People Moves: Markel Appoints 2 Senior Underwriters, 1 Claims Manager for International Casualty Team; BHSI Announces 2 Promotions in Global, UK Casualty Teams

This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Markel and Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI). A summary of these new hires follows here.

Markel Appoints 2 Senior Underwriters, 1 Claims Manager for International Casualty Team

Markel, the insurance operations within Markel Group Inc., announced a trio of key appointments as part of a strategic move to diversify the business’s international casualty portfolio and strengthen its wholesale claims service for broker partners.

The new arrivals include Lauren Percival, who has been appointed to the role of executive underwriter – General Liability, with immediate effect. Her principal responsibilities will include supporting the sustainable expansion of Markel’s general liability portfolio alongside James Murray who was hired as head of General Liability earlier this year.

Percival will also be responsible for identifying areas to spearhead further profitable growth and ensure high service levels and response times are maintained for brokers and their policyholders.

Percival brings 18 years of London market underwriting experience and expertise to her new role. Before joining Markel, she held senior underwriter positions at Arch Insurance International and Chaucer Plc, respectively. Prior to that, Percival worked for QBE Insurance (Europe) Ltd for 13 years, during which time she progressed to senior underwriter, International Casualty Division, where she established a strong network of clients and managed a profitable book of business writing risk across South America, the Middle East, Asia and the Caribbean, among other territories.

Alongside Percival, Olivia Hogan has been appointed senior underwriter at Markel. In her new role, Hogan will support Graeme Ivory, director, International Casualty, with the development of the organization’s environmental liability product offering by underwriting a market-leading portfolio of diverse business, ensuring long-term profitable growth. She will also be responsible for building new and fostering existing broker relationships as well as recruiting and nurturing talent across the international casualty underwriting team in London.

Hogan is a seasoned underwriter, with 12 years’ experience in the London market, specializing in strategic underwriting. Previously, she spent more than six years at AIG as the insurer’s UK environmental line of business owner, where she led a team of four underwriters who managed a profitable environmental insurance portfolio.

Finally, Ed Norman has been appointed international casualty claims manager, with responsibility for developing and leading the international casualty claims function to ensure brokers and insureds carry on receiving a customer-focused, nimble and value-adding service. He’s also tasked with handling complex and non-complex claims across Markel’s international casualty key product lines – general liability, environmental liability and life sciences – forging strong broker relationships and feeding technical expertise into best-in-class wordings tailored to meet clients’ evolving risk exposures.

Norman possesses a wealth of industry knowledge and expertise spanning two decades and was most recently employed at AXA XL for more than nine years. During that time, he managed a team of four claims professionals in his role as assistant claims manager – London Wholesale Casualty, and dealt with claims settlements for the firm’s international wholesale underwriting units. Prior to his employment at AXA XL, Norman held the role of casualty claims adjuster at MSIG Holdings, where he handled casualty claims losses and settlements on a global scale.

Based at Markel’s London office, Percival will report directly to Murray, while Hogan will report to Ivory and Norman will report to Thomas Upton, head of Claims, Marine and Energy.

“We’re excited to welcome Lauren and Olivia to our growing International Casualty underwriting team here in London,” commented Ivory. “Their blended skillsets, industry knowledge and experience of managing various international casualty product lines, will significantly add to the bench strength we already have in the team and support us in our ambitions to further diversify our portfolios and enhance our service offering.”

BHSI Announces 2 Promotion in Global and UK Casualty Teams

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) announced it has named Caroline Alder-Smurthwaite to its Global Underwriting Office for Casualty & Healthcare and promoted Charlotte Behar to succeed Alder-Smurthwaite as head of Casualty, UK.

Alder-Smurthwaite joined BHSI as head of General Casualty, UK, in 2021 and brings 25 years of industry experience to her new leadership role. Throughout her career she has held several senior-level roles focused on corporate and global casualty. She continues to be based in London and can be reached at Caroline.Alder-Smurthwaite@bhspecialty.com.

Behar, who was previously UK general casualty manager, joined BHSI in 2020. She has nearly 15 years of underwriting experience in the European marketplace. She continues to be based in London and can be reached at Charlotte.Behar@bhspecialty.com.

“Caroline has done an excellent job steering our casualty business in the UK, prioritizing consistency and stability for our customers and brokers,” said Hilary Browne, BHSI’s deputy global chief underwriting officer.

“I look forward to collaborating with Caroline in her new role as a member of our global underwriting team as she works closely with our casualty and healthcare underwriting leaders throughout the world to ensure BHSI’s global approach to underwriting is understood and executed on, while at the same time tailored to local market characteristics,” Browne continued. “She leaves our UK Casualty business in excellent hands, with Charlotte ensuring a seamless transition, and bringing strong financial acumen, underwriting talent, and customer and broker relationships to her elevated role.”