ACE Casualty Risk Enters Environmental Risk Market

ACE Casualty Risk is entering the environmental risk market resulting in the creation of a new unit, ACE Environmental Risk. The new environmental and casualty underwriting unit will offer environmental liability products and services.

ACE Environmental Risk will offer a full range of environmental liability solutions designed to minimize bottom line impacts and provide hands-on management for those liabilities. The new products will be distributed through the brokerage community, and through wholesalers to the commercial market.

Non-admitted products will be marketed through licensed surplus lines brokers. ACE’s environmental liability offering includes premises pollution liability, contractor’s pollution liability, remediation cost containment and blended finite risk programs. Additionally, other new product lines are under development.

Leading this new unit is Karl Russek, vice president, underwriting and risk management, who joined ACE Casualty Risk in July 2002. Prior to joining ACE, Russek served as assistant vice president, Risk Management for XL Environmental. He also was with ECS Claims Administrators, Inc. for seven years serving in various positions, the latest of which was vice president and managing consultant.

Joining Russek in leading the underwriting efforts on the Environmental Risk team is Heather Lavelle, assistant vice president, Commercial Markets. Lavelle brings to ACE 10 years of experience in environmental underwriting and product management.

Supporting Russek and Lavelle are: Gregory Kelder, vice president, Claims, who brings to the team his 15 years of combined legal and claims management experience; Steve Piatkowski, assistant vice president, Engineering Services, who has more than 18 years of underwriting management and environmental consulting and engineering experience; and Daniel Robinson, assistant vice president, Division Counsel, who brings to ACE eight years of combined environmental legal and claims management experience.

Russek and his team will be based in Philadelphia.

Topics New Markets Pollution Casualty