POLITICAL RISK REPORT - Insurance Insider...POLITICAL RISK 2019 04 Return to contents METHODOLOGY...

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POLITICAL RISK REPORT

2019

ReinsuranceSecurityResearch

In association with

02POLITICAL RISK 2019

RANKINGS SERIES 2019

Ever wondered…

Key product features:c Ranking of the best-rated

underwriters and brokersc Ranking of underwriting firms

and broking housesc Individual profile views for top-

ranked underwriters and brokersc Segmentation of the overall

results to identify voting trends within different cohorts of respondents

c Attribute analysis providing a view of top-rated individuals’ scores across different traits

c Comprehensive discussion and analysis of results

c Sample analysis

Who are the best?How do you rate?Where can your team improve?

Find the answers in The Insurance Insider Rankings series – the independent assessment of underwriters and brokers.

SERIES 2019

Rankings report 2019 Publication date

US Property Cat April 2019

Political Risk July 2019

Political Violence August 2019*

Cyber September 2019*

D&O December 2019*

*Anticipated publication date

The full collection

USPROPERTYCAT REPORT

2019

insuranceinsider.com insuranceinsider.com

POLITICAL RISK REPORT

2019


POLITICAL VIOLENCE REPORT 2019


CYBER REPORT2019


D O REPORT2019


INTRODUCTION

Foreword

ContentsHow does it work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .04Sample analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .06 Lead article . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .08Overall rankings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Industry analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19Company rankings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21Concentration analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Attribute rating analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33Rising stars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Segmented underwriter rankings . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40Segmented broker rankings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 Top 20 underwriter profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55Top 20 broker profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70Notes and people changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87

Dear friend,

Welcome to The Insurance Insider’s Political Risk Rankings report 2019 – a FREE taste of the highly valuable and statistically significant work our superb research team has been getting involved in .

The Insurance Insider has always prided itself on its unparalleled direct contact with the marketplace, but our exploration of the data science of rankings has taken this to a new level . Now that we are in our third year, the data is getting richer and more valuable .

This powerful work not only identifies the best and the brightest; it also explains in granular detail why they are at the top of their respective trees .

In short, this report will tell you:c Who the best political risk professionals

in the London market are and why .c How and where your team could and

should improve in order to keep ahead of competitors .

c Who you should be doing more business with .

The report also looks at some aggregate trends. Here are some of the things we found this year: c Broker talent continues to be

concentrated among fewer firms amid a growing underwriting marketplace . Our survey now identifies four underwriting firms for every broking house ranked .

c The podium for brokers has remained pretty much unchanged since the survey started three years ago . Additionally, BPL Global’s and Lockton’s teams now account for more than half of all nominations given by underwriters .

c Except for Tokio Marine HCC’s Jerome Swinscoe, the podium for underwriters has shown different faces over the last three years – this matched the changes to the list of companies making it to the top .

c ‘Creativity’ continues to be the attribute with the lowest average score for both brokers and underwriters, but the gap between this characteristic and other broking and underwriting skills has been narrowing since the survey started .

Now who wouldn’t want to know all that?The information this report provides is also highly granular . This means you can see which underwriters play better to longer-serving brokers versus shorter-serving ones, as well as bigger versus smaller ones .

It’s as valuable for brokers as it is for underwriters .

However you want to slice it is up to you . The insights it will bring are for you to define and to benefit from .

I hope you enjoy the read .


Return to contentsMETHODOLOGY

The surveyThe Insurance Insider Political Risk Rankings 2019 is the latest of an annual survey of talent in this specific class of business . The survey ran from 20 March to 3 May 2019, concurrently with our Political Violence survey, although both are completely independent from each other .

In both cases, the surveys were conducted for the third year running and undertaken by The Insurance Insider’s research team as part of the Rankings series . This covers a range of classes of business including Cyber, US Property Cat and D&O .

Respondents and nomineesThe survey is addressed exclusively to brokers and underwriters operating in political risk in the London market .

As with the rest of The Insurance Insider’s Rankings series, this is a two-way survey by which underwriters nominate the best brokers and brokers nominate the best underwriters .

A total of 555 professionals – 280 underwriters and 275 brokers – were individually invited to vote in 2019 .

The number of validated nominations stood at 495, a 7 .8 percent increase on last year .

A total of 96 underwriters and 85 brokers were nominated and ranked out of the 555 professionals on our screened database . As such, the talent assessed by the survey covers the top third of the distribution .

Nominations and scoringThe survey is individual-based so respondents only nominate and score the best professionals, not companies .

However, individual results are aggregated to also derive company rankings . Based on nominations received by their staff, a total of 41 underwriting firms and 11 broking houses were identified in the 2019

How does it work?

c A total of 555 professionals – 280 underwriters and 275 brokers – were individually invited to vote in 2019

c The number of validated nominations stood at 495, a 7 .8 percent increase with respect to last year

c A total of 96 brokers and 85 underwriters were nominated and ranked – out of the 555 professionals on our screened database

c As such, the talent assessed by the survey covers the top third of the distribution

c Based on nominations received by their staff, a total of 41 underwriting firms and 11 broking houses were identified in the 2019 survey

c This compared with 36 underwriting companies and 14 broking houses the previous year

Attributes of underwriters:c Knowledge/experience: Deep technical and regulatory knowledge of the

risk . Can provide on-the-spot advice and guidance .c Negotiating skills: Effective negotiator across a variety of contexts, can

come up with solutions that leave both sides feeling they have not lost .c Fast response/work ethic: Praised for his/her availability, fast response . A

‘no stone unturned’ philosophy .c Communication skills: Good at explaining their reasoning/decision .c Creativity: Ability to improvise and go outside of the usual to meet client

needs .c Consistency: In step with the market . A consistent behaviour or treatment

of risks and relationships .

‘Rising stars’ were defined as those with three years’ experience or less in the London political risk space .

Ranking resultsThe ranking of underwriters and brokers is calculated using a scoring method known as Borda count, which assigns three points to any respondent’s top choice, two points to the second position and one to the third place .

This method provides consistent weighting to each vote while accounting for voters’ order of preference, hence providing the best representation of market preferences .

Borda count is used extensively in other popular ranking awards such as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award and the Eurovision Song Contest .

Attribute rating and testimonialsWhen nominating the top three professionals, respondents are asked to mark them on specifically defined attributes .

These qualities define the best underwriting and broking practices .

There are six attributes defining the best underwriting standards and eight for the best broking practices, against which nominees are rated .

survey . This compared with 36 underwriting companies and 14 broking houses the previous year .

The survey also allowed participants to vote for the best ‘rising star’ in political risk in the previous year (again with brokers electing underwriters and underwriters choosing brokers) .


Return to contents

Respondents are also invited to provide a statement with their main consideration behind each of their designations .

Response validation and data integrityComplete confidentiality is offered to all participants, allowing for honest and trustworthy scores and testimonials .

Surveys are mainly conducted online but the data collection process is complemented with phone calls to ensure the required levels of participation .

Time and IP tracking is combined with analyst validation of all individual records to ensure data integrity .

Participation and statistical significanceA screened list of potential respondents is used to track and monitor participation rates throughout the survey .

Minimum levels of participation are set so as to achieve a maximum error margin of 10% of overall scores at a 95% confidence level .

This means that the final sample size is sufficiently large so as to ensure that ranking scores remain unchallenged if the survey were to be run repeatedly .

In other words, if we were to run the survey 100 times and an individual’s score was 30, then 95 times out of 100 their score should be contained between 27 and 33, ensuring a relatively stable position in the ranking table .

Attributes of brokers:c Risk knowledge: Level of preparation and

understanding of the risk in order to select the most appropriate markets and present the risk effectively to underwriters

c Honesty/integrity: Quality of being trustworthy and holding high work and personal standards

c Reasoning: Capacity to provide winning arguments and communicate effectively across a variety of contexts

c Analytical skills: Knowledge of which markets will provide best-value cover for a given risk

c Diligence: Year-round attention to the account throughout its whole cycle; good record-keeping .

c Ownership: Willingness to respond when things go wrong for the client . Quality of interaction with the claims team

c Consistency: Focus on long-term value for the client as opposed to short-term price gains

c Creativity: Ability to work around a problem with the underwriter and/or client . Ability to improvise and to go outside the usual to meet client needs

Filtering of The Insurance Insider contact database + identification of relevant

companies

Targeted list completed

Research data about professionals using

companies’ websites

Validate each individual entry using LinkedIn

Invite contacts to vote

Contact participant and request more

information on nominee

Acknowledge vote and confirm authenticity of

participant

Check for similar profiles on LinkedIn

Check and validate submissions

Are all relevant contacts

already in our targeted list?

Are all three nominees

known in our targeted list?

Yes

Yes

No

No

METHODOLOGY

Generating survey target list


Return to contentsSAMPLE ANALYSIS

Sample analysis

25%

21%35%

11%

8%

Brokers

0 - 3 years3 - 5 years5 - 10 years10 - 20 years> 20 years

14%

12%

30%

32%

12%

Underwriters

This year, 74 percent of underwriters who took part in the survey had over five years’ experience in London’s political risk insurance market while 26 percent had under five years’ experience .

Meanwhile, younger voters made up a larger proportion on the broking side – some 46 percent of brokers had up to five years’ experience while the remaining 54 percent had over five years’ experience .


Return to contentsSAMPLE ANALYSIS

Company affiliation of respondents – underwritersAcappella Chaucer

AIG Chubb

Allied World Euler Hermes

AmTrust Fidelis Insurance

Antares Hiscox

Anvil Underwriting Lancashire Insurance

Apollo Liberty Specialty Markets

Argenta Syndicate Management MS Amlin

ArgoGlobal Neon

Ark Pembroke

Ascot QBE

Aspen Sompo International

Atradius Starstone

Axa XL Swiss Re Corporate Solutions

Axis Capital Talbot Underwriting

Barbican The Channel Syndicate

Beazley Tokio Marine HCC

Brit Insurance Tokio Marine Kiln

Canopius WR Berkley

Castel

Company affiliation of respondents – brokersAon

Arthur J . Gallagher

BPL Global

Channing Lucas and Partners

Lockton

Marsh-JLT Specialty

Miller Insurance Services

PIB Insurance Brokers

RFIB

RKH Specialty

Texel Finance

Willis Towers Watson

9%

11%

15%

53%

12%

15%

25%

15%

41%

4%

0 - £2mn

£2mn - £5mn

£5mn - £10mn

> £10mn

undisclosed

Respondents by premiums written/intermediated

Brokers Underwriters

2%2% 2%

30%

64%

Respondents by line of business they actively trade in

Other

Political risk and violence

Standalone political risk

Political risk and trade credit

Political risk and structuredtrade credit


Return to contentsLEAD ARTICLE

More than ever, banks are turning to the London insurance market to offset credit risk . Lenders are being pushed by Basel III regulations and the early adoption of even more rigorous Basel IV and CRD IV standards, while sources report an increase in bank activity over the first half of 2019 in order to get deals over the line .

