Novacore has appointed Benjamin Piening (pictured) as president of its real estate segment, adding a veteran property and casualty underwriter to oversee growth in one of its key specialty lines.
Piening brings more than 21 years of P&C underwriting experience, including 14 years in leadership roles. He joins Novacore from Honeycomb Insurance, a digital MGA that specializes in real estate risks for landlords and condominium associations and now insures more than $90 billion in property values across 21 US states.
At Honeycomb, he served as chief underwriting officer and helped build a profitable, real estate‑focused portfolio using data‑driven risk selection and property‑level pricing. Over the course of his career, Piening has developed deep expertise in underwriting strategy, risk selection, pricing discipline and portfolio performance.
In his new role at Novacore, he will lead the continued growth and strategic development of the real estate segment, working with carrier and distribution partners to expand underwriting capabilities and deliver specialized insurance solutions for real estate owners, investors and managers.
“Ben is a highly respected underwriting leader with a proven track record of building profitable books of business,” said Aaron Miller, chief executive officer of Novacore. “His deep underwriting expertise, disciplined approach to risk selection and ability to drive profitable growth make him an outstanding addition to our leadership team. We’re excited to have him lead the continued expansion of our Real Estate segment.”
The hire comes as Novacore steps up its real estate and financial institution offerings.
The Conshohocken, Pa.–based program specialist runs more than 16 segment‑focused programs and two retail agencies, backed by over $1.5 billion in premium and a network of about 20,000 agent partners. Its portfolio spans healthcare, real estate, transportation, social services, reinsurance and other commercial niches.
In February 2026, Novacore moved into the lender‑placed and financial institution space with the acquisition of Texas‑based CPIA, a specialist in lender‑placed and REO insurance for banks, credit unions and mortgage servicers. That transaction signaled a broader strategy to deepen the firm’s presence in the mortgage and lending ecosystem, complementing its existing real estate programs.
Against that backdrop, bringing in a CUO from a tech‑driven real estate MGA aligns with market conditions in which multifamily and habitational property insurance costs have risen sharply and carriers are tightening terms and capacity. Honeycomb has positioned itself around AI‑supported underwriting, computer vision and property‑level analytics to handle older and more complex real estate risks.
Piening’s experience in building a profitable, technology‑enabled real estate book at Honeycomb is likely to be central as Novacore looks to grow its own real estate segment, refine risk selection and pricing, and respond to owners and lenders facing higher property insurance costs and more constrained capacity in many US markets.
