the precise appetite, capacity levels and risk profile for each class remain to be confirmed.
For brokers currently placing construction or cargo risks through the Lloyd’s market, the dual-stamp structure means MSIG UK company paper may become accessible through familiar entry points. The specifics of appetite and capacity will not be confirmed until early 2027, but the direction of travel is clear: MSIG UK is building a company market proposition designed to give brokers a parallel route to the Lloyd’s platform MS Amlin has long maintained.