Banks are already among the most active buyers of political risk and structured trade credit cover, and are looking to regain flexibility to lend more by moving risk off the balance sheet .

For trade finance risks, there has long been a lively secondary market for moving risks between banks .

But selling a risk to a rival can introduce a competitor to a transaction, whereas the advantage of credit insurance is that it is silent .

As managing director of financial solutions at Willis Towers Watson Andrew van den Born explains:

“Whilst the primary initial driver for many banks was regulatory capital relief, increasingly banks are utilising the product to enable them do more with their existing clients . This could be in the form of larger tickets or simply providing their clients with more liquidity .”

For the largest risks, such as credit facilities for major commodity traders, syndicated lending helps banks spread the load .

But once a risk is on a bank’s books, a variety of approaches can be deployed to remove it – either to hedge it with a derivative, sell it to a fund or insure it .

Jean-Francois Lambert, managing partner of the advisory firm Lambert Commodities, says that in the last two months there has been much stronger interest among banks for insurance products to cover risk .

Bank credit committees are now routinely demanding insurance cover be in place for a deal to be approved .

“If you want to book a large deal, you’d better have insurance,” he explains .

Brokers are bringing increased business from banks in Europe, Asia and Australia, a broking source told The Insurance Insider .

However, US banks are less enthusiastic users of the credit insurance market, in part because of New York’s law on financial guarantees, the source added .

The city’s legislation, introduced in 2015, makes it more complicated for banks to structure credit insurance deals .

Lambert, a former global head of commodity trade finance at HSBC, says that a volatile outlook for the global political economy is causing banks to buy more insurance .

“There is a lot of uncertainty at the moment . These are not times when you want to grow your loan portfolio significantly . A good way to grow it is through insurance as a risk mitigator”

Lambert’s perspective is echoed by an underwriting source, who explains: “The biggest driver is Basel IV . We are seeing new banks coming into the market .”

French bank Credit Agricole, for example, has increased its use of credit insurance fivefold in the last four years, trade publication Risk reported in January .

Bank appetite for credit insurance on the rise

“ Bank credit committees are now routinely demanding insurance cover be in place for a deal to be approved”


Return to contentsLEAD ARTICLE

Banks are moving away from offloading their own risk into the derivatives market .

Credit default swaps (CDS), the securities that swamped the global financial system with toxic liabilities in the run up to the 2008 financial crisis, have fallen out of fashion .

Data from the Bank of International Settlements shows that outstanding CDS contracts have fallen from $61 .2tn at the end of 2007 to $9 .4tn at the end of 2017 .

The CDS market is in a “complicated phase”, according to Lambert .

“In order to trigger a CDS you need to prove a default .”

Van den Born explains that “credit insurance is getting increasing prominence” over other forms of risk mitigation .

“A CDS, which may not always be available, is arguably an imperfect hedge as it carries basis risk,” he says, conjuring images of an illiquid and failing AIG during the financial crisis .

The Willis Towers Watson broker adds: “Credit insurance can oftentimes be cheaper with no difference in capital treatment for the bank .”

These changes in the derivatives market are a gift to credit insurers .

An insurance broker argues that “non-payment insurance works better than CDS because the product can be tailored” .

Another disadvantage of CDS from a bank’s perspective is that such deals have to be marked to market, while credit insurance can cover almost all the loan – although insurance underwriters like to keep bankers honest by getting them to maintain a slice of the credit risk as ‘skin in the game’ .

Moreover, derivatives work best for liquid securities like bonds . They are less helpful when it comes to the world of trade finance, the multi-trillion-dollar market that underpins global trade .

Lambert says: “People are getting more cautious with the CDS . It’s used by capital markets guys . . . It’s not practical for trade finance .”

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

H2

2005

H1

2008

H2

2010

H1

2013

H2

2015

H1

2018

$tn

Credit default swaps

Single-name Multi-name

Source: Bank for International Settlements, The Insurance Insider


Return to contentsOVERALL RANKINGS DISCUSSION

Swinscoe and Wetherell retain lead positions

Jerome Swinscoe, the CUO for the credit group at Tokio Marine HCC, has been voted as the best political risk underwriter for the second year running with an overall score of 33 .

The competition was close this year, as he only finished two points ahead of runner-up James Wilson of Chubb . This compares to a 13-point lead in the 2018 ranking .

Swinscoe has been a London market underwriter for over 14 years, with previous roles at Wellington Syndicate 2020 and Catlin Underwriting Agencies, having initially spent three years as a political risk consultant at Marsh .

Propelled by his performance at Lloyd’s, Swinscoe has made it onto the political risk league table in all three years the survey has been running . He secured 14 votes from four different broking houses this year .

Brokers from Lockton were Swinscoe’s biggest supporters as they accounted for half of his voter base, while four of the 14 votes he received came from Marsh-JLT Specialty .

In comparison, Swinscoe captured 16 votes in the 2018 edition of the survey, and his voter base then was more varied, consisting of six different broking houses .

c A total of 85 underwriters and 96 brokers were identified on the 2019 rankings

c Lockton’s Chris Wetherell defended his title as the best political risk broker for the third year in a row

c Four of the top 10 ranked brokers were from Locktonc Jerome Swinscoe of Tokio Marine HCC claimed the top underwriting

position for the second consecutive year

3

4

3

3

2

2

2

3

3

8

10

10

4

2

6

8

8

6

6

33

27

12

18

18

9

6

3

3

3

(1) Chris Wetherell, Lockton

(2) Charlie Radcli�e, BPL Global

(3) Andrew Barr, Texel Finance

(3) Matthew Golding, Lockton

(5) David Coupland, Lockton

(6) Simon Bessant, Texel Finance

(7) Nick McBride, Lockton

(8) Charlotte Hampshire, BPL Global

(9) Sam Evans, BPL Global

(9) Thomas Holmes, Miller Insurance Services

44

41

25

25

20

17

16

13

12

12

Top-ranked political risk brokers 2019

Ove

rall

scor

e

Third place score

Second place score

Top choice score


Return to contents

As for voters’ experience in the political risk market, half of Swinscoe’s votes came from brokers with five to 10 years’ experience in the 2018 ranking .

This year, the same cohort was behind four of the 14 votes he received as nominations were in fact more evenly distributed across cohorts .

In the 2017 ranking, Swinscoe had come second to Chaucer’s Nick Kilhams . However, this year Kilhams ranked in joint seventh .

Indeed, there was a shake-up at the top of the underwriting podium in 2019 as second-ranked James Wilson of Chubb and third-placed Richard Hutton of Beazley had not featured in the top three before this year .

Wilson, who started out at Catlin in 2009 before moving to Chubb as a senior underwriter in 2014, was placed in seventh .

Meanwhile, Hutton – who has been an underwriter for just three years – was ranked 14th in 2018, having not made it into the overall ranking in 2017 . Hutton started his insurance career as a broker at Aon in 2013 before moving to Beazley in 2016 .

As for the fallers, Liberty Specialty Markets’ Peter Sprent was runner-up in 2018, but this year fell to number 27 . His nominations fell considerably from 10 votes in 2018 to just two this year .

Sprent landed fifth place in the inaugural 2017 ranking .

Patricia Mills, formerly at Chaucer, dropped out of the ranking completely this year after rising to third in 2018 . She has since moved to Validus Re in Bermuda .

Likewise, William Steeds – formerly of XL Catlin – did not feature on the league table this year after ranking third in 2017 and sixth in 2018 .

OVERALL RANKINGS DISCUSSION

3

3

1

3

3

1

7

6

10

10

10

10

6

4

6

10

6

2

24

21

9

9

6

9

12

9

6

9

6

(1) Jerome Swinscoe, Tokio Marine HCC

(2) James Wilson, Chubb

(3) Richard Hutton, Beazley

(4) Nick Oxley, MS Amlin

(5) Neil Edwards, Chaucer

(6) Jeremy Shallow, ArgoGlobal

(7) Ian Nunn, Axa XL

(7) Jamie Cleary, MS Amlin

(7) Nick Kilhams, Chaucer

(10) Richard Lamb, Axis Capital(10) Sundeep Daddar, W/R/B Underwriting

33

31

22

20

19

18

16

16

16

15

15

Ove

rall

scor

e

Top-ranked political risk underwriters 2019

Third place score

Second place score

Top choice score


Return to contents

Steeds left XL Catlin (now Axa XL) and was placed on gardening leave just after last year’s Political Risk Rankings results were revealed in May 2018 . He was inactive for much of the period of reference of our survey, having only joined Apollo Syndicate 1969 in April this year .

Elsewhere, MS Amlin’s Nick Oxley made considerable progress in 2019’s ranking as he finished in fourth place after sharing 14th place last year with Hutton .

The pair were among the most significant risers of the 2019 ranking as they both, on average, doubled their vote counts year on year .

However, it was a close race between Oxley and fifth-placed Neil Edwards of Chaucer, with a one-point difference in overall scores between the two .

Brokers rankingCompetition was similarly close on the broking side . Lockton’s Chris Wetherell secured the top spot for the third consecutive year, but it was a tight race between first and second .

In fact, the same number of underwriters voted for Wetherell and BPL Global’s Charlie Radcliffe, who ranked at number two, for the second year running .

However, Wetherell received more votes from underwriters placing him as their top broker, which led to the Lockton broker beating Radcliffe by three points overall .

Under the Borda count method, a nominee gets three points for being named a respondent’s top choice, two

for second and one point for third .Radcliffe joined BPL Global in 2008

directly from university and became a director in 2014 .

Wetherell is a market veteran in the political risk and credit insurance space – he has been working in the industry and at Lockton for over 17 years . Three of every five votes he received came from underwriters who have been active in the political risk market for more than a decade .

His support base is also broad in terms of underwriting firms . Over the last three years, Wetherell has garnered votes from underwriters at 23 different companies in total . In 2019, his 18 votes came from underwriters at 14 different companies .

One underwriter described Wetherell as “an absolute titan of the broking market” and added that “he lives and breathes the market” .

Wetherell was one of seven Lockton brokers named in the 2019 ranking . He collected 18 of the 48 votes given to Lockton brokers while joint-third-placed Matthew Golding – also at Lockton – took up 11 of the votes for the broking house .

Despite BPL Global’s brokers garnering the largest number of votes as a total of all firms, Lockton brokers dominated the top five positions of the ranking, including David Coupland landing fifth .

Golding shared the third spot with Texel Finance’s Andrew Barr, with both reaching an overall score of 25 –16 points behind second-placed Radcliffe .

OVERALL RANKINGS DISCUSSION

“ One underwriter described Wetherell as ‘an absolute titan of the broking market’ and added that ‘he lives and breathes the market’”


Return to contentsOVERALL RANKINGS

Overall rank 2019

Overall rank 2018

Overall rank 2017

Underwriter Company Overall score

Overall vote count

% of top choice votes

% of second place votes

% of third place votes

1 1 2 Jerome Swinscoe Tokio Marine HCC 33 14 57% 21% 21%

2 7 5 James Wilson Chubb 31 12 58% 42% 0%

3 14 NR Richard Hutton Beazley 22 11 27% 45% 27%

4 14 42 Nick Oxley MS Amlin 20 9 33% 56% 11%

5 4 26 Neil Edwards Chaucer 19 10 20% 50% 30%

6 12 7 Jeremy Shallow ArgoGlobal 18 9 33% 33% 33%

7 11 33 Ian Nunn Axa XL 16 6 67% 33% 0%

7 24 22 Jamie Cleary MS Amlin 16 7 43% 43% 14%

7 7 1 Nick Kilhams Chaucer 16 7 29% 71% 0%

10 5 9 Richard Lamb Axis Capital 15 6 50% 50% 0%

10 30 8 Sundeep Daddar W/R/B Underwriting

15 10 20% 10% 70%

12 30 54 Edward Ashton Tokio Marine HCC 14 7 29% 43% 29%

13 50 9 Adam Bowen Tokio Marine HCC 13 5 60% 40% 0%

14 20 33 James Thomas Antares 12 6 17% 67% 17%

15 NR NR Dan Osman Aspen 10 4 50% 50% 0%

16 16 14 Adam Vulliamy Axis Capital 9 5 40% 0% 60%

16 NR 26 Norm Kimber Swiss Re Corporate Solutions

9 3 100% 0% 0%

16 17 9 Sophie Demeyer Sovereign Risk Insurance

9 3 100% 0% 0%

19 30 NR Neil Beattie Beazley 8 4 50% 0% 50%

19 27 NR Sam Wilde Liberty Specialty Markets

8 4 50% 0% 50%

Underwriter ranking – top 20

“ Jerome is very knowledgeable, has a very good work ethic and has the ability to review challenging risks and structures quickly and effectively. He is well-respected by his peers, brokers and clients alike” [Referring to Jerome Swinscoe, Tokio Marine HCC]



Underwriter ranking – continued

Overall rank 2019

Overall rank 2018

Overall rank 2017


Overall vote count

21 61 NR Jack Keatings MS Amlin 7 3

21 7 14 James Bamford Talbot Underwriting 7 5

21 24 19 Kade Spears The Channel Syndicate 7 4

24 NR 42 Deborah Wyatt Chaucer 6 4

24 61 22 James Morrell Brit Insurance 6 4

24 20 14 Matthew Woollam Sompo International 6 2

27 20 4 Daniel Byrne Aspen 5 2

27 30 26 Mark Palmer Argenta 5 2

27 50 54 Mathew Rothwell Ark 5 2

27 61 NR Olivia Wright Chubb 5 2

27 2 5 Peter Sprent Liberty Specialty Markets 5 2

27 61 54 Stefaniya Ilina Axis Capital 5 2

33 NR NR Arati Summanwar Credendo 4 2

33 27 NR Christian Hanna W/R/B Underwriting 4 3

33 NR NR Conor Shelley Barbican 4 2

33 NR NR Craig Hunter Axa XL 4 2

33 30 NR Edward Cornish Nexus Underwriting 4 2

33 NR NR Iwan Jenkins Axis Capital 4 2

33 20 42 Julian Edwards Chubb 4 2

33 NR 42 Mark Lichfield Ark 4 4

33 50 NR Paul Carrington Neon 4 2

33 61 19 Roddy Barnett Beazley 4 2

33 38 54 Simon Low Starstone Insurance Services 4 2

33 38 NR William Tripp Allied World 4 2

45 24 33 Andrew Bickmore Talbot Underwriting 3 2

45 NR NR Andrew Perry Munich Re Syndicate 3 3

45 61 50 Antony Russo Axa XL 3 2

45 NR NR David Lineham Aegis London 3 2

45 NR NR David Watson Axis Capital 3 1

45 NR NR Maggie Nicol AIG 3 1

45 38 NR Mimi Rumpeltin Everest Insurance 3 2



Underwriter ranking – continued

Overall rank 2019

Overall rank 2018

Overall rank 2017


Overall vote count

45 10 19 Murray Ross Chubb 3 1

45 NR NR Tim Phillips Canopius 3 2

45 NR NR Victoria Chappell Munich Re Syndicate 3 1

55 38 54 Andrew Underwood Axa XL 2 1

55 NR NR Andy Summers ArgoGlobal 2 2

55 NR NR Carl Titterton Markel International 2 1

55 NR NR Chris Hall Liberty Specialty Markets 2 1

55 38 NR Edward Fox AmTrust 2 2

55 30 33 Edward Parker Tokio Marine Kiln 2 2

55 NR NR Elliot Minton Liberty Specialty Markets 2 1

55 NR NR Francesca Thompson ArgoGlobal 2 1

55 61 NR George Bolton Chubb 2 1

55 NR NR James Welby The Channel Syndicate 2 1

55 61 NR Katherine Henderson AmTrust 2 1

55 NR NR Matt Lockwood QBE Europe 2 1

55 NR NR Megha Khanduja Axa XL 2 1

55 61 NR Navaid Farooq Anvil Underwriting 2 1

55 NR NR Rebecca Marsden Canopius 2 1

55 17 26 Susie James Sompo International 2 2

55 NR NR Tim Brown AIG 2 1

55 NR NR Tom Dillon Atradius 2 1

55 50 NR William Whittington Euler Hermes UK 2 1

74 NR NR Daniel Sutherland AmTrust 1 1

74 NR NR Dominic Hanly Sompo International 1 1

74 61 26 Florence Mognetti Acappella 1 1

74 NR NR Gary Geller Atradius 1 1

74 38 NR Gavin White Axis Capital 1 1

74 30 26 Henry Mumme Young

The Channel Syndicate 1 1

74 NR NR Mike Clements Tokio Marine HCC 1 1

74 NR NR Paddy Harman Euler Hermes UK 1 1

74 NR NR Patrick Allen MS Amlin 1 1

74 NR 50 Rachael Anstock Zurich 1 1

74 NR NR Stephen Pike Canopius 1 1

74 NR NR Thomas White Castel 1 1



Broker ranking – top 20

Overall rank 2019

Overall rank 2018

Overall rank 2017

Broker Company Overall score

Overall vote count

% of top choice votes

% of second place votes

% of third place votes

1 1 1 Chris Wetherell Lockton 44 18 61% 22% 17%

2 2 3 Charlie Radcliffe BPL Global 41 18 50% 28% 22%

3 4 5 Andrew Barr Texel Finance 25 12 33% 42% 25%

3 9 16 Matthew Golding Lockton 25 11 55% 18% 27%

5 10 16 David Coupland Lockton 20 7 86% 14% 0%

6 3 2 Simon Bessant Texel Finance 17 8 38% 38% 25%

7 14 NR Nick McBride Lockton 16 8 25% 50% 25%

8 14 40 Charlotte Hampshire

BPL Global 13 7 14% 57% 29%

9 33 16 Sam Evans BPL Global 12 7 14% 43% 43%

9 5 8 Thomas Holmes Miller Insurance Services

12 7 14% 43% 43%

11 7 4 James Reynolds BPL Global 10 6 17% 33% 50%

11 17 40 Toby Heppel RFIB 10 4 50% 50% 0%

13 14 NR Tim Hughes BPL Global 9 4 50% 25% 25%

14 33 23 Kerry Magnus Marsh-JLT Specialty

7 4 25% 25% 50%

14 21 23 Sean Austin BPL Global 7 3 67% 0% 33%

14 21 NR Tom Stansfield Marsh-JLT Specialty

7 3 67% 0% 33%

17 NR NR Charles Purvis Lockton 6 2 100% 0% 0%

17 48 NR Dermot Brindley BPL Global 6 3 33% 33% 33%

17 NR NR Flora Barr BPL Global 6 3 33% 33% 33%

17 17 20 Neil Galletti RKH Specialty 6 2 100% 0% 0%

“ Chris has been number one on this list for a while and rightly deserves this place again as he stands out from all other brokers in the unwavering service he provides his clients, the knowledge he has of the market and his unparalleled ability to get all parties to a balanced compromise ultimately to his clients’ benefit” [Referring to Chris Wetherell, Lockton]



