Verve Risk Partners launch on Castel’s MGA platform
19 September 2016 – Verve Risk Partners (Verve) has launched today as a cell on the Castel Underwriting Agencies Limited (Castel) MGA formation platform to target US professional and management liability risks, focusing on insurance companies and captives as well as insurance agents and brokers. Verve’s portfolio will include errors and omissions (E&O) and directors and officers (D&O) coverage for rated and non-rated public, private, mutual and captive insurance companies and risk retention groups, public and private insurance brokers and agents, managing general agents and managing general underwriters, third party administrators and programme and captive managers. The new cell has capacity provided by a number of Lloyd’s syndicates that have previously supported Verve’s underwriters.
Verve is led by Scott Simmons and Alan Lambert, who are both partners in the business.
Scott Simmons has over 16 years’ experience underwriting US management and professional liability lines. He is a former North American financial lines underwriter with AIG where he underwrote and serviced a large portfolio of public and private clients for commercial and financial institutions. In 2012, he established and led a US professional and management liability unit with Aquila Underwriting.
Alan Lambert has worked in the London market for over 15 years specialising in US professional, financial and management liability insurance. He began his career as a broker servicing open market placements and delegated binding authorities with both London and US based carriers. He was previously in Aquila’s professional and management liability unit, focusing on risk analysis, underwriting and client development.
Scott Simmons, partner at Verve, said: “Castel provides us with a comprehensive and robust infrastructure that has enabled us to bring Verve to fruition quickly, and deliver certainty to our capacity providers and wider market stakeholders”.
Alan Lambert, partner at Verve, said: “The support afforded within the Castel platform will assist us to deliver controlled and sustainable long-term profitable growth in an underserviced market sector”.
Mark Birrell, CEO of Castel said: “Scott and Alan bring Castel recognised underwriting expertise, a strong reputation and proven success in their market; our MGA formation platform was developed to support such entrepreneurial underwriters in specialist markets. Verve have identified specific coverage and product opportunities and have growth plans that will achieve sustained underwriting profit from this niche market”.
Verve is the fifth cell to be launched on the Castel platform and joins: Altitude Risk Partners, underwriting airlines, aerospace manufacturing products, general aviation, war and space business; Medical and Commercial International, writing general medical and pharmaceutical liability business on an international basis; Newbridge, writing a political violence portfolio focused on emerging markets in MENA, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin and South America and Asia regions; and one Facultative Acceptances, underwriting property and engineering facultative reinsurance portfolios for risks located in Africa.
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Full Circle Communications
Alex Wise
Mobile +44 (0) 7710 665 615
Tel: +44 (0)20 7265 7887
Email awise@fullcirclecomms.co.uk
Notes to editors
Photography: Scott Simmons and Alan Lambert, partners of Verve Risk Partners, a new cell launched on the Castel Underwriting Agencies Limited MGA formation platform.
Castel
Castel Underwriting Agencies Limited, a member of the Barbican Insurance Group of companies, is a managing general agent (MGA) and club-style MGA formation platform focused on achieving success and driving innovation through collaboration. It provides experienced and entrepreneurial underwriters with stable capacity and a fast-track route to creating their own businesses. Castel is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.