Beazley Names New Senior Underwriter of Central Region Based Chicago

Beazley Group plc announced that to strengthen its U.S. commercial property team ahead of its launch in the admitted market the company has hired Neil Brown as the senior underwriter for its central region, based in Chicago.

Brown joins Todd Hanes and Joe Morrello, underwriting managers for the western and eastern regions respectively, whose appointments were announced previously.

Brown’s background includes more than 20 years’ experience in commercial property insurance. Before joining Beazley he was an underwriting director, for midwest broker operations, at Liberty Mutual Property. Prior to joining Liberty Mutual in 1999, he held increasingly senior positions over 14 years at Arkwright Mutual Insurance Co.

“We are seeking to offer a different value proposition to insureds,” said Mark Bernacki, head of Beazley’s commercial property team in the U.S. “We plan to combine highly experienced underwriters with a flat organizational structure to deliver a responsive service and straight answers.

“Neil Brown is a perfect fit for the team we are building. He brings a wealth of experience in the property market, strong broker relationships and an entrepreneurial approach to underwriting.”

Beazley has been writing U.S. commercial property business for 15 years out of the Lloyd’s market. The planned expansion into the admitted market, scheduled for the first quarter of 2007, will give mid-sized clients local access to the same standards of service that large scale Beazley insureds have long enjoyed, the Beazley news release said.

Beazley Group, based in London, UK, is the parent company of global, specialist insurance businesses with operations in the UK, US, France, Singapore and Hong Kong. Beazley manages two Lloyd’s syndicates (Syndicate 2623 and Syndicate 623) with aggregate underwriting capacity in 2006 of 830 million pounds Sterling (US$1.5bn). Beazley products include professional indemnity, commercial property, marine, reinsurance, and personal lines.

Source: Beazley Group, plc

Topics USA Underwriting Property