Market Moves: Brokers lead the charge again as Bluefin and US Risk add fresh faces

• Among insurers, Liberty Mutual Insurance has expanded its commercial casualty team with two new appointments. Neil Hammond has joined as UK commercial casualty manager. Reporting to chief underwriting officer Richard Coxon, he will be tasked with growing LMI’s commercial casualty portfolio throughout the UK. He was previously casualty underwriting manager for mid-corporate business for Axa. Chris Fletcher has taken up the role of senior casualty underwriter, Birmingham. He will be responsible for the casualty book in the Birmingham region and fills the position left by Dave Canning, who has been promoted to commercial casualty manager, regions. Canning will now be responsible for managing casualty underwriting for all LMI’s regional offices.

QBE has appointed David Harries as active underwriter of Lloyd’s Syndicate 386 with immediate effect. Harries takes on the role in conjunction with his current position, director of casualty international and professional and financial lines for QBE’s syndicate and company operations. He joined Syndicate 386, a specialist UK non-marine liability insurer, in 1986 and has held several roles within the syndicate in that time. Harries served as head of professional indemnity for the syndicate from 2002, later seeing these responsibilities expanded to include QBE’s European operations. He took responsibility for financial lines in 2009, and most recently added the casualty international and trade credit operation.

• In the broker space, Bluefin has appointed Robin Thomson as its regional managing director for the Midlands within its commercial division. Thomson has been promoted from sales and marketing director of the Bluefin network, a position he held for eight years. He will assume his new role on 1 October and is tasked with leading growth of the commercial division within the region. At the same time, Chris Taylor will be promoted to development director for Bluefin network. Taylor has worked on the network since 2010 and, in his new role, will focus on developing relationships with existing network members.

Meanwhile, Lloyd’s broker Incepta Risk Management has appointed Sonia Cottrell to its wholesale team as business development executive. She brings 15 years’ experience in client service and development and joins from Carroll London Markets. Based in the North West, she will lead the development of intermediary relationships and wholesale business growth with partner brokers across the UK and in all lines of UK commercial business.

Former Howden Broking Group chief of staff Mike Lobb has been appointed the first MD of US Risk UK. US Risk UK is the parent company of Oxford Insurance Brokers and James Hampden International Insurance Brokers.

• In the legal sphere, the Law Society has appointed a new representative on the Forum of Insurance Lawyers. Nichola Evans, a partner in the commercial litigation team at Browne Jacobson, takes over from Michelle Penn who had held the position since July 2009. Evans also sits on the Law Society civil justice committee and the Law Society council.

• In the boardroom, BMS‑owned managing general agent Pioneer Underwriting has recruited former Lloyd’s chairman Max Taylor to its board. In 40 years of industry experience, Taylor has also served as deputy chairman of Aon’s UK operations, having begun his career with Willis Faber and Dumas in 1970. He departed the role of Lloyd’s chairman in 2000, later becoming chairman of Jubilee Group following its acquisition by Ryan Specialty Group. Taylor joins Pioneer, which was launched in April 2011, with immediate effect. John Boyle, ex-MD of Home Let and board member of Barbon Insurance, has joined Let Alliance as executive advisor to the board and senior management team. Boyle shares professional history with Andy Halstead, founder and chief executive of Let Alliance, with whom he worked for more than 30 years at firms including Prudential, Pearl Assurance, AIG and Barbon. Boyle will also be working alongside Let Alliance non-executive director Ian Shackell again, who worked with him at Barbon as director of finance and risk.