Broker ranking – continued

Overall rank 2019

Overall rank 2018

Overall rank 2017


Overall vote count

21 33 55 Eran Charit Aon 5 3

21 48 NR Hannah Bearman Willis Towers Watson 5 2

21 33 29 Mark Gubbins Arthur J . Gallagher 5 2

21 68 8 Reshma Tanna BPL Global 5 3

21 28 NR Samuel Brown Aon 5 3

21 NR 40 Tom Cary BPL Global 5 3

21 NR NR Victoria Stratton BPL Global 5 3

28 68 11 Alastair McLeod Marsh-JLT Specialty 4 2

28 48 NR Alice Clarkson Aon 4 2

28 11 55 Benjamin Gibbons Miller Insurance Services 4 2

28 17 29 Emma Ashworth BPL Global 4 2

28 7 8 Fabrizio Mazza Marsh-JLT Specialty 4 2

28 68 NR Marcus Miller Marsh-JLT Specialty 4 2

28 NR NR Oliver Bowes RKH Specialty 4 2

28 NR NR William Harrison Marsh-JLT Specialty 4 2

36 21 12 Ailsa McNeil Texel Finance 3 2

36 NR NR Archie Young Herries Willis Towers Watson 3 1

36 NR NR Constantijn Bakker Willis Towers Watson 3 1

36 NR 29 Flavia Pritchard Marsh-JLT Specialty 3 1

36 28 6 James Esdaile BPL Global 3 2

36 NR 40 James Gearing Texel Finance 3 1

36 NR NR Joe Bennett BPL Global 3 2

36 48 NR Jonathan Lofts BPL Global 3 1

36 NR NR Lydia Ashby Arthur J . Gallagher 3 1

36 21 6 Matthew Solley Arthur J . Gallagher 3 1

36 11 NR Michael Swainsbury Marsh-JLT Specialty 3 1

36 NR 23 Miles Robinson RKH Specialty 3 2

36 21 12 Peter Hornsby Lockton 3 1

36 48 NR Sarah Taylor Aon 3 1

36 68 NR Theo Varenne Marsh-JLT Specialty 3 1

36 NR NR Thomas Rutherford RFIB 3 1

36 28 NR Toby Findlay RKH Specialty 3 2

53 11 55 Alastair Hill Willis Towers Watson 2 2

53 NR 29 Alex Harvey BPL Global 2 1

53 NR NR Alexandre Bueno Marsh-JLT Specialty 2 1

53 68 23 Andrew Gray Marsh-JLT Specialty 2 1

53 48 NR Angus Plumbly BPL Global 2 1

53 21 14 Axelle Lacaze Marsh-JLT Specialty 2 1



Overall rank 2019

Overall rank 2018

Overall rank 2017


Overall vote count

53 NR NR Benjamin Mansbridge Willis Towers Watson 2 2

53 48 55 Charles Berry BPL Global 2 1

53 33 NR Charles Grace BPL Global 2 1

53 68 NR Emma Quinlan Willis Towers Watson 2 1

53 NR NR Fred Scriven RKH Specialty 2 1

53 NR NR Hamish Buchanan Willis Towers Watson 2 1

53 28 40 James Pryar RKH Specialty 2 1

53 NR NR James Seddon Brown Willis Towers Watson 2 1

53 NR NR Kazimierz Layton Willis Towers Watson 2 1

53 NR 29 Paul Torrington BPL Global 2 1

53 NR NR Shahin Samiy RFIB 2 1

53 NR NR Sian Aspinall BPL Global 2 1

53 NR NR Sophie Twiston Davies Marsh-JLT Specialty 2 1

53 NR NR Vlad Bobko Aon 2 1

73 NR NR Abbey Sturrock Marsh-JLT Specialty 1 1

73 NR NR Andrew Gray RKH Specialty 1 1

73 NR NR Annabel Farrant BPL Global 1 1

73 NR NR Chris Pritchard Miller Insurance Services 1 1

73 NR NR David Evans Arthur J . Gallagher 1 1

73 NR 40 Emma Coffin Willis Towers Watson 1 1

73 33 NR George Bellord BPL Global 1 1

73 68 NR George Pitcher Marsh-JLT Specialty 1 1

73 NR 55 Ian Barnes Miller Insurance Services 1 1

73 21 20 James Cunningham Miller Insurance Services 1 1

73 48 NR Jamie Stephenson RKH Specialty 1 1

73 6 NR Jamie Stork Marsh-JLT Specialty 1 1

73 NR NR Kate Parry Crooke Willis Towers Watson 1 1

73 48 40 Katie Fowler Texel Finance 1 1

73 68 NR Laurie Flaux Aon 1 1

73 NR NR Marina Cottaris Marsh-JLT Specialty 1 1

73 NR NR Matthew Strong Marsh-JLT Specialty 1 1

73 NR 55 Nikki Hawthorne Texel Finance 1 1

73 68 55 Paul Davidson Willis Towers Watson 1 1

73 NR NR Rupert Morgan Arthur J . Gallagher 1 1

73 NR NR Sara Wetherell Lockton 1 1

73 NR 55 Toby Childs BMS Group 1 1

73 NR NR Tom Gladdle Arthur J . Gallagher 1 1

73 NR NR William Day Robinson

Arthur J . Gallagher 1 1

Broker ranking – continued


Return to contentsINDUSTRY ANALYSIS

Threat from PRA to market passes

A canvass of the London political risk market found a sense of optimism after the scrapping of controversial regulatory proposals from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) .

The UK regulator mooted the idea of making insurers pay up the moment a default took place .

In reality, it takes years for claims to be worked out . Political risk buyers such as banks, trading houses and corporations are often loath to give up their rights to a recovery, and would prefer to take their chances in negotiations than put in an insurance claim .

Banks push at “every avenue” before putting in a claim, according to one Lime Street source .

“There can be quite a delay between losses occurring and getting paid,” they said .

Conversely, the long-tail nature of political risk and trade credit insurance means that some losses end up being repaid years down the line .

In one case, a Lloyd’s political risk underwriter found himself the proud owner of a ship, subrogated from a Southeast Asian dockyard

that went bankrupt . The syndicate ran the vessel for

several years before returning it to its grateful insurance customer .

The market had feared that the PRA proposals would have a chilling effect on demand from banks .

Luckily for brokers and underwriters, the PRA has backed down .

The regulator said in March that it “has decided not to implement the proposal around the meaning of ‘pay out in a timely manner’” .

“PRA acknowledges that there may be difficulties in applying a single measure of timeliness to all the different products,” it stated .

In fact, the outcome of the PRA consultation process has clarified the importance of including political risk cover when structured trade credit insurance is offered to banks .

Credit insurance which does not include political risk and cyber cover could be contrary to regulations, the PRA noted .

The London market is perfectly placed to fulfil the regulator’s demand for innovative insurance cover to feed banks demand for risk mitigation .

“ The long-tail nature of political risk and trade credit insurance means that some losses end up being repaid years down the line”

https://insuranceinsider.com/articles/123136/credit-insurers-fear-pra-default-proposals

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/prudential-regulation/policy-statement/2019/ps819

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Return to contentsCOMPANY RANKINGS DISCUSSION

Tokio Marine HCC has emerged as the best underwriting company in the 2019 edition of the Political Risk Rankings – clinching the top spot from two-time winner Chaucer .

Indeed, there was a shakeup at the top of the league table on the underwriting side . Tokio Marine HCC rose to first place after ranking fourth in 2018 and third in 2017 . It secured the top spot with seven more votes than in 2018 .

Calculated by aggregating scores and votes from individuals across teams, the company rankings reflect each firm’s overall talent and strength quality .

Tokio Marine HCC’s success was largely down to Jerome Swinscoe, who was voted as the best overall political risk underwriter for the second year running . He received over 50 percent of all votes for the company .

Next at Tokio Marine HCC was Edward Ashton, a senior underwriter, who took over 25 percent of votes for the specialty insurer . Ashton rose to 12th position in this year’s overall ranking with seven nominations, up from 30th place last year . The 2017 and 2018 winner, Chaucer, fell to fourth position this year – explained perhaps by the absence of Patricia Mills from this year’s league table .

Top broking houses hold ground amid a changing

podium for underwriting firmsc BPL Global remains the number

one broking house for the third consecutive year

c Tokio Marine HCC grabs first place from Chaucer on the underwriting side

c The number of underwriting companies featured in the rankings continues to increase

c The amount of identified broking houses has dwindled in the three years of the survey

61

45 4441

37

4 5 4 3 6

(1) Tokio Marine HCC (2) Chubb (3) MS Amlin (4) Chaucer (5) Axis Capital

Top-ranked political risk underwriting �rms in 2019

Overall score Number of underwriters


Return to contentsCOMPANY RANKINGS DISCUSSION

Mills, who spent three years at the Lloyd’s business, secured 12 votes in last year’s survey as a new entrant, enabling the company to retain its lead, while at the same time 2017 winner Nick Kilhams received a relatively lower vote count than in 2017 .

Mills has since left the London market and is now a financial lines underwriter at Validus Re in Bermuda .

As for the biggest movers on the underwriting side, Liberty Specialty Markets found itself in 10th place, down from the runner-up position last year .

Notably, head of global financial risk at Liberty, Peter Sprent, only brought in two votes for the company this year – down from 10 in 2018 .

Elsewhere, MS Amlin has slowly made its way to the podium over the years after ranking 16th in 2017 and eighth in 2018 . It now sits in third place .

Each year, the competition on the underwriting side gets more intense as new companies are identified . Having featured 33 companies in 2017 and 36

in 2018, this year the rankings survey shed light on underwriters from 41 different companies .

BrokingOn the broking side, however, the trend swings in the opposite direction . There are now just 11 broking houses identified in the ranking, compared to 14 in 2018 and 16 in 2017 .

Intermediaries including Bay Risk Services, CLP Insurance Brokers and Price Forbes were absent from this year’s league table, while BMS Group returned to the ranking after not appearing in 2018 .

The reduction in broking houses means that for every one intermediary in the ranking, there are now almost four underwriting companies .

Meanwhile, the podium on the broking side has remained exactly the same as in 2018 . BPL Global held its lead position with an overall score of 146, up from 113 in 2018 .

It was followed by Lockton in second place and the combined Marsh-JLT Specialty in third .

146

115

53 50

2623

718

6 12

(1) BPL Global (2) Lockton (3) Marsh-JLTSpecialty

(4) Texel Finance (5) Willis TowersWatson

Top-ranked political risk broking houses in 2019

Overall score Number of brokers


Return to contents

In 2018, Marsh ranked at number six, behind third-placed JLT Specialty .

The combined Marsh-JLT Specialty now has the second-biggest team, with 18 of its brokers receiving nominations for best broker . The largest team belongs to BPL, as 23 of its brokers are named in the ranking .

BPL, along with Lockton, collectively claimed over 50 percent of the total vote count for brokers . But while BPL’s dominance was supported by the sheer number of its brokers, Lockton’s success was largely down to three-time winner Chris Wetherell and third-placed Matthew Golding as they took

over 60 percent of votes for Lockton brokers .

As a comparison, the top two underwriting companies – Tokio Marine HCC and Chubb – took almost 18 percent of the total vote count on the underwriting side .

Miller Insurance Services dropped out of the top five this year, falling from fifth to eighth . Miller brokers received twelve votes this year, which is only three fewer than in 2018, but their overall scores were impacted by a lower proportion of voters placing Miller intermediaries as a first-choice nominee – which generates higher scores .

16 1411

3336

41

2017 2018 2019

Number of companies ranked

Broking �rms Underwriting �rms

COMPANY RANKINGS DISCUSSION


Return to contentsCOMPANY RANKINGS

Company rankings – top five underwriting firms

Overall rank 2019

Overall rank 2018

Overall rank 2017

Company and underwriter (rank)

Overall score

Overall vote count

1 4 3 Tokio Marine HCC 61 27

Jerome Swinscoe (1) 33 14

Edward Ashton (12) 14 7

Adam Bowen (13) 13 5

Mike Clements (74) 1 1

2 3 5 Chubb 45 18

James Wilson (2) 31 12

Olivia Wright (27) 5 2

Julian Edwards (33) 4 2

Murray Ross (45) 3 1

George Bolton (55) 2 1

3 8 16 MS Amlin 44 20

Nick Oxley (4) 20 9

Jamie Cleary (7) 16 7

Jack Keatings (21) 7 3

Patrick Allen (74) 1 1

4 1 1 Chaucer 41 21

Neil Edwards (5) 19 10

Nick Kilhams (7) 16 7

Deborah Wyatt (24) 6 4

5 6 5 Axis Capital 37 17

Richard Lamb (10) 15 6

Adam Vulliamy (16) 9 5

Stefaniya Ilina (27) 5 2

Iwan Jenkins (33) 4 2

David Watson (45) 3 1

Gavin White (74) 1 1



Company rankings – underwriting firms continued

Overall rank 2019

Overall rank 2018

Overall rank 2017


Overall score

Overall vote count

6 9 9 Beazley 34 17

Richard Hutton (3) 22 11

Neil Beattie (19) 8 4

Roddy Barnett (33) 4 2

7 5 2 Axa XL 27 12

Ian Nunn (7) 16 6

Craig Hunter (33) 4 2

Antony Russo (45) 3 2

Megha Khanduja (55) 2 1

Andrew Underwood (55)

2 1

8 9 9 Argo Global 22 12

Jeremy Shallow (6) 18 9

Andy Summers (55) 2 2

Francesca Thompson (55)

2 1

9 15 14 W/R/B Underwriting 19 13

Sundeep Daddar (10) 15 10

Christian Hanna (33) 4 3

10 2 4 Liberty Specialty Markets

17 8

Sam Wilde (19) 8 4

Peter Sprent (27) 5 2

Chris Hall (55) 2 1

Elliot Minton (55) 2 1

11 12 7 Aspen 15 6

Dan Osman (15) 10 4

Daniel Byrne (27) 5 2

12 18 21 Antares 12 6

James Thomas (14) 12 6

13 7 11 Talbot Underwriting 10 7

James Bamford (21) 7 5

Andrew Bickmore (45) 3 2

13 12 11 The Channel Syndicate

10 6

Kade Spears (21) 7 4

James Welby (55) 2 1

Henry Mumme Young (74)

1 1



Overall rank 2019

Overall rank 2018

Overall rank 2017


Overall score

Overall vote count

15 NR NR Swiss Re Corporate Solutions

9 3

Norm Kimber (16) 9 3

15 17 14 Sovereign Risk Insurance

9 3

Sophie Demeyer (16) 9 3

15 30 25 Ark 9 6

Mathew Rothwell (27) 5 2

Mark Lichfield (33) 4 4

15 9 NR Sompo International 9 5

Matthew Woollam (24) 6 2

Susie James (55) 2 2

Dominic Hanly (74) 1 1

19 NR NR Munich Re Syndicate 6 4

Victoria Chappell (45) 3 1

Andrew Perry (45) 3 3

19 26 29 Brit Insurance 6 4

James Morrell (24) 6 4

19 32 NR Canopius 6 4

Tim Phillips (45) 3 2

Rebecca Marsden (55) 2 1

Stephen Pike (74) 1 1

22 23 21 Argenta 5 2

Mark Palmer (27) 5 2

22 23 21 AmTrust 5 4

Katherine Henderson (55)

2 1

Edward Fox (55) 2 2

Daniel Sutherland (74) 1 1

22 26 NR AIG 5 2

Maggie Nicol (45) 3 1

Tim Brown (55) 2 1

25 NR 25 Barbican 4 2

Conor Shelley (33) 4 2

25 12 16 Neon 4 2

Paul Carrington (33) 4 2

25 21 NR Allied World 4 2

William Tripp (33) 4 2





Overall rank 2019

Overall rank 2018

Overall rank 2017


Overall score

Overall vote count

25 26 NR Starstone Insurance Services

4 2

Simon Low (33) 4 2

25 18 20 Nexus Underwriting 4 2

Edward Cornish (33) 4 2

25 NR NR Credendo 4 2

Arati Summanwar (33) 4 2

31 30 NR Euler Hermes UK 3 2

William Whittington (55)

2 1

Paddy Harman (74) 1 1

31 NR NR Aegis London 3 2

David Lineham (45) 3 2

31 32 NR Atradius 3 2

Tom Dillon (55) 2 1

Gary Geller (74) 1 1

31 21 NR Everest Insurance 3 2

Mimi Rumpeltin (45) 3 2

35 20 25 Tokio Marine Kiln 2 2

Edward Parker (55) 2 2

35 23 31 Markel International 2 1

Carl Titterton (55) 2 1

35 26 29 QBE Europe 2 1

Matt Lockwood (55) 2 1

35 NR NR Anvil Underwriting 2 1

Navaid Farooq (55) 2 1

39 NR NR Castel 1 1

Thomas White (74) 1 1

39 NR 19 Zurich 1 1

Rachael Anstock (74) 1 1

39 32 21 Acappella 1 1

Florence Mognetti (74) 1 1



Company rankings – top five broking houses

Overall rank 2019

Overall rank 2018*

Overall rank 2017*


Overall score

Overall vote count

1 1 1 BPL Global 146 75

Charlie Radcliffe (2) 41 18

Charlotte Hampshire (8) 13 7

Sam Evans (9) 12 7

James Reynolds (11) 10 6

Tim Hughes (13) 9 4

Sean Austin (14) 7 3

Flora Barr (17) 6 3

Dermot Brindley (17) 6 3

Tom Cary (21) 5 3

Reshma Tanna (21) 5 3

Victoria Stratton (21) 5 3

Emma Ashworth (28) 4 2

Jonathan Lofts (36) 3 1

James Esdaile (36) 3 2

Joe Bennett (36) 3 2

Charles Berry (53) 2 1

Charles Grace (53) 2 1

Paul Torrington (53) 2 1

Sian Aspinall (53) 2 1

Alex Harvey (53) 2 1

Angus Plumbly (53) 2 1

George Bellord (73) 1 1

Annabel Farrant (73) 1 1

2 2 2 Lockton 115 48

Chris Wetherell (1) 44 18

Matthew Golding (3) 25 11

David Coupland (5) 20 7

Nick McBride (7) 16 8

Charles Purvis (17) 6 2

Peter Hornsby (36) 3 1

Sara Wetherell (73) 1 1

3 3 3 Marsh-JLT Specialty 52 27

Tom Stansfield (14) 7 3

Kerry Magnus (14) 7 4

Alastair McLeod (28) 4 2

*2017 and 2018 positions were recalculated to reflect scores for the combined Marsh-JLT entity.



Company rankings – top five broking houses

Overall rank 2019

Overall rank 2018*

Overall rank 2017*


Overall score

Overall vote count

Fabrizio Mazza (28) 4 2

Marcus Miller (28) 4 2

William Harrison (28) 4 2

Flavia Pritchard (36) 3 1

Theo Varenne (36) 3 1

Michael Swainsbury (36) 3 1

Alexandre Bueno (53) 2 1

Sophie Twiston Davies (53) 2 1

Andrew Gray (53) 2 1

Axelle Lacaze (53) 2 1

Marina Cottaris (73) 1 1

Abbey Sturrock (73) 1 1

Matthew Strong (73) 1 1

George Pitcher (73) 1 1

Jamie Stork (73) 1 1

4 4 4 Texel Finance 50 25

Andrew Barr (3) 25 12

Simon Bessant (6) 17 8

Ailsa McNeil (36) 3 2

James Gearing (36) 3 1

Nikki Hawthorne (73) 1 1

Katie Fowler (73) 1 1

5 6 4 Willis Towers Watson 26 15

Hannah Bearman (21) 5 2

Constantijn Bakker (36) 3 1

Archie Young Herries (36) 3 1

Benjamin Mansbridge (53) 2 2

Hamish Buchanan (53) 2 1

James Seddon Brown (53) 2 1

Kazimierz Layton (53) 2 1

Alastair Hill (53) 2 2

Emma Quinlan (53) 2 1

Emma Coffin (73) 1 1

Paul Davidson (73) 1 1

Kate Parry Crooke (73) 1 1




Company rankings – broking houses continued

Overall rank 2019

Overall rank 2018*

Overall rank 2017*


Overall score

Overall vote count

6 8 8 RKH Specialty 22 12

Neil Galletti (17) 6 2

Oliver Bowes (28) 4 2

Miles Robinson (36) 3 2

Toby Findlay (36) 3 2

Fred Scriven (53) 2 1

James Pryar (53) 2 1

Jamie Stephenson (73) 1 1

Andrew Gray (73) 1 1

7 7 11 Aon 20 11

Eran Charit (21) 5 3

Samuel Brown (21) 5 3

Alice Clarkson (28) 4 2

Sarah Taylor (36) 3 1

Vlad Bobko (53) 2 1

Laurie Flaux (73) 1 1

8 5 7 Miller Insurance Services 19 12

Thomas Holmes (9) 12 7

Benjamin Gibbons (28) 4 2

Ian Barnes (73) 1 1

James Cunningham (73) 1 1

Chris Pritchard (73) 1 1

9 9 6 Arthur J. Gallagher 15 8

Mark Gubbins (21) 5 2

Lydia Ashby (36) 3 1

Matthew Solley (36) 3 1

William Day Robinson (73) 1 1

Tom Gladdle (73) 1 1

Rupert Morgan (73) 1 1

David Evans (73) 1 1

9 10 9 RFIB 15 6

Toby Heppel (11) 10 4

Thomas Rutherford (36) 3 1

Shahin Samiy (53) 2 1

11 NR 14 BMS Group 1 1

Toby Childs (73) 1 1


POLITICAL RISK 2019

Return to contentsCONCENTRATION ANALYSIS

Leading broking firms gather strength as the underwriter

marketplace keeps fragmenting

Analysis of the Political Risk Rankings survey 2019 results continue to reveal a divergence of forces between brokers and underwriters in terms of talent concentration, with a competitive marketplace of underwriting firms dealing with a highly concentrated intermediary side .

Calculated by aggregating scores and votes from individuals across teams, the company rankings reflect each firm’s overall talent strength and quality . As expected, the positions are often highly correlated with companies’ market share .

While all lines of business covered so far by The Insurance Insider Rankings series have shown more underwriting firms identified than intermediaries, the significantly lower number of ranked broking houses relative to underwriting firms in the Political Risk Rankings survey comes only second to our US Property Cat survey .

This trend was accentuated further this year with fewer brokerages and more underwriting firms compared to 2018 .

But the increase in concentration in the intermediaries’ marketplace

c Survey results in 2019 point to a further increase in the concentration of talent on the broking side

c Based on HHI scores, intermediation has crossed the threshold separating a ‘competitive’ marketplace from a ‘moderately concentrated’ one

c The top two broking firms – BPL Global and Lockton – accounted for 51 percent of all nominations in 2019 as fewer intermediaries made it to the league table

c The underwriting market place saw an increase in competition, as measured by the same HHI standard

BPL Global31%

Lockton20%Marsh-JLT

Specialty11%

Texel Finance10%

7 remaining broking houses

28%

Share of total nominations – broking �rms

Tokio Marine HCC 12%

Chubb9%

MS Amlin9%

Chaucer8%

37 remaining underwriting

�rms62%

Share of total nominations – underwriting �rms

31


Return to contents

captured by the survey was not just explained by the reduced number of recognised broking houses in 2019, but also by the surge in the share of the two leaders in terms of the number of votes received by their team members .

The top two intermediaries – BPL Global and Lockton – accounted for 51 percent of all nominations provided by underwriters in this line of business, compared with 42 percent in 2018 . Their staff also received more votes as first and second choice – relative to peers, propelling their total combined score up from 44 percent in 2018 to 54 percent .

As a comparison, the top two underwriting firms identified by this study in 2019 – Tokio Marine HCC and Chubb – received 21 percent of all nominations provided by brokers .

Competition in the underwriting space was also boosted by the affiliation of nominees to 41 underwriting companies, with five net new additions to the league table compared to the previous year .

The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), a standard measure of market concentration calculated by aggregating the square of market shares of all participants in a market, provides further proof of the difference in competition between underwriting firms and broking houses .

When aggregating the square of scores (which is being used to represent the market share) for intermediaries, the HHI reaches 1,794 points this year, compared to 1,456 a year ago .

The change is particularly relevant as it tilts the balance over the 1,500 mark, which is customarily considered the threshold separating a ‘competitive’ marketplace from a ‘moderately concentrated’ one .

On the underwriting side, the HHI figure for those companies recognised by brokers was 576 in 2019 . Still representative of a ‘competitive’ marketplace but at a slightly higher level, the same metric reached 687 in 2018 .

Apart from the higher number of participants and the lower share of nominations of the two leaders, competition on the underwriting side was further underpinned by the turnover of names occupying the two leading positions over the three years in which the survey has run .

In fact, contrasting with the stable first and second positions taken by BPL Global and Lockton on the intermediary side over the three years the survey has run, the first two positions on the underwriting side alternated between Chaucer and Axa XL in 2017 (XL Catlin at the time), Chaucer and Liberty Specialty Markets in 2018, and Tokio Marine HCC and Chubb this year .

CONCENTRATION ANALYSIS

% of total vote count

Rank 2019

Broking house 2019 2018 2017

1 BPL Global 31% 23% 23%

2 Lockton 20% 14% 13%

3 Marsh-JLT Specialty 11% 10% 6%

4 Texel Finance 10% 10% 7%

5 Willis Towers Watson 6% 6% 8%

% of total vote count

Rank 2019

Underwriting firm 2019 2018 2017

1 Tokio Marine HCC 11% 8% 7%

2 Chubb 7% 10% 4%

3 MS Amlin 8% 4% 2%

4 Chaucer 8% 13% 13%

5 Axis Capital 7% 7% 5%


Return to contentsATTRIBUTE RATING DISCUSSION

Creativity gap narrows

Underpinning an improvement in broker talent as perceived by underwriters, scores for all broker attributes in the 2019 Political Risk Rankings have presented year-on-year increases .

Meanwhile, ‘honesty and integrity’ has remained brokers’ best-rated quality, with the attribute consistently being recognised as their best in all three years the survey has run .

Each survey respondent was asked to rate their three chosen underwriters or brokers on a range of key attributes . In order to conduct this analysis, individuals’ scores for each key trait were averaged out . All attributes are rated on a scale of one (poor) to five (excellent) .

‘Ownership’ was brokers’ second-best rated attribute, according to underwriters, with an average score of 4 .55 . This trait refers to a broker’s willingness to respond when things go wrong for the client . It was only the fifth-best rated attribute in the 2018

rankings with an average score of 4 .41 .Meanwhile, ‘creativity’, which looks at

a broker’s ability to improvise and think outside the box to meet client needs, was the lowest-scoring attribute .

Nonetheless, this attribute has shown consistent improvement since 2017 and the gap between ‘creativity’ and the average of all broker attributes combined has narrowed . ‘Creativity’ has risen from an average of 4 .12 in 2017 and 4 .14 in 2018 to 4 .18 in 2019 .

The average of all broker attributes for 2019 is 4 .47 . At an individual level, the rating of attributes sheds some light on the reasons behind the recognition of individuals topping the league table of overall results .

It should be noted though that the assessment of attributes across different individuals is not strictly comparable (and so only indicative), as average scores are produced by different constituencies with different perceptions of rating scales . However, the comparison of attribute scores of

c ‘Creativity’ continues to be the trait with the lowest average score for brokers and underwriters

c However, scores for this attribute are improving year on year

c Survey respondents have rated ‘honesty and integrity’ as the highest scoring broker attribute

c ‘Knowledge/experience’ continues to be underwriters’ best quality

2019 average = 4.47

4.69

4.55

4.54

4.54

4.50

4.49

4.27

4.18

4.58

4.41 4.

45 4.49 4.50

4.41

4.16

4.14

4.65

4.43

4.61

4.51 4.52

4.42

4.16

4.12

Honesty/Integrity

Ownership RiskKnowledge

Diligence E�ectivecommunicator

Consistency Analyticalskills

Creativity

Attribute rating: all brokers’ average2019 2018 2017


Return to contents

a nominee does reflect their relative strengths and weaknesses .

Out of the top five brokers, Lockton’s David Coupland was the only one to get the highest possible score (5 .00) on ‘honesty and integrity’ .

That trait was also the strongest attribute for this year’s winner – Chris Wetherell of Lockton – as he scored 4 .94; up from 4 .71 in 2018 .

Underpinning his standing as the best all-rounder, Wetherell was also the only broker in the panel with seven out of all eight traits assessed standing at least 5 percent above the overall average for each individual broker trait .

UnderwritersAt an aggregate level, year-on-year changes in underwriters’ attribute scores were mixed . ‘Knowledge and experience’ continued to be underwriters’ highest-rated attribute, according to brokers, with an average score of 4 .51 albeit at a lower level than the 2018 average of 4 .58 .

Average scores for ‘communication skills’, ‘work ethic/fast response’ and ‘negotiating skills’ remained essentially unchanged from 2018 .

Indeed, the order of underwriter attributes, from highest- to lowest-rated, has remarkably remained the same as in 2018 with underwriters’ ‘creativity’ again bottom of the list .

However, as seen on the broking side, a positive trend is emerging in the average scores for this trait, with ‘creativity’ scores climbing from an average of 4 .16 in 2017 to 4 .24 in 2018 and then 4 .28 in 2019 .

Looking at the top five underwriters, Jerome Swinscoe’s attribute assessment pointed to ‘creativity’ alongside ‘knowledge and experience’ as his main relative strengths, with him being the only underwriter that surpassed the average score for that trait by more than 5 percent .

With a similar performance in the previous year, he scored 4 .64 in ‘creativity’ in 2019 – 8 percent up on the all-underwriters’ average of 4 .28 .

Elsewhere, MS Amlin’s Nick Oxley was singled out for his superior ‘communication skills’ with a score of 4 .88 – well above the all-brokers’ average of 4 .46 for that trait .

He was also praised for his ‘fast response’ alongside second-placed James Wilson from Chubb, with both of them scoring over 5 percent above the average for that trait .

Chaucer’s Neil Edwards was the only one in the top five with a score for ‘negotiating skills’ which was 5 percent higher than the attribute’s average .

He was also praised for his ‘knowledge and experience’ alongside league leader Swinscoe .

ATTRIBUTE RATING DISCUSSION

2019 average = 4.39

4.51

4.46

4.43

4.34

4.33

4.28

4.58

4.46

4.35

4.33

4.33

4.24

4.48

4.30

4.25 4.27

4.23

4.16

Knowledge/Experience

Communication skills Consistency/In stepwith the market

Work ethic/Fastresponse

Negotiating skills Creativity

Attribute rating: all underwriters’ average2019 2018 2017


Return to contentsATTRIBUTE RATING ANALYSIS

Attribute rating analysis – top five underwriters

Overall rank 2019

Name Firm Overall score

Overall vote count

Knowledge /Experience

Negotiating skills

Fast response

Commun-ication

Creativity Consistency

1 Jerome Swinscoe Tokio Marine HCC

33 14 4 .79 4 .38 4 .43 4 .07 4 .64 4 .50

2 James Wilson Chubb 31 12 4 .58 4 .25 4 .58 4 .33 4 .42 4 .25

3 Richard Hutton Beazley 22 11 4 .18 4 .18 4 .55 4 .55 4 .18 4 .18

4 Nick Oxley MS Amlin 20 9 4 .25 4 .50 4 .63 4 .88 4 .38 4 .63

5 Neil Edwards Chaucer 19 10 4 .75 4 .75 3 .75 4 .38 4 .38 4 .50

All-underwriters average 4.51 4.33 4.34 4.46 4.28 4.43

Note: Scores 5% higher than the attribute’s average are presented in green . Scores 5% lower than the average are presented in red .

Attribute definitionsKnowledge/experience: Deep technical and regulatory knowledge of the risk . Can provide on-the-spot advice and guidance .Negotiating skills: Effective negotiator across a variety of contexts, can come up with solutions that leave both sides feeling that they have not lost .Fast response/work ethic: Praised for his/her availability, fast response . A “no stone unturned” philosophy .Communication skills: Good at explaining their reasoning/decision .Creativity: Ability to improvise, to go outside of the usual to meet client needs .Consistency: In step with the market . A consistent behaviour or treatment of risks and relationships .

Notes Please note that different respondents will perceive rating scales differently and so, for example, a 4 points rating (Very good) will mean different things to different respondents . Notwithstanding, inter-attribute comparisons (i .e . comparisons of attribute scores for a given respondent) will provide an accurate representation of the nominee’s relative strengths and weaknesses . On the contrary, intra-attribute comparisons (i .e . against the ratings of other respondents, including the whole group) will only be indicative of the nominee’s absolute strengths and weaknesses . The number of opinions (votes) involved in that nominee’s attribute average should also be taken into consideration .

“ Has really grasped underwriting in such a short period of time. Very helpful and supportive of the oil transactions we specialise in” [Referring to Richard Hutton, Beazley]


Return to contentsATTRIBUTE RATING ANALYSIS

Attribute rating analysis – underwriters

Overall rank 2019


Overall vote count

Knowledge /Experience

Negotiating skills

Fast response

Commun-ication


6 Jeremy Shallow ArgoGlobal 18 9 4 .67 4 .38 4 .33 4 .56 4 .11 4 .44

7 Ian Nunn Axa XL 16 6 4 .50 4 .33 4 .83 4 .67 4 .17 4 .67

7 Jamie Cleary MS Amlin 16 7 4 .43 4 .43 3 .86 4 .14 4 .71 4 .86

7 Nick Kilhams Chaucer 16 7 5 .00 4 .57 4 .57 4 .71 4 .43 4 .71

10 Richard Lamb Axis Capital 15 6 5 .00 4 .40 4 .40 4 .80 4 .20 4 .80

10 Sundeep Daddar W/R/B Underwriting

15 10 4 .60 4 .30 4 .90 4 .90 4 .70 4 .80

12 Edward Ashton Tokio Marine HCC

14 7 4 .71 4 .43 4 .14 4 .14 3 .86 4 .14

13 Adam Bowen Tokio Marine HCC

13 5 4 .00 4 .00 4 .20 4 .00 3 .80 4 .00

14 James Thomas Antares 12 6 4 .33 4 .17 4 .50 4 .83 4 .17 4 .67

15 Dan Osman Aspen 10 4 4 .50 4 .50 4 .50 4 .75 5 .00 4 .50

16 Adam Vulliamy Axis Capital 9 5 4 .40 4 .40 4 .00 4 .40 4 .60 4 .60

16 Norm Kimber Swiss Re Corporate Solutions

9 3 4 .67 4 .67 4 .67 4 .67 4 .67 4 .33

16 Sophie Demeyer Sovereign Risk Insurance

9 3 5 .00 4 .67 4 .67 5 .00 4 .67 4 .67

19 Neil Beattie Beazley 8 4 4 .25 4 .25 4 .25 4 .50 4 .00 4 .25

19 Sam Wilde Liberty Specialty Markets

8 4 4 .50 3 .75 4 .25 4 .50 4 .00 4 .25

All-underwriters average 4.51 4.33 4.34 4.46 4.28 4.43


Attribute definitionsKnowledge/experience: Deep technical and regulatory knowledge of the risk . Can provide on-the-spot advice and guidance .Negotiating skills: Effective negotiator across a variety of contexts, can come up with solutions that leave both sides feeling that they have not lost .Fast response/work ethic: Praised for his/her availability, fast response . A “no stone unturned” philosophy .Communication skills: Good at explaining their reasoning/decision .Creativity: Ability to improvise, to go outside of the usual to meet client needs .Consistency: In step with the market . A consistent behaviour or treatment of risks and relationships .


