Applied Underwriters Hires 3 from AIG to Lead New Fine Art and Collectibles Unit

Insurer Applied Underwriters has named three executives from AIG’s Private Client Group to develop its new Applied Fine Art and Collectibles business unit that is based in New York.

Ronald Fiamma will serve as president of Applied Fine Art and Collectibles, with Christopher Walsh serving as senior vice president of Underwriting, and Rand Silver as senior vice president of Risk Management.

The executive team comes to Applied from AIG Private Client Group, one of the largest high net worth divisions in the personal lines industry.

“We have given them a blank canvas to create the leading organization in the industry. With the full breadth of Applied’s resources, they will focus on multiple segments providing solutions for clients and partners in insurance, reinsurance and program opportunities for personal, institutional and commercial risks,” said Steve Menzies, CEO of Applied Underwriters.

Fiamma spent the last 13 years overseeing the Private Collections portfolio at AIG Private Client Group following five years as an underwriting manager of professional liability for hedge funds and security broker/dealers at AIG’s Financial Institutions division.

Walsh is a 25-year industry veteran who has had underwriting roles at high-net-worth insurance carriers, and spent another decade on the brokerage side.

Prior to his 15 years as global director of the fine art loss prevention program at AIG, Silver spent a decade at Christie’s New York, including as a vice president and department head.

This move continues the recent expansion by Applied Underwriters, which had been focused on workers’ compensation. The Omaha-based insurer announced earlier this month it has formed Applied Financial Lines Ltd., a new European subsidiary, which will operate from Paris and Cologne. The new company will underwrite several specialty lines, including professional indemnity and directors and officers, in the European Union and in the Middle East.

In June, the company said it had acquired Blue Ridge Specialty Group of Greenfield, South Carolina, a managing general underwriter specializing in trucking -related risks.

Applied Underwriters is in the process of acquiring Centauri Specialty Managers from its primary shareholder AXA/XL and third party administrator Siebels-Bruce.

Menzies acquired Applied Underwriters from Berkshire Hathaway in 2019, 25 years after he founded it. In 2005, Berkshire Hathaway acquired an 81% share.