Markel Expands in Australia With Office in Perth

Markel Insurance, the insurance operations within Markel Group Inc., announced the opening of a new office in Perth, Western Australia, with immediate effect.

Building on growth from existing Australian offices, Markel is expanding its local presence with the appointments of two Perth-based senior underwriters, Jerome Steyn and Pierre Dagnee, to serve the Western Australian marketplace.

Reporting to Kym Beazleigh, head of Professional and Financial Risks (PFR), both bring experience in building market presence across all PFR product classes and additional expertise in the mining and resources sector.

The new office supports Markel’s strategy to build a local operation across Australia, empowering underwriters to service the domestic business with on-the-ground expertise. Steyn and Dagnee’s extensive experience and market connections position them well to meet the needs of local businesses.

“The opening of the Perth office reflects our continued focus on profitable growth in Australia. We’re investing in underwriters who truly understand their market and products while giving them the mandate to build a business locally,” commented Rory Morison, managing director of Australia at Markel, in a statement.

“We saw a great opportunity in Jerome and Pierre both for their technical ability and cultural alignment and having them lead our presence in Perth means we now have nine specialist PFR underwriters across four locations to support clients and brokers throughout Australia,” Morison added.

Beazleigh welcomed Steyn and Dagnee to the team. “Their experience in PFR, combined with deep mining and resources expertise, strengthens our ability to support brokers and clients in Western Australia and builds momentum as we continue to grow our presence in Perth and around Australia through strategic hires.”

Source: Markel