Energy Review 02-2017
27 February 2017
Our last few newsletters have devoted a lot of attention to political issues affecting the energy industry. We feel that the consequences of the US presidential election and the forthcoming Brexit negotiations will have a considerable effect on the development of energy production and exploration (oil, gas, coal, nuclear, renewable). Also, the insurance, reinsurance and risk management philosophies and planning of the large, medium and small players in the industry will be affected by the changes in the availability of solutions, and how those solutions alter as a result of changes in rules and regulations.
As the UK government gradually comes closer to unveiling its position on financial services, more and more insurance organisations are talking about moving large parts of their corporate activities out of London. Some are already moving to EU locations and others intend to follow once the terms of Brexit become clearer.
With the demise of the Cameron leadership, the UK government’s austerity programmes of the then Chancellor are still under review, and what happens next may not favour focus on developing the remaining oil and gas resources in the North Sea. A lot will depend on how much money the government will think it will retain by not paying billions into the EU. The North Sea may no longer be perceived as the important investment it used to be when it becomes challenged by others with more vocal financial needs. The UK’s position relating to the North Sea is rather confusing. Shell’s sale of a package of their UK North Sea assets to Chrysaor has been welcomed by Oil & Gas UK, a representative body of the oil and gas industry who said, “We also welcome Chrysaor’s intent to explore and invest in its new portfolio; this sends positive signals about the opportunities the UK’s offshore oil and gas basin has to offer. This region still has the potential to yield many more millions of barrels of hydrocarbons, helping to meet the country’s primary energy needs, secure jobs and generate wealth for the economy.” Meanwhile a fund has been set up by the Scottish Government to support Scottish companies looking to take advantage of decommissioning activities.
There are reports that President Trump’s views on trade and spending may not be good news for the US marine industry and its insurers. Plans to revitalise the nation’s infrastructure and supporting protectionist policies could cause a ripple effect with other countries who may retaliate proportionately. Brazil has since adopted similar protectionist policies such as restrictions on international insurance and reinsurance. The United States’ aims to continue increasing its exports of oil and gas could be hit by the reduced interest in buyers who do not like the way they are being dictated to; this could result in reduced production in the Bakken fields, for example, and resultant job losses. This could be felt even more as Iranian oil is now coming onto the world market. Encouraged by these markets opening up to its oil, Iran is now talking to major European groups such as Total to help develop the next generation of oil and gas exploration activities. The Russian prime minister has added to doubts about where the US can export LNG: he said Russia is the gas supplier of choice for European markets and will remain the most cost-effective and reliable source of gas in Europe.
Oil and gas prices have remained relatively stable during the past month. Within the industry, interesting developments include: Arctic shelf boundaries could become an issue of contention; global oil and gas discoveries have dropped to 70-year low; analysts are asking if the era of oil and gas megaprojects is over. One expert has said, “this year promises to mark a continuation of the transition from survival to value creation in the global oil and gas sector.”
India is opening further to the world as Swiss Re, Munich Re, Hannover Re, Reinsurance Group of America, SCOR and XL Catlin have all been granted final licences by the regulator. Lloyd’s had earlier announced plans to open a reinsurance branch in Mumbai ahead of the April renewals. Concurrently India announced that it is looking at creating an oil giant to take on global rivals.
There has been a lot of activity in the Lloyd’s and London market with personnel moving in many directions. Key appointments in the energy insurance sector include Skuld, PwC and Barents Re getting into the headlines Flood Re now has a new interim CEO and we can expect to hear more here within the coming weeks.
We shall continue to bring a selection of these stories to your attention, which we trust you will find to be of interest.
Energy Casualties
No plan or gear available to handle oil spill from Chennai coast ship collision
On the 6th February, local press accused Indian authorities of lacking “even basic plans” to deal with an oil spill which had resulted from the collision between LPG tanker BW Maple and product tanker Dawn Kanchipuram near Kamarajar Port in Chennai, India.
The LPG tanker was leaving the port under ballast and the product tanker was with cargo en route to dock in the port. BW Maple is insured with UK P&I Club through Member BW VLGC Ltd. Dawn Kanchipuram is insured with Steamship Mutual through Member Indian Ocean Shipping Co. Ltd.
