In a bid to increase its US presence,
XL Catlin’s Global Excess Casualty business announced Friday it would be expanding its underwriting services in three major American cities.
Lorraine Seib, president of the XL Catlin unit, confirmed that the group would be establishing a new operation in Los Angeles and growing its current offices in Chicago and New York.
“Our Excess Casualty business continues to enjoy deep relationships with broker and insured clients, and as a result, our book of business continues to grow,” Seib said in a statement. “Our strong working relationships and profitable growth would not be possible without our strongest asset – a talented team that brings a high level of technical expertise, credible experience, collaboration, innovation and passion for client advocacy. And we’re excited to see our team grow.”
To run the new LA operation, XL Catlin has hired Mark Smith as underwriting manager. Smith, an insurance underwriting veteran who has held positions in both the US and UK, most recently served as regional excess casualty underwriting manager for Starr Indemnity. He also brings with him wholesale and retail brokering experience in Bermuda and the US, respectively.
The XL Catlin Excess Casualty team is also bringing aboard Jane Chaloupka as senior underwriter in its Chicago office. Chaloupka joins from Great American Insurance Company, where she worked as senior underwriter in the excess casualty division. She is also an industry veteran, with more than 20 years of excess, primary and reinsurance underwriting experience with companies like Liberty International Underwriters and Everest Reinsurance.
Finally, in New York, XL Catlin has hired Julie Fields as an excess casualty senior underwriter to help support the company’s growth in the eastern US. Fields has most recently served as a strategy analyst in XL Catlin’s North America Property & Casualty division before returning to an underwriting position. She has more than a decade of underwriting experience, including seven years with XL Catlin.
XL Catlin’s Global Excess Casualty business already has underwriting centers in Bermuda, Dublin, London and 13 cities in North America.
