Westfield Specialty Insurance has created a new US inland marine unit and appointed underwriting specialist David Roos (pictured) as senior vice president to lead the build-out.
Roos will oversee the formation of Westfield Specialty’s inland marine team and begin underwriting immediately while recruiting additional specialists. He will report to Andy Hendrix, executive vice president of E&S property.
Roos’ appointment marks an expansion of Westfield Specialty’s property offerings beyond its existing shared and layered property and middle market property products. Adding a dedicated inland marine capability allows the business to play a larger role on accounts where movable property, project-related risks and complex schedules sit alongside traditional fixed-site exposures.
A dedicated inland marine unit from an established specialty carrier can help close gaps between traditional property, builder’s risk and transport-related coverages, particularly on complex schedules and project-driven risks. It also positions Westfield Specialty to participate more fully in construction, infrastructure and transportation-linked accounts where inland marine capacity is a core requirement alongside primary and excess property.
Roos brings 17 years of underwriting experience to the role. He was most recently a regional product leader for property and marine at Markel, giving him direct responsibility for inland marine and related portfolios. Earlier in his career, he held underwriting roles at The Hanover Insurance Group and Zurich, where he began after completing a risk management degree at the University of Georgia.
Westfield Specialty president Jack Kuhn said the move into inland marine builds on momentum in the company’s other property lines.
“With the success of our existing property programs, the time was right to expand our US offerings to include inland marine, and there is no-one better to lead that charge than David,” Kuhn said. “He brings market presence, line of business expertise, and genuine enthusiasm to this role, and we are looking forward to seeing this new product and team grow under his direction.”
Inland marine remains a strategically important class for specialty carriers because it touches a wide range of sectors and often sits at the intersection of property, construction and transportation. Typical portfolios include contractors’ equipment, builder’s risk, installation floaters, cargo and a variety of miscellaneous floaters for movable or specialized property.
Demand for inland marine capacity is closely tied to construction activity, infrastructure spending and capital investment in equipment and large projects. As those areas evolve, brokers and insureds have been looking for markets that can handle more bespoke schedules, provide manuscript endorsements and support layered or shared placements. Recent years have also brought heightened focus on risk quality, valuation and catastrophe exposure, putting a premium on carriers that can combine technical underwriting with flexible structures.
By standing up a dedicated inland marine team under an experienced product leader, Westfield Specialty is signaling that it intends to compete on technical capability rather than treating the class as an add-on to property.
The move also aligns with a broader trend of specialty insurers rounding out their portfolios across property and marine to deepen relationships with distribution partners and insureds. As buyers consolidate panels and seek to place more business with fewer carriers, the ability to support both fixed-location property and movable or project-based exposures has become a differentiator.
The combination of inland marine with shared and layered property and other specialty offerings may help in assembling more cohesive programs for clients with complex asset bases.
The decision to have Roos start underwriting immediately while building out the team suggests Westfield Specialty intends to move quickly into active trading and use early account experience to refine appetite, wordings and structures. Market watchers will be looking at how the carrier positions itself on pricing, limits and coverage terms relative to established inland marine markets, and whether it leans into particular niches such as large project builder’s risk, contractors’ equipment or transportation-linked schedules.