A “Comprehensive Oil Spill Management Plan” has been travelling through the local bureaucracy for about three years, but there apparently remains a lack of equipment to deal with oil spills near the shore, and it was still unclear what material made up the polluting sludge.
In 1995 the Indian Coast Guard had asked all coastal states to prepare a shoreline response to oil spills. This was discussed during the 21st meeting of the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan and Preparedness in Delhi last August, and also during the 86th and 87th meetings of the State Coastal Zone Management Authority, which was convened on the 30th August 2015 and the 14th January 2016 respectively.
Formal communications were sent to all the ports and the Tamil Nadu Maritime Board to draw up a contingency plan for ports.
But it is being claimed no plan has yet been drawn up. A thick coat of oil was spreading across beaches nearby. Senior officials at Kamarajar Port, Ennore Port and Chennai Port claimed they had their own contingency plan in place, with the latter saying it had the necessary containment equipment.
The entire operator clean-up appeared to be taking place manually – with mugs, buckets and large tanks to store the sludge – as the available equipment is meant for clearing oil spills in deep seas. “Since it cannot be used on the shores, we have literally been mopping the shore,” said a Coast Guard officer.
Describing the collision of the two ships as an unfortunate incident caused by human error, State Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar said that all efforts were being made to remove the slick. He maintained that the oil spill from the damaged vessel had been arrested without indicating how much oil had spilled into the sea.
Both the vessels are currently under the custody of Kamarajar Port Ltd.
Erith fire: Huge blaze breaks out at oil refinery in south-east London
Two men have been rescued from the roof of an oil storage refinery in south-east London after a huge fire broke out.
Dramatic pictures showed smoke billowing from the three-storey building in Erith after the blaze broke out on the afternoon of Friday 2nd February.
Six fire engines and 35 firefighters and officers rushed to the scene along Manorway to tackle the fire.
Firefighters earlier rescued two oil workers from the roof of the building. Another two men fled before fire crews arrived.
The building contains two oil refinery cylinders.
At the time of writing, the cause of the fire was not known.
Two killed in PetroSA accident
Two workers died in an incident at the PetroSA refinery in Mossel Bay on the 29th January.
The circumstances around the tragedy were being investigated by police.
Captain Malcolm Pojie said, “I can confirm police opened an inquest docket following the death of two workers. The circumstances are not clear yet.”
The fuel giant says that the Inspector of Mines and the Labour Department are jointly probing the incident along with police.
PetroSA’s Thabo Mabaso said, “Two of them fell unconscious and alarms were raised. Our medical response team took action and tried to resuscitate both colleagues.”
Canada oil pipeline spills 200,000 litres on aboriginal land
A pipeline in the western Canadian province of Saskatchewan has leaked 200,000 litres (52,834 gallons) of oil in an aboriginal community, the provincial government said on the 23rd January.
The government was notified late in the afternoon on the 20th January, and 170,000 litres have since been recovered, said Doug McKnight, Assistant Deputy Minister in the Ministry of the Economy, which regulates pipelines in Saskatchewan.
Oil pipelines are viewed by the oil-rich provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan as a critical lifeline to move crude to the coast, but they have drawn fierce opposition from environmental and indigenous groups.
Balikpapan refinery shuts down as steam pipe leaks
Pertamina’s Balikpapan refinery in East Kalimantan had to be shut down on Monday 15th January because of a steam pipe leak.
“One pipe was leaking, causing pressures to drop. One turbine then went off,” Pertamina Processing Director Toharso said.
He said the pipe leaked because it is old, as it was installed in 1948.
Because of the shutdown, the Balikpapan refinery is expected to lose some US$37.5 million.
“There is a potential loss since the refinery will not be able to produce fuel for a number of days,” a Tempo source said on the 23rd January.
A source also said that, even after the fire was out, the refinery would not be able to operate on a full scale. “It takes time and stages to operate the refinery,” he said.
Mr Toharso denied that the amount of loss would be very large. He said that the day after the shutdown the refinery was back in operation, albeit not to its full capacity. “About 70 to 80 percent,” he said.
He also said that when the Balikpapan refinery was down, fuel supply came from refineries in other areas. “We didn’t import,” he said.
