Category: News

Acquisition offers clients on-island expertise and cements Howden’s commitment to Bermuda

London / Bermuda, 21 October 2021 – Howden, the international insurance broker, today announced the acquisition of Foram Brokerage Ltd., an independent (re)insurance broker based in Hamilton, Bermuda. This acquisition affirms Howden’s commitment to the Bermudian market and provides clients with access to an expert team made up entirely of Bermudian nationals.

Foram is an independent (re)insurance broker that provides speciality brokerage services in Casualty, Energy, Professional Lines, Construction, Product Recall, Property and Healthcare lines predominantly to Fortune 1000 US clients requiring access to the Bermudian market. Foram complements Howden’s existing expertise, distribution and product range, and offers clients a team of industry veterans with deep experience in the Bermudian market.

Paul Redgate, Deputy Chair, Howden Specialty, said: “Foram joining us reaffirms our strategy of giving clients access to all key markets via our global insurance market hubs. By providing clients with a significant on-the-ground presence in Bermuda, this acquisition also underscores Howden’s commitment to the Bermudian market by investing in on-island expertise to enhance our client offering and to build a leading position in the world’s leading (re)insurance markets.”

The acquisition of Foram reflects Howden’s on-going strategy to deliver smartly optimised (re)insurance programmes that are tailored to clients’ commercial priorities supported by strong hub offices in the world’s major insurance and reinsurance markets. Foram’s strong relationships with key markets in Bermuda will translate into solutions that are expertly adapted to clients’ commercial, cultural and operational needs.

Robert Stubbs, President, Foram, said: “As part of Howden, our clients will benefit from the talent, product expertise and data & analytics capability of Howden’s global specialty offering, enabling our company to deliver ever more advanced risk solutions to our clients. In Howden we have found a place which shares our values, allowing us to grow and to continue to focus on the client centricity and innovation for which we are known in the Bermudian market.”

We are pleased to announce the appointment of industry leader Paul Tubb as Executive Director and head of the newly created Infrastructure Assets team, a specialist practice within Howden’s construction division.

Tubb, who is joining in January 2022, will report to Naresh Dade, Managing Director, Global Head of Construction, and will be responsible for the division’s work with operational public-private partnerships (PPPs), providing risk management advice and comprehensive insurance solutions for clients.

Tubb brings a wealth of experience including an impressive track record of successfully delivering client solutions in the commercial risk space and an unrivalled knowledge of private finance initiatives (PFIs). Tubb joins from Aon where he most recently served as executive director and PFI team lead, managing the firm’s infrastructure offering.

The new Infrastructure Assets practice will form an integral part of Howden’s growing Construction division, supporting its ambitious growth strategy while helping to cement its position as a market leading practice and the broker of choice for the construction and infrastructure market.

Speaking of Paul Tubb’s appointment, Naresh Dade, Managing Director, Global Head of Construction said: “Paul’s appointment reinforces our ability to attract and retain top talent across the industry, encouraging both professional and personal development whilst nurturing entrepreneurial spirit. Paul is a natural fit and takes us one step closer to becoming the chosen outfit for construction and infrastructure clients, underlining our position as a credible alternative. We look forward to welcoming Paul to the team.”

Paul Redgate, Deputy Chair, Head of Howden Specialty added: “The Construction division is on a fantastic growth trajectory and Paul’s appointment will help accelerate this impressive expansion as he carves out a new specialism with a team of uniquely skilled individuals. Having Paul on board, with the stature he brings, is a testament to the existing team and the wider business which continues to attract top talent across the broking market. I am eager to see what Paul and his team will achieve in the future.”

Connecting Latin American clients with London Market to offer choice and capacity

29 July, 2021, Miami – Howden Specialty, part of international insurance intermediary Howden Broking, announced today that it has appointed Gerardo Jacobo and Nestor Rodriguez as Executive Director, Head of Financial Lines, Latin America and Executive Director, Financial Lines, Latin America respectively.  Jacobo and Rodriguez will be based in Miami, reporting to Charlie Langdale in London.

Jacobo and Rodriguez will lead and develop the new specialist Financial Lines team, connecting Miami and London markets to bring innovative product development and reinsurance market expertise to clients throughout the Latin American region. Both have more than 20 years’ experience across the full range of disciplines, which include insurance company underwriting, consultancy, product development, broking and claims handling.

Gerardo Jacobo, Executive Director, Head of Financial Lines, Latin America, commented: “I am excited to be joining Howden’s Financial Lines team.  In unprecedented times like this, having an embedded knowledge of the Latin American region becomes key to develop market-leading solutions to clients beyond insurance and reinsurance.”

Nestor Rodriguez, Executive Director, Financial Lines, Latin America said: “This presents a great opportunity to connect two markets and numerous participants within it, bringing more choice and capacity to Latin American clients.”

Max Scagnetti, MD Howden Specialty, Miami, commented: “I am thrilled that Gerardo and Nestor are joining the Group and excited to work closely with them. Adding their industry expertise, insight and strong relationships to our Miami Hub significantly enhances our ability to deliver client solutions throughout Latin America, providing a credible and best-in-class alternative for Financial Lines clients in the region.”

Charlie Langdale, MD Financial Lines said:  “A key aim for us is to give our clients seamless access to global markets and having Gerardo and Nestor lead our Latin American capability from Miami is a huge step to achieving this goal

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Severin Hegelbach as Divisional Director.  In this newly created role, Hegelbach will lead a renewable energy advisory service, focused on providing in-depth risk advice for clients, sponsors, lenders, investors, retail and other partners.  The objective of this new service is to offer an early ‘de-risking’ approach, which in turn delivers long-term cost efficiencies for clients.  This appointment represents further investment in specialised expertise as Howden commits to bolstering its sustainable energy initiative.

Hegelbach joins from Willis, where he was Divisional Director in the Financial Solutions team and focused on providing insurance and risk management advice to lenders on structured project finance deals across the world.  Prior to this, he worked as an energy underwriter for Swiss Re, focusing on power and utilities, oil and gas, and mining risks. He has also held positions at Credit Suisse, Siemens and the Advisory House.

Based in São Paulo, Brazil, Hegelbach will report to Head of Sustainable Energy, Deborah Duss and will work closely with the sustainable energy team across Howden Specialty’s hubs in London, Miami, Singapore, Dubai, Bermuda and Luxembourg, whilst being embedded in the Howden Brazil team and collaborating with these colleagues on local initiatives.

Commenting on his appointment, Duss said: “Being able to offer our sustainable energy clients a dedicated advisory service alongside our specialist broking expertise will ensure they benefit from the best possible results in the long term, and will further expand our growing portfolio of renewables clients.  Severin’s energy underwriting background, financial advisory experience, deep technical knowledge and passion for renewable energy makes him uniquely qualified to lead this new service.”

Hegelbach added: “I’m excited to be joining Howden’s sustainable energy initiative at such a pivotal moment for the company and the sector, as the team continues to expand, and clients place an increasing emphasis on sustainability risks.

Howden continues to prove itself to be an innovator in the field of sustainability, demonstrating an agility to respond both to client needs and emerging risks.  No renewable project is the same, so I look forward to working closely with Howden’s existing and future clients to enable them to manage their risks in a proactive way at the earliest possible stage, delivering bespoke de-risking approaches tailored to client’s individual needs.”

Wishing you happiness and prosperity in the coming year! Please click on the video to view our card, designed by our competition winner Hazel, aged 7, who is the daughter of a colleague based in our Hong Kong office.

Howden Specialty’s Marine team have released their 2020-2021 P&I review, intended to provide our current and prospective clients with a comprehensive analysis of the P&I market, assisting them to make informed decisions on their insurance arrangements and providing balance to the anticipated position of each P&I provider. You can download the review here.

We hope this review provides some of the data you will need to make the right decisions at forthcoming renewals, we are of course on hand to provide
further analysis and support you through the process.  If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact our Head of Marine, Danny Whiteside.

Season’s Greetings from everyone at Howden Specialty!

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Naresh Dade to lead our rapidly growing construction practice and drive Howden’s ambition to grow our global construction capability. Dade will be based in London.

Paul Redgate, Head of Howden Specialty says: “Our aspiration has been, for some time, to significantly elevate our offering to construction industry clients. Against the backdrop of challenging market conditions and diminished broker choice for clients, the time is right for us to be launching a much enhanced global construction capability in response to clear client and market demand.

Dade, formerly Senior Vice President, Construction, Marsh JLT Specialty, New York who will join as Managing Director, Howden Global Construction practice, says:  “This is a fantastic opportunity to join a highly ambitious company with an appetite to build a construction practice that will rival anything else in the market.  By building on Howden’s already strong foundations with further investment in the very best construction experts, it will provide a compelling retail and specialty proposition.  It also offers Howden as a natural alternative in a market currently providing limited choice for insureds and limited distribution for insurers.”

Andy Bragoli, CEO, Howden Insurance Brokers Limited says: “This represents another opportunity to bring our specialty offering closer to clients and offer them industry-leading specialist advice.  By patiently and thoughtfully investing in our construction practice, we are combining the talents of our in-house team with further expertise from some of the leading practitioners in the market.  Our ability to hire top talent demonstrates that Howden is the alternative of choice for both the entrepreneurial-minded and also clients who value choice and exceptional service delivery.”