Rokstone has appointed James Hebert as head of US Financial Lines, tasked with leading the launch of a new Rokstone US Errors & Omissions (E&O) Division. Hebert joins from AIG, where he served as Head of Professional Liability & Cyber, North America, and will be based in New York.
The division launches with an initial $5 million line for professional liability, backed by A-rated capacity from Builders Insurance. Rokstone said the launch is intended to build toward a broader financial lines offering "across a broad range of products, beginning with professional liability."
Alongside the underwriting hire, Rokstone is deploying Aventum's proprietary ATOMX platform to support the new division, giving brokers end-to-end quote, bind and issuance capability. The platform is designed to handle SME and mid-market risk through a streamlined digital trading experience, while still supporting open-market placement of larger and more complex accounts — an approach Rokstone has increasingly leaned on across other lines as it scales its US business.
Ian Anson, CEO of Rokstone, said Hebert is "one of the most respected financial lines leaders in the US market," adding that the appointment reflects the group's commitment to investing in underwriting talent and building specialty products backed by strong capacity and technology.
Todd Campbell, President at Builders, said the insurer was "delighted to continue its fantastic relationship with Rokstone" in supporting the launch, pointing to Rokstone's track record of building specialised portfolios around senior underwriting talent.
Hebert himself pointed to Rokstone's "entrepreneurial culture" and "clear vision for the US market" as reasons for the move, alongside the backing of A-rated capacity and the ATOMX platform, which he said would let the team combine fast, consistent quote-to-bind service for smaller accounts with the flexibility needed for larger, complex risks.
The launch adds to a financial lines practice Rokstone has been growing steadily since introducing a professional indemnity binder and a Lloyd's-backed directors' and officers' (D&O) facility for financial institutions, on which it doubled its line size to £10 million last year. The group has also added senior underwriters across several other divisions in recent months, including its North American Casualty team.
Rokstone, part of the Aventum Group, now underwrites more than $1.1 billion in gross written premium globally across property, casualty, power generation, marine, aviation, agriculture, construction and engineering, accident and health, professional indemnity and D&O, with offices across the UK, Europe, the US, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
This article was corrected on August 6, following contact from Rokstone. We aim to correct errors quickly and welcome being contacted directly regarding accuracy.