Fires erupt in refinery and oil field in Iran
Three fires have broken out in refineries and an oil field in Iran within one week. The blazes were at the Abadan refinery in south-west Iran in Ahvaz, a refinery in Tehran and in an oil field south-west of the country, Iranian media outlets reported.
According to the official Iranian news agency (IRNA), firefighters managed to put out the fire, which erupted in the distillation unit at the refinery. A public relations official at the Abadan refinery said the fire caused power problems in the refinery.
“The fire affected the power network in the refinery and this led to problems in distillation and affected some pumps,” the official was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency.
Fars added that this is the third fire to erupt at the Abadan refinery in the past few years. They added it was probably due to a defect in the electrical system.
In addition to the fire at the Abadan refinery, fire also erupted in oil and gas facilities in Tehran. One fire erupted in a refinery in Tehran and another in a gas field in Kaj Sran in the south-west of Iran.
The worst fire happened on the 29th January in an oil storage tank at an oil refinery in south Tehran.
According to the Iranian news agency, Hassan Bagherian, an official at the Iranian oil company, said the fire at the Tehran refinery erupted due to a lightning strike.
Mr Bagherian also said that the tank’s capacity was two million barrels, but when the fire erupted it contained 400,000 litres of crude oil which completely evaporated as a result of the fire. No-one was hurt in the blaze.
During the past few months there have been several fires in oil, gas and petrochemical facilities in Iran, particularly in the Ahvaz oil field.
In August, Gholam Reza Jalali, Director of the civil defence unit, said Iran “discovered an electronic virus in two of its petrochemical facilities” after investigating the possibility that electronic attacks are behind recent fires there.
Ghana’s only oil refinery shut after explosion
Ghana’s only oil refinery, the Tema Oil Refinery, was shut after an explosion at a newly installed €5.8-million crude oil heating unit, a senior union official said on the 27th January.
The blast at the crude distillation unit, which caused no casualties, is the latest problem to hit the refinery, which has, for decades, performed below its capacity of 45,000 barrels per day.
“It was a damper failure. It failed to open to allow heat to escape through the chimney and that led to the explosion,” one source said. “The new furnace is now scrap,” said a union leader who declined to be identified.
The plant will restart after reconfiguration through a second furnace but output will drop to 30,000 barrels per day, the union leader said.
The state-owned refinery has been dogged by underinvestment, lack of maintenance and debt, which has caused it to perform below capacity.
The new government of President Nana Akufo-Addo said in its manifesto that it would expand the refinery.
Insurance News
Husky Energy ups July oil spill costs to $107 million
Husky Energy says the total cost of response to a July 2016 oil spill in the North Saskatchewan River is sitting at $107 million as of the end of last year.
The pipeline leak saw around 225,000 litres of heavy crude and diluent spill, near Maidstone. The water supply of nearly 70,000 people was affected.
A new report from the energy company says $88 million of the total cost have been recovered through insurance. The insurance recoveries and the remaining spill costs are being taken on by Husky Midstream Limited Partnership, a three-company group in which Husky Energy carries a 35 percent stake. Taxpayers are not on the hook to cover the insurance expenses.
About 210,000 litres of oil have been recovered to date and clean-up efforts are complete, according to Husky Energy.
The company said at the end of September that the cost incurred in response to the spill had reached $90 million.
The City of Prince Albert says it’s received $9.1 million in compensation from Husky. Mayor Greg Dionne says the city is still seeking more funding in the spring for other expenses, such as repairing erosion on the Little Red River shoreline.
$9.5 million in penalties in deadly 2012 oil platform blast
An oil industry services company has been ordered to pay $9.5 million in penalties in cases arising from a 2012 offshore platform fire that killed three workers, federal prosecutors said on Thursday 23rd February.
The penalties against Houston-based Wood Group PSN were announced by the US Justice Department in Washington and US attorneys in New Orleans and Lafayette, Louisiana, where civil and criminal cases have been playing out. The penalties followed plea agreements in two criminal cases.
Wood Group was ordered to pay $7 million for falsely reporting that safety inspections had been performed on Gulf of Mexico facilities. Another $1.8 million in penalties are for negligently discharging oil into the Gulf. And the company was ordered to pay $700,000 for community service projects.
