Relation Insurance Services has hired five specialty insurance executives from NFP, Aon's middle-market broking unit, bolstering its management and financial lines, cyber risk, private equity and claims advocacy capabilities as the Chicago-based broker continues to build out its specialty practice.
Matthew Schott joins as practice leader, management and financial lines, having served as managing director at NFP. Kevin Smith joins as senior vice president of management and financial lines, where he was previously SVP of management, cyber and professional liability. Courtney Maugé takes the role of SVP of cyber risk, having led NFP's cyber practice and previously served as VP of cybersecurity and privacy risk at Marsh. Jonathan Franznick joins as SVP of claims advocacy for management and financial lines, where he was previously head of claims advocacy at NFP. Scott Moseley joins as SVP of private equity risk.
Schott brings more than 25 years of management and professional liability experience spanning directors and officers liability, employment practices liability, fiduciary liability, errors and omissions coverage and crime insurance. Moseley's background centers on advising private equity firms and portfolio companies on risk management strategies tied to growth and value creation.
The five hires represent a notable departure from NFP at a moment when that platform is in transition. Aon completed its $13 billion acquisition of NFP in April 2024, positioning it as an "independent and connected" platform within the larger Aon structure to serve middle-market clients. Integrating a major specialty platform into a global consolidator can create retention pressure among senior producers who value the independence and direct market access that mid-sized specialty brokers offer.
The hires land in a specialty market that is competitive on pricing but increasingly demanding in exposure. According to Allianz Commercial's 2026 D&O Insights report, average D&O settlement costs in the US rose 27% in the first half of 2025 to $56 million, driven by high securities class action frequency and surging severity, while AI governance failures, cyber incidents and tariff disclosure issues are reshaping underwriting criteria and expanding the scope of board-level liability.
On the cyber side, Ryan Specialty's May 2026 market report found rates broadly flat with robust carrier competition, but noted that social engineering fraud using AI and deepfake technology, ransomware and ClickFix attacks are driving losses, with average ransom payments up 104% in the second quarter of 2025 to $1.13 million. That combination of soft pricing and intensifying exposure creates a demanding environment for brokers advising clients on limit adequacy, coverage structure and risk management posture — the territory that Maugé and Franznick's roles are designed to address.
For private equity clients, the risk environment is equally testing. Global bankruptcies are projected to rise 5% in 2026, sitting 24% above pre-pandemic levels, with US mega-bankruptcies involving over $1 billion in assets spiking in 2025 across automotive, construction, retail and consumer goods, creating elevated D&O claims exposure tied to fiduciary breaches and incomplete disclosures, according to analysis published by PropertyCasualty360.
Douglas Turk, president of specialty at Relation, said: "Matt, Kevin, Courtney, Jonathan and Scott are incredibly talented experts who have exceptional reputations in their respective specialties. Their addition strengthens our capabilities across key specialty disciplines serving complex risk and reflects the broader momentum we are building across the specialty platform. We are building a destination for top industry talent who are empowered to work with clients and markets to deliver exceptional results."
The hires come as Relation navigates a change in ownership. In February 2026, Aquiline Capital Partners agreed to sell Relation to BayPine, with CEO Tim Hall citing continued M&A, talent recruitment and specialty capability build-out as priorities the new investor would support. At the time, Relation served over 230,000 clients across more than 90 offices following over 100 acquisitions since Aquiline's initial investment in 2019.
Turk himself joined Relation in November 2025 to lead the specialty practice, bringing more than two decades of brokerage leadership experience. Relation is ranked by Insurance Journal within the top 25 largest agencies in the US by revenue, with approximately 1,350 employees across more than 100 locations nationwide.