Return to contents

Attribute rating analysis – top five brokers

Overall rank 2019


Overall vote count

Risk Know- ledge

Honesty/Integrity

Reasoning Analytical skills

Diligence Ownership Consistency Creativity

1 Chris Wetherell Lockton 44 18 4 .82 4 .94 4 .47 4 .59 4 .88 4 .82 4 .82 4 .53

2 Charlie Radcliffe BPL Global 41 18 4 .72 4 .76 4 .56 4 .33 4 .61 4 .61 4 .18 4 .17

3 Andrew Barr Texel Finance 25 12 4 .83 4 .08 4 .33 4 .50 4 .67 4 .50 4 .25 4 .33

3 Matthew Golding Lockton 25 11 4 .82 4 .55 4 .45 4 .18 4 .82 4 .73 4 .64 4 .36

5 David Coupland Lockton 20 7 4 .71 5 .00 4 .71 4 .57 4 .43 4 .71 4 .86 4 .71

All-brokers average 4.54 4.69 4.50 4.27 4.54 4.55 4.49 4.18


Attribute definitionsRisk knowledge: Level of preparation and understanding of the risk in order to select the most appropriate markets and present the risk effectively to underwriters .Honesty/Integrity: Quality of being trustworthy and holding high work and personal standards .Reasoning: Capacity to provide winning arguments and communicate effectively across a variety of contexts .Analytical skills: Knowledge of which markets will provide best value cover for a given risk .Diligence: Year-round attention to the account throughout its the whole cycle; good record-keeping .Ownership: Willingness to respond when things go wrong for the client . Quality of interaction with the claims team .Consistency: Focus on long-term value for the client as opposed to short-term price gains .Creativity: Ability to work around a problem with the underwriter and/or client . Ability to improvise and to go outside of the usual to meet client needs .

Notes Please note that different respondents will perceive rating scales differently and so, for example, a 4 points rating (Very good) will mean different things to different respondents . Notwithstanding, inter-attribute comparisons (i .e . comparisons of attribute scores for a given respondent) will provide an accurate representation of the nominee’s relative strengths and weaknesses . On the contrary, intra-attribute comparisons (i .e . against the ratings of other respondents, including the whole group) will only be indicative of the nominee’s absolute strengths and weaknesses . The number of opinions (votes) involved in that nominee’s attribute average should also be taken into consideration .

“ He is very intelligent and uses that intelligence to the best of his abilities. He is down to earth, yet very efficient in time budgeting” [Referring to Charlie Radcliffe, BPL Global]

ATTRIBUTE RATING ANALYSIS


Return to contents

Attribute rating analysis – brokers

Overall rank 2019


Overall vote count

Risk Know- ledge

Honesty/Integrity

Reasoning Analytical skills


6 Simon Bessant Texel Finance 17 8 4 .71 4 .57 4 .57 4 .57 4 .57 4 .43 4 .29 4 .29

7 Nick McBride Lockton 16 8 5 .00 4 .88 4 .75 4 .50 4 .88 4 .63 4 .50 3 .88

8 Charlotte Hampshire

BPL Global 13 7 3 .67 4 .67 4 .50 3 .83 4 .33 4 .00 3 .83 3 .50

9 Sam Evans BPL Global 12 7 4 .43 5 .00 4 .86 4 .29 4 .29 4 .86 4 .71 3 .71

9 Thomas Holmes Miller Insurance Services

12 7 4 .86 4 .86 4 .43 4 .71 5 .00 5 .00 4 .86 4 .57

11 James Reynolds BPL Global 10 6 4 .00 4 .60 4 .40 3 .80 4 .80 4 .60 4 .40 4 .40

11 Toby Heppel RFIB 10 4 4 .50 5 .00 4 .25 3 .75 5 .00 4 .75 4 .75 4 .00

13 Tim Hughes BPL Global 9 4 4 .25 5 .00 4 .75 4 .00 4 .75 4 .75 5 .00 4 .00

14 Kerry Magnus Marsh-JLT Specialty

7 4 4 .75 5 .00 5 .00 4 .00 4 .00 4 .50 3 .75 3 .50

14 Sean Austin BPL Global 7 3 4 .33 5 .00 5 .00 4 .67 4 .67 4 .67 4 .67 4 .33

14 Tom Stansfield Marsh-JLT Specialty

7 3 4 .50 5 .00 5 .00 3 .50 5 .00 5 .00 5 .00 5 .00

17 Charles Purvis Lockton 6 2 4 .50 5 .00 4 .50 4 .00 4 .50 4 .50 4 .00 3 .50

17 Dermot Brindley BPL Global 6 3 4 .00 5 .00 4 .67 4 .00 4 .33 4 .67 4 .67 3 .67

17 Flora Barr BPL Global 6 3 4 .67 4 .33 4 .67 4 .67 4 .67 4 .67 4 .33 4 .00

17 Neil Galletti RKH Specialty 6 2 4 .50 5 .00 4 .50 4 .00 5 .00 5 .00 5 .00 5 .00

All-brokers average 4.54 4.69 4.50 4.27 4.54 4.55 4.49 4.18


Attribute definitionsRisk knowledge: Level of preparation and understanding of the risk in order to select the most appropriate markets and present the risk effectively to underwriters .Honesty/Integrity: Quality of being trustworthy and holding high work and personal standards .Reasoning: Capacity to provide winning arguments and communicate effectively across a variety of contexts .Analytical skills: Knowledge of which markets will provide best value cover for a given risk .Diligence: Year-round attention to the account throughout its the whole cycle; good record-keeping .Ownership: Willingness to respond when things go wrong for the client . Quality of interaction with the claims team .Consistency: Focus on long-term value for the client as opposed to short-term price gains .Creativity: Ability to work around a problem with the underwriter and/or client . Ability to improvise and to go outside of the usual to meet client needs .

ATTRIBUTE RATING ANALYSIS


Return to contentsRISING STARS

Rising starsOverall rank 2019

Rising star underwriter

Company Overall vote count

1 Francesca Thompson

ArgoGlobal 8

2 Chris Crane Talbot Underwriting

7

2 Elliot Minton Liberty Specialty Markets

7

4 Kachi Nwokenna Aspen 5

5 Alek Pillay Atradius 4

5 Conor Shelley Barbican 4

5 Daniel Sutherland AmTrust 4

8 Dominic Hanly Sompo International

3

8 Ryan Murphy Liberty Specialty Markets

3

10 Paul Barrett Neon 2

10 Tim Phillips Canopius 2

12 Ben Woods Axa XL 1

12 Callum Matthews Allied World 1

12 Chris Hall Liberty Specialty Markets

1

12 Elizabeth MacGregor

Axis Capital 1

12 Gary Geller Atradius 1

12 Harry Davies Chubb 1

12 James Thomas Antares 1

12 Laura Hill Neon 1

12 Matt Lockwood QBE Europe 1

12 Megan Lyons Anvil Underwriting

1

12 Millie Young Beazley 1

12 Patrick Allen MS Amlin 1

12 Thomas Bolton Nexus Underwriting

1

Overall rank 2019

Rising star broker Company Overall vote count

1 Ben Beebee Lockton 5

1 Jessica Murphy Willis Towers Watson 5

3 Harrison David Aon 4

3 James Bloxham Willis Towers Watson 4

3 Lydia Allen Arthur J . Gallagher 4

6 Angus Plumbly BPL Global 3

6 Ellie Harrison Marsh-JLT Specialty 3

6 George Pitcher Marsh-JLT Specialty 3

6 Jake Aungier RKH Specialty 3

10 Jamie Stork Marsh-JLT Specialty 2

10 Jocelyn Goodchild Willis Towers Watson 2

10 Kate Fraser BPL Global 2

10 Lizzie Gambles Marsh-JLT Specialty 2

14 Abbey Sturrock Marsh-JLT Specialty 1

14 Adam Forrester Marsh-JLT Specialty 1

14 Alex James BPL Global 1

14 Alex Newport RKH Specialty 1

14 Alexandre Bueno Marsh-JLT Specialty 1

14 Alice Blaksley Marsh-JLT Specialty 1

14 Anna Rogers Texel Finance 1

14 Archie Blanchard RKH Specialty 1

14 Bertie Hanna Willis Towers Watson 1

14 Chris Pritchard Miller Insurance Services 1

14 Edward Power Marsh-JLT Specialty 1

14 Harry Walker CLP Insurance Brokers 1

14 Hugo Zeal Arthur J . Gallagher 1

14 Kübra Öztürk Marsh-JLT Specialty 1

14 Laura Parkes BPL Global 1

14 Marta Torres Cantó Marsh-JLT Specialty 1

14 Martha Brown Texel Finance 1

14 Mia Jureidini Willis Towers Watson 1

14 Michael Colbear RKH Specialty 1

14 Nigel Brady BPL Global 1

14 Victoria Stratton BPL Global 1

14 William Howes Marsh-JLT Specialty 1

Underwriters Brokers


Return to contentsSEGMENTATION OF UNDERWRITER RANKINGS

Segmentation of underwriter rankings – by voters’ experience

Rank 2019

Underwriter Company Score Vote count

1 Neil Edwards Chaucer 11 6

2 Nick Oxley MS Amlin 10 4

3 Richard Hutton Beazley 9 4

4 James Wilson Chubb 8 3


8 4


6 3

7 Jamie Cleary MS Amlin 5 3

8 Iwan Jenkins Axis Capital 4 2


4 3


3 1

10 Adam Vulliamy Axis Capital 3 1

10 Arati Summanwar Credendo 3 1

10 David Watson Axis Capital 3 1

10 Jack Keatings MS Amlin 3 1

10 Jeremy Shallow ArgoGlobal 3 2

10 Mark Palmer Argenta 3 1

10 Neil Beattie Beazley 3 1

10 Olivia Wright Chubb 3 1

10 Roddy Barnett Beazley 3 1

10 Stefaniya Ilina Axis Capital 3 1

21 Carl Titterton Markel International

2 1

Rank 2019


21 Christian Hanna W/R/B Underwriting

2 1

21 David Lineham Aegis London 2 1


ArgoGlobal 2 1

21 James Morrell Brit Insurance 2 1

21 Katherine Henderson

AmTrust 2 1

21 Mathew Rothwell Ark 2 1

21 Rebecca Marsden Canopius 2 1

21 Tom Dillon Atradius 2 1

30 Andrew Perry Munich Re Syndicate

1 1

30 Andy Summers ArgoGlobal 1 1

30 Antony Russo Axa XL 1 1

30 Daniel Sutherland AmTrust 1 1


1 1

30 Edward Fox AmTrust 1 1

30 Gavin White Axis Capital 1 1

30 James Bamford Talbot Underwriting

1 1

30 Mike Clements Tokio Marine HCC

1 1

30 Susie James Sompo International

1 1

0-3 yearsRanking of underwriters by respondents (brokers) who have 0-3 years’ experience in the London political risk market


Return to contents

Rank 2019


1 Ian Nunn Axa XL 11 4


9 3


4 Deborah Wyatt Chaucer 5 3

4 Nick Kilhams Chaucer 5 2


6 Edward Cornish Nexus Underwriting

4 2

6 James Thomas Antares 4 2


10 Dan Osman Aspen 3 1



10 Matthew Woollam Sompo International

3 1


3 1


3 3

10 Victoria Chappell Munich Re Syndicate

3 1

10 William Tripp Allied World 3 1


2 1

18 Andrew Bickmore Talbot Underwriting

2 1

Rank 2019


18 Andrew Underwood

Axa XL 2 1


18 Daniel Byrne Aspen 2 1


2 1



18 Tim Brown AIG 2 1

18 William Whittington

Euler Hermes UK 2 1


1 1


28 Edward Parker Tokio Marine Kiln 1 1

28 Henry Mumme Young

The Channel Syndicate

1 1


28 Kade Spears The Channel Syndicate

1 1

28 Paul Carrington Neon 1 1



1 1

28 Tim Phillips Canopius 1 1


“ Incredible work ethic and ability to respond quickly and helpfully. Feedback is usually detailed and he very much takes the approach of trying to make something work rather than finding reasons not to do it. His flexibility in approach to underwriting is very much appreciated by brokers and clients – fostering a strong relationship which is still very much important and valued” [Referring to Ian Nunn, Axa XL]

SEGMENTATION OF UNDERWRITER RANKINGS



Rank 2019




11 4



9 3


8 3





6 2


5 3


10 Peter Sprent Liberty Specialty Markets

5 2

10 Richard Lamb Axis Capital 5 2

14 Craig Hunter Axa XL 4 2


4 3





4 3

20 Conor Shelley Barbican 3 1




3 2

Rank 2019


20 Maggie Nicol AIG 3 1

20 Mark Lichfield Ark 3 3



3 1

20 Mimi Rumpeltin Everest Insurance 3 2





32 James Welby The Channel Syndicate

2 1

32 Matt Lockwood QBE Europe 2 1

32 Simon Low Starstone Insurance Services

2 1





1 1



38 Florence Mognetti Acappella 1 1

38 Gary Geller Atradius 1 1

38 Patrick Allen MS Amlin 1 1


1 1

38 Stephen Pike Canopius 1 1

38 Thomas White Castel 1 1


5 to 10 yearsRanking of underwriters by respondents (brokers) who have 5-10 years’ experience in the London political risk market



Rank 2019




3 Julian Edwards Chubb 4 2


3 1



3 2

4 Murray Ross Chubb 3 1

8 George Bolton Chubb 2 1



2 1


1 1




11 Rachael Anstock Zurich 1 1

Ranking of underwriters by respondents (brokers) who have more 20 than years’ experience in the London political risk market

Over 20 years

Rank 2019




6 2


4 2



3 1




3 1


2 1


2 1

9 Megha Khanduja Axa XL 2 1

9 Navaid Farooq Anvil Underwriting

2 1





1 1


1 1





16 Paddy Harman Euler Hermes UK 1 1

42 Veronica King Argo Group 1 1

42 William Bennett MS Amlin 1 1

Ranking of underwriters by respondents (brokers) who have 10-20 years’ experience in the London political risk market

10-20 years



Segmentation of underwriter rankings –

by premiums

Rank 2019






3 1

4 David Watson Axis Capital 3 1


3 1


3 2




3 1



3 1


3 1


Rank 2019



2 1



ArgoGlobal 2 1


15 Katherine Henderson

AmTrust 2 1

15 Megha Khanduja Axa XL 2 1

15 Rebecca Marsden Canopius 2 1


2 2



23 Daniel Sutherland AmTrust 1 1





1 1

Up to £2mnRanking of underwriters by respondents (brokers) who placed policies with premiums in the £0-£2mn range within the last 12 months



Rank 2019



2 1




2 1





2 2


22 Tom Dillon Atradius 2 1


1 1



1 1

32 Edward Cornish Nexus Underwriting

1 1

32 Gavin White Axis Capital 1 1



32 Mike Clements Tokio Marine HCC

1 1

32 Paddy Harman Euler Hermes UK 1 1

Rank 2019




9 5


8 3




6 3










3 2






3 1


£2mn to £5mnRanking of underwriters by respondents (brokers) who placed policies with premiums in the £2mn-£5mn range within the last 12 months

“You know exactly where you stand with James. He is always willing to do a deal” [Referring to James Wilson, Chubb



£5mn to £10mnRanking of underwriters by respondents (brokers) who placed policies with premiums in the £5mn-£10mn range within the last 12 months

Rank 2019



12 4



7 3



4 2





3 1



3 1



2 1









19 Florence Mognetti Acappella 1 1




19 Thomas White Castel 1 1


Return to contents

Rank 2019




3 Jerome Swinscoe Tokio Marine HCC 12 5






7 4





6 2

13 Peter Sprent Liberty Specialty Markets

5 2


14 Julian Edwards Chubb 4 2



4 2

14 Sundeep Daddar W/R/B Underwriting 4 3



19 Edward Cornish Nexus Underwriting 3 1

19 Maggie Nicol AIG 3 1


3 1

19 Murray Ross Chubb 3 1


3 1

19 Victoria Chappell Munich Re Syndicate

3 1


27 Andrew Underwood

Axa XL 2 1


27 Carl Titterton Markel International 2 1

Ranking of underwriters by respondents (brokers) who placed policies with premiums over £10mn within the last 12 months

Over £10mn

Rank 2019



2 1

27 Christian Hanna W/R/B Underwriting 2 2


27 George Bolton Chubb 2 1


27 Matt Lockwood QBE Europe 2 1

27 Navaid Farooq Anvil Underwriting 2 1




2 2


27 Tim Brown AIG 2 1

27 William Whittington

Euler Hermes UK 2 1

44 Andrew Bickmore Talbot Underwriting 1 1


1 1



44 Edward Ashton Tokio Marine HCC 1 1



44 Gary Geller Atradius 1 1

44 Henry Mumme Young

The Channel Syndicate

1 1

44 James Bamford Talbot Underwriting 1 1



44 Patrick Allen MS Amlin 1 1


44 Rachael Anstock Zurich 1 1


1 1



SEGMENTATION OF UNDERWRITER RANKINGS


Return to contentsSEGMENTATION OF BROKER RANKINGS

Segmentation of broker rankings – by voters’ experience

0-3 yearsRanking of brokers by respondents (underwriters) who have 0-3 years’ experience in the London political risk market

Rank 2019


1 Matthew Golding Lockton 7 4

2 Charles Purvis Lockton 6 2


BPL Global 5 2

3 Chris Wetherell Lockton 5 2

5 Constantijn Bakker Willis Towers Watson

3 1

5 Dermot Brindley BPL Global 3 1

5 Flora Barr BPL Global 3 1

5 Lydia Ashby Arthur J . Gallagher

3 1

5 Michael Swainsbury Marsh-JLT Specialty

3 1

5 Tim Hughes BPL Global 3 1

11 Alex Harvey BPL Global 2 1

11 Andrew Barr Texel Finance 2 1

11 Andrew Gray Marsh-JLT Specialty

2 1

11 Angus Plumbly BPL Global 2 1

11 Charlie Radcliffe BPL Global 2 2

11 Emma Quinlan Willis Towers Watson

2 1

11 Kazimierz Layton Willis Towers Watson

2 1

11 Toby Findlay RKH Specialty 2 1

19 Alastair Hill Willis Towers Watson

1 1

19 Annabel Farrant BPL Global 1 1

19 Ian Barnes Miller Insurance Services

1 1

19 Jamie Stephenson RKH Specialty 1 1

19 Samuel Brown Aon 1 1

19 Simon Bessant Texel Finance 1 1


1 1


Rank 2019






4 Tom Cary BPL Global 4 2

6 Benjamin Gibbons Miller Insurance Services

3 1


6 Hannah Bearman Willis Towers Watson

3 1

6 Jonathan Lofts BPL Global 3 1

6 Theo Varenne Marsh-JLT Specialty

3 1


3 1


BPL Global 2 1


12 Victoria Stratton BPL Global 2 1

15 Ailsa McNeil Texel Finance 1 1

15 Alastair Hill Willis Towers Watson

1 1

15 Chris Pritchard Miller Insurance Services

1 1

15 Joe Bennett BPL Global 1 1

15 Kate Parry Crooke Willis Towers Watson

1 1


1 1

15 Sam Evans BPL Global 1 1


1 1



Rank 2019


1 Nick McBride Lockton 12 5






BPL Global 6 4

6 David Coupland Lockton 6 2


9 Emma Ashworth BPL Global 4 2

9 Oliver Bowes RKH Specialty 4 2

9 Reshma Tanna BPL Global 4 2

9 Sean Austin BPL Global 4 2

13 Alice Clarkson Aon 3 1

13 Archie Young Herries


3 1

13 Flavia Pritchard Marsh-JLT Specialty

3 1


13 Miles Robinson RKH Specialty 3 2

13 Thomas Rutherford

RFIB 3 1



3 1

21 Ailsa McNeil Texel Finance 2 1

21 Alastair McLeod Marsh-JLT Specialty

2 1

21 Alexandre Bueno Marsh-JLT Specialty

2 1

21 Benjamin Mansbridge


2 2

Rank 2019


21 Charles Grace BPL Global 2 1

21 Fabrizio Mazza Marsh-JLT Specialty

2 1

21 Fred Scriven RKH Specialty 