The November 2012 explosion killed three workers on a platform owned by Black Elk Energy Offshore Operations, LLC.
A 2013 report by federal regulators identified a string of safety lapses that led to the blast, which killed Ellroy Corporal, Jerome Malagapo and Avelino Tajonera.
Black Elk Energy’s platform was about 17 miles from Grand Isle, Louisiana, in around 52 feet of water. It had been “shut in” and wasn’t producing oil at the time of the explosion. Workers were on the platform preparing to resume production. On the morning of the 16th November 2012, a worker ignited oil vapours while welding a pipe, triggering a chain reaction that caused oil tanks to explode.
In 2015, a grand jury indicted Black Elk, Wood Group, Grand Isle Shipyards and some of the people who worked on the platform on a variety of charges. A judge threw out some of the most serious charges last April but prosecutors’ appeals of that decision are pending.
Black Elk and Grand Isle Shipyards remain charged with manslaughter in the case. Black Elk also faces charges involving regulatory violations of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
Liberty Specialty expands Lloyd’s business
Liberty Specialty Markets (LSM) has expanded its Lloyd’s syndicate business to include onshore energy and construction.
The carrier’s onshore energy team (downstream, upstream, power generation and heavy industries) provides ‘all risks’ property damage and resulting business interruption covers. The construction team provides specialist risk and insurance solutions.
RSA restructures specialty business; names division heads
General insurer RSA has restructured its specialty business with a new global risk solutions (GRS) operating model and has named the division heads.
The new structure aims at delivering brokers and customers improved access to decision-makers and enabling GRS to operate with more focus in its chosen markets.
The three directors – Richard Turner, Gareth Hilton and Gary Long – who previously held leadership positions within GRS, will now head RSA’s new units, reporting to GRS Managing Director Hayley Robinson.
Mr Turner will head the Europe specialty lines, Europe and international marine, and also Dubai International Financial Centre and Scandinavia hull.
Mr Hilton will be responsible for leading the London Market construction and engineering, renewable energy, marine and wholesale international property and casualty business.
The UK and multinational risk managed business including real estate will be headed by Mr Long.
Argo Group completes Ariel Re acquisition
Bermudian insurer and reinsurer Argo Group has closed the acquisition of fellow island firm Ariel Re.
Agreement on the US$235 million deal was announced last November.
On the 8th February, Argo also announced that Ryan Mather, former Ariel Re Chief Executive Officer, will serve as Argo’s Global Head of Reinsurance leading all reinsurance operations.
Mr Mather’s organisation will retain the Ariel Re brand as a member of Argo Group, and he will report directly to Jose Hernandez, head of Argo’s international business.
Ariel Re was jointly owned by Banco BTG Pactual SA and the Abu Dhabi Investment Council. The company underwrites a global portfolio of insurance and reinsurance business through Lloyd’s Syndicate 1910.
Ariel Re employs around 100 people and has offices in Victoria Place, Hamilton.
The reinsurance arm of Argo, whose headquarters is in Pitts Bay Road, will combine with Ariel Re.
In November, it was announced that the acquisition was part of Argo Group’s bid to build scale in its London and Bermudian platforms by adding complementary lines of special business.
Argo said the combined company will have “a well-balanced portfolio mix” of about 88 percent insurance and 12 percent reinsurance.
Beazley to establish European subsidiary in Ireland
UK-based insurance underwriter Beazley plc has said that the company plans to establish a European subsidiary in Dublin, Ireland, following the Brexit vote.
“We’re expecting to add jobs in Dublin because it will need more people to manage a live insurer than a reinsurer,” CEO Andrew Horton said.
The company sees “significant” growth opportunities in the United States and other markets outside London.
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty opens London operations
Boston-based Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company said on the 7th February that it has opened a London office to serve the United Kingdom and European countries, including Ireland, Spain, France and Italy.
Richard Nathan has been named as Head of Property Lines, Patrick Brown as Head of Executive and Professional Liability and Andrew Walker as Head of Claims, a Berkshire Hathaway Specialty statement said.
Mr Nathan most recently was corporate property manager, UK and Europe, at Allied World.
Mr Brown joins Berkshire Hathaway from Travelers Europe, where he was head of management liability and financial institutions.
Mr Walker most recently was head of casualty claims in Europe for AIG Europe.
Kidnappings at sea are surging, organisation warns
A wave of maritime kidnappings for ransom is posing a growing threat to the safety of seafarers off Asian and African coasts, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) warned in a recent report.
The number of kidnappings at sea more than tripled last year to a ten-year high of 62, the maritime watchdog said in its annual piracy report for 2016. In particular, waters off southern parts of the Philippines, where a local Muslim extremist group known as Abu Sayyaf is active, are becoming an increasing danger to commercial vessels, according to the Kuala Lumpur-based agency.
Last year’s kidnappings compared with 19 in 2015 and nine in 2014. Nigeria claimed the largest share, accounting for 29. But the IMB called for special attention to an escalation of attacks in areas around the Philippines and Malaysia, which were ranked second and third on the list with 18 and ten reported kidnappings respectively.
The IMB said the “escalation of crew kidnapping is a worrying trend in some emerging areas,” particularly the Sulu Sea between north-eastern parts of the island of Borneo and the southern Philippines.
According to the report, besides vessels which were actually boarded or hijacked by pirates, many ships were harassed and chased by boats carrying armed groups. In October, six armed men boarded a South Korean cargo ship sailing off the southern Philippines and robbed the crew while abducting two crew members.
In November, ten militants attacked a cargo ship sailing in the same area, kidnapping six members of the crew and injuring another.
An attempted attack on a tanker carrying chemical products was also reported.
Defensive measures
Major shipping companies are facing an urgent need to reinforce the defence of their vessels and take steps to avoid attacks, such as changing shipping routes.
In addition to tugs, barges and fishing boats, an increasing number of larger merchant ships have become targets of pirate attacks in recent years, according to the IMB. The organisation is advising shipping companies to avoid the Sulu Sea and route vessels west of Borneo.
While kidnappings for ransom increased, sea piracy as a whole continued to decline. A total of 191 piracy incidents were reported globally last year, about a 20 percent drop from 246 during the previous year and the lowest level in two decades. Pirate attacks in Indonesia, which topped the list for 2016, fell sharply from 108 in 2015 to 49.
London Market prepared to absorb US$200 billion loss
An exercise led by Hiscox testing the resilience of the London Market showed that it would be able to cope with a never before seen US$200 billion catastrophic loss event.
A consortium of leading London insurance market organisations and associated entities tested two fictional loss events happening in quick succession. The events chosen reflect the changing nature of risk; a highly destructive hurricane, an unprecedented cyber event, one of the largest stock market declines, and a major re-insurer default with consequent delays in reinsurance payments.
These simulated events resulted in extraordinary global insurance losses of approximately US$200 billion. This amount would be the largest loss ever seen; more than twice the size of losses caused by Hurricane Katrina and at least four times larger than the World Trade Center insured loss.
The ‘dry run’ project involved 28 London insurance market organisations and associated entities. The industry steering group found that within the confines of the exercise, participants considered that they would have access to sufficient practical and financial resources to cope with the losses which would result from such an event, and would be able to serve clients and pay claims fairly at the same time as ensuring continuity of cover to further enhance its pre-eminent global position.
This conclusion relies on the robustness of firms’ reinsurance and recapitalisation arrangements, and the ability of firms to implement these arrangements during a turbulent financial environment. There were no significant liquidity challenges highlighted in the exercise, although it was acknowledged that the simplified nature of the exercise means liquidity could be stressed to a greater or lesser extent in a real-world event.
Karl Hennessy, President, Aon Broking, who led one of the project’s two working groups, said, “This dry run is a demonstration of the London Market’s unique value proposition, namely the ability to bring together specialist underwriters, brokers, claims and other professionals to serve our clients at the time of their greatest need and beyond. In an increasingly competitive global re/insurance market, such exercises, alongside the market modernisation work (London Market Target Operating Model), are essential for London to continue to maintain and evolve its position as the pre-eminent centre of insurance expertise serving clients from across the globe.”
