Latest Underwriting Headlines

All the headlines from our Underwriting Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Rice to Retire from Ryan Specialty Group at Year-End

Jul 8 2020 // Mike Rice Sr. will retire from Chicago-based Ryan Specialty Group LLC (RSG) at the end of the year, the company said.Rice joined RSG in 2010 as chairman and CEO of RSG Underwriting Managers LLC (RSGUM) and will have...

Beazley Launches Booking System for Virtual Broker Meetings in New Business Reality

Jul 7 2020 // Specialist insurer Beazley has launched an online booking system to make it easier and quicker for brokers to arrange virtual appointments and share relevant documentation securely with underwritrs.Built in collaboration...

AXIS Taps Woolley from GCube as Senior Underwriter, Int’l Construction Team

Jul 2 2020 // AXIS Insurance, the specialty insurance business segment of AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd., announced the hiring of Anna Woolley as a senior underwriter in its International Construction team, effective immediately.In this...

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty Restructures to ‘Regain Profitability’

Jul 1 2020 // Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS), the industrial insurer of Allianz Group, is embarking on restructuring program, designed “to regain profitability and market leadership in the corporate and specialty...

Brit Global Specialty USA Transfers Renewal Rights for Cargo Business to Falvey Cargo

Jun 29 2020 // Brit Global Specialty USA will transfer the renewal rights for its cargo business to Falvey Cargo Underwriting, effective July 2.As part of the deal, Will Frohne and Yasu Saegusa will move from Brit to Falvey Cargo as...

Obsidian Insurance Holdings Appoints Armstrong as Chief Client Officer

Jun 26 2020 // Obsidian Insurance Holdings Inc., a fronting insurance holding company, has appointed Stacy Armstrong as chief client officer.Armstrong is a senior executive with more than 25 years of insurance and reinsurance industry...

There’s Plenty of Room for Improvement in U.S. Commercial Lines: Fitch

Jun 22 2020 // With an industry overall combined ratio for 2019 hovering just below 100, and individual lines like long-tail liability moving 10 points over breakeven, the U.S. commercial lines market has “plenty of room for...

AXA XL’s Mackie Joins Liberty Mutual Re to Head U.S. Property Business

Jun 22 2020 // Two-year old Liberty Mutual Re said it has appointed Scott Mackie to the role of director of Assumed Reinsurance – Property. Mackie will be responsible for managing the underwriting of U.S. property risk and pro-rata...

Swiss Re’s Chief Underwriting Officer Schmid Is Stepping Down, Succeeded by Léger

Jun 19 2020 // Swiss Re announced the appointment of Thierry Léger as the group chief underwriting officer, effective Sept. 1, 2020. At the same time, the reinsurer announced it is restructuring its life businesses.Léger succeeds...

S&P’s Outlook for AGCS Revised to Negative on ‘Weak Underwriting Performance’

Jun 18 2020 // S&P Global Ratings has revised its outlook on Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE (AGCS) to negative from stable, while at the same time affirmed the insurer’s “AA” financial strength and...

Third Coast Underwriters Promotes Hueneke to Southeast Regional Director

Jun 18 2020 // Third Coast Underwriters (3CU) has promoted Marica Hueneke to regional director for the company’s Southeast Region. She will be based in Nashville, Tenn.According to Mike Valiante, vice president Business...

Moody’s Assigns First-Time A3 Rating to Fosun-Backed Peak Re

Jun 16 2020 // Moody’s Investors Service has assigned an A3 insurance financial strength rating (IFSR) to Hong Kong-based Peak Reinsurance Co. Ltd. with a stable rating outlook.Peak Re’s A3 IFSR reflects its good franchise in...

Axon Underwriting Forms Product Recall Crisis Management Division

Jun 15 2020 // Axon Underwriting Services LLC, a specialty lines program administrator, has formed Axon Crisis Management to offer its product recall and foodborne illness and contamination products for U.S. domiciled...

Aspen Insurance Reconfigures Management Team with 2 New CEOs, Non-Exec Director

Jun 12 2020 // Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd. announced it has made some major changes to its management team, including the appointment of a non-executive director, two chief executive officers and a chief underwriting officer.The...

New Insurer Astaara Focuses on Protecting Maritime Industry from Cyber Risks

Jun 12 2020 // A new insurance services business, called Astaara Company Ltd. (ACL), has been launched to protect maritime companies from cyber threatsOffering risk management, underwriting and analytics, London-based Astaara will work...

Fusner Named Chief Underwriting Officer at AF Group in Michigan

Jun 11 2020 // AF Group in Lansing, Michigan, has appointed Kelly Fusner as its new chief underwriting officer (CUO). Fusner will lead the strategic underwriting efforts for the organization, providing innovative expertise that will...

Worldwide Facilities Acquires Wisconsin’s Strategic Underwriting Solutions

Jun 11 2020 // Worldwide Facilities LLC, a national wholesale insurance broker, managing general agent and program manager, has acquired Strategic Underwriting Solutions LLC (SUS), a full service medical stop-loss focused managing...

A.M. Best Affirms North American Casualty Group Companies’ Ratings

Jun 10 2020 // Ratings issuer A.M. Best said it has removed from under review with negative implications and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a” of five companies...

Worldwide Facilities Acquires Virginia’s Royal Oak Underwriters

Jun 8 2020 // Worldwide Facilities LLC, a national wholesale insurance broker, managing general agent and program underwriter, has acquired Royal Oak Underwriters Inc., an excess and surplus lines insurance wholesaler based in Richmond,...

Applied Underwriters to Acquire Blue Ridge of South Carolina

Jun 5 2020 // Blue Ridge Specialty Group of Greenfield, South Carolina, a managing general underwriter specializing in trucking -related risks, has been acquired by Applied Underwriters, according to Applied Chairman and CEO Steve...