Commenting on the White Paper, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Simon Kirby MP said, “As the global hub for insurance and reinsurance, the London Market plays an important role in supporting economic activity in the UK and across the world. Thanks to the efforts of government, regulators and industry, the UK’s financial system is fundamentally strong, and pro-active industry-led exercises like this one enhance our ability to identify and manage the risks of the future.”
Swiss Re receives approval to open India branch
Swiss Re Ltd. has received approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India to open a branch in Mumbai.
Swiss Re planned to begin operations in the nation from the 1st February, and offer non-life, life and health reinsurance products.
Kalpana Sampat, who is currently Managing Director of Swiss Re Services India Private Ltd., will become the CEO of Swiss Re’s India branch.
XL Catlin gets approval to open reinsurance branch in India
XL Catlin’s reinsurance business group confirmed that it has received final approval from the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India to open an onshore reinsurance branch office of XL Insurance Company SE.
The operation, which will be based in Mumbai and provide treaty and facultative reinsurance, will be led by Joseph Augustine as branch CEO. It is planned to be open for business in time for the important renewal period from the 1st April.
California tallies insurer investments in traditional energy industry
Insurers operating in California have US$521 billion in fossil fuel-related securities in their investment portfolios, according to California’s insurance commissioner, who is discouraging insurers from investing in the oil, gas and coal sectors.
The Climate Risk Carbon Initiative, launched by California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones in January 2016, required insurers with US$100 million in annual premiums doing business in California to disclose investments in fossil fuels and asked all insurers operating in the state to divest investments in thermal coal, according to a statement issued by the California Department of Insurance on the 18th January.
Insurers have divested more than US$4 billion in thermal coal and fossil fuel investments and have committed to divesting an additional US$882 million in thermal coal investments since the launch of the initiative, which singles out thermal coal because of the risk that it is likely to or has already become a stranded asset.
More than 300 insurers have analysed the concentration of carbon risk in their investment portfolios while another 81 have agreed to do so in the next 12 months.
Insurer responses also revealed that 670 companies divested some or all their coal holdings or had no coal holdings to divest while 325 companies said they would refrain from making future investments in thermal coal.
“Investments in carbon – oil, gas, coal – face significant potential financial risk from climate change as governments, private companies and markets continue to move to reduce the burning of carbon,” Mr Jones said in the statement. “As a financial regulator, I want to make sure that insurance companies are invested in assets which retain value, not decrease in value, so that insurers have sufficient assets to pay claims.”
The commissioner launched the initiative because of the potential for investments in fossil fuels to become stranded assets on the books of insurers, meaning they have little or no value amid regulatory and market changes.
“The volatility in energy prices over the past few years has demonstrated the hard way why fiduciaries like the insurance industry need to consider how climate risks might impact their fossil fuel holdings, particularly coal,” Amy Myers Jaffe, Executive Director, Energy and Sustainability of University of California, Davis, said in the statement.
“We have already seen write downs on energy holdings dent returns for many institutional investors in 2015 and 2016 and the long-term risks could be more significant.”
Oil Insurance Limited (OIL) announces intention to eliminate offshore Gulf of Mexico Designated Named Windstorm coverage in 2018
OIL announced to its shareholders on the 7th February 2017 that, commencing on January 1st 2018, the company will no longer offer offshore Gulf of Mexico Designated Named Windstorm (DNW) coverage. It will continue to offer windstorm coverage for onshore areas in the Gulf of Mexico, and in all other onshore and offshore areas of the Atlantic Basin and the world.
Bertil C. Olsson, President and CEO, commented that, “For the past few years, membership participation in the Offshore DNW pool has appreciably declined as a result of decreased demand for this product. Increasingly, many companies have come to the conclusion that retaining this risk on their balance sheet or selectively insuring individual assets in the commercial market is a better alternative to insuring their entire portfolio of Offshore Gulf of Mexico named windstorm exposed assets with OIL. As a result, OIL has determined that this geographic risk class no longer fits well within a mutual framework.”
George F. Hutchings, Senior Vice President and COO, further added that, “OIL considered several product alternatives to the existing Offshore GOM windstorm product and conducted a membership survey to seek the memberships’ input. Two thirds of the membership didn’t believe that Offshore GOM windstorm risk should be offered by OIL and a significant portion of the membership didn’t believe that this risk should be mutualized across all members as one of the options to maintain this coverage. In light of the fact that alternatives had either limited value in the context of the mutual or were expensive, the survey feedback did not favor continued underwriting of this risk and membership demand for the product is low, the decision was taken to discontinue the Offshore GOM DNW coverage.”
Insurance People
PwC appoints new London Market insurance leader
PwC has appointed Paul Delbridge to take on the role of London Market insurance leader from Jim Bichard.
Mr Bichard became the leader of PwC’s UK insurance practice after Jonathan Howe stepped down from the position recently.
In his new role, Mr Delbridge will have responsibility for the firm’s activities and services to the Lloyd’s, London Market company and major broker markets.
Charles Taylor hires former Xchanging exec to manage second Lloyd’s syndicate
Lloyd’s managing agent Charles Taylor Managing Agency has appointed Bev Sumner as Director of Operations.
Ms Sumner joins the company with senior operations management experience at Lloyd’s and Xchanging.
At Lloyd’s she was the head of process and change. She was previously the operations director of UK insurance at Xchanging and was responsible for commercial re/insurance technical processing, accounting and settlement operations.
In her new role, Ms Sumner will focus on developing and further strengthening the company’s operational capabilities to manage a second Lloyd’s syndicate.
CNA Hardy appoints AIG’s Beelders as Head of Multinational
CNA Hardy, a specialist commercial insurance provider within the Lloyd’s and company markets, announced the appointment of Jason Beelders as Assistant Vice President, Head of Multinational.
Reporting to Patrick Gage, Chief Underwriting Officer, Mr Beelders will be responsible for the strategic development of the company’s overall multinational business portfolio, including driving profitable growth by building the ‘go-to’ market team and enhancing broker management.
Mr Beelders joins CHNA Hardy from AIG, where he was the global lead for AIG International.
Skuld appoints Knighton as Head of Marine Cargo & Marine Property
Skuld, the marine insurance provider, has announced the appointment of Paul Knighton as Global Head of Marine Cargo and Marine Property. He will join Skuld Syndicate 1897 in the summer.
Mr Knighton will enhance Skuld’s well-established marine cargo and marine property portfolio by building its offering to clients. He will focus predominantly on developing a total solution product for ports, terminals and freight logistics operators.
He will join Skuld from the TT Club where he has been a senior underwriter since 2012.
Charles Taylor Adjusting poaches Crawford Americas’ CEO
Loss adjusting business Charles Taylor Adjusting (CTA) has appointed Vince Cole as US CEO and Regional Head. He will also join the company’s senior management team.
Former MS Amlin CEO McKee to lead Cathedral Underwriting
Andrew McKee, the former CEO of MS Amlin Underwriting at Lloyd’s, who left the company in December 2016, is set to join Cathedral Underwriting (CUL) as Chief Executive Officer.
His appointment is effective from the 26th June.
Prior to serving MS Amlin as CEO of its Lloyd’s business, Mr McKee was the CEO of MSIG at Lloyd’s.
Flood Re appoints Andy Bord as interim CEO
Flood Re has appointed Andy Bord, former managing director of BGL Group, as interim CEO.
Mr Bord joined Flood Re on the 23rd January 2017 and replaces Brendan McCafferty with effect from the 10th February. He previously worked for Capita, Staysure, BGL Group and Vodafone UK.
Klimczak swaps Allianz for XL Catlin in Singapore
Former Allianz Global Corporate Specialty senior marine risk consultant Jarek Klimczak has been appointed Marine Risk Engineer for Asia-Pacific at rival XL Catlin.
In his new role Mr Klimczak will be responsible for providing marine risk consulting for cargo, hull and machinery risks. He will continue to be based in Singapore.
Barents Re hires Sciemus duo for renewables push
Barents Re has recruited renewable energy underwriters James Ingham and Richard Bell from Lloyd’s managing general agency Sciemus.
The duo joined the Panama-headquartered reinsurer at the end of January.
Mr Ingham was head of renewable energy at Sciemus, while Mr Bell was a senior underwriter working on solar and wind products.
Both men will report to Chris Charlton, Barents Re’s UK Managing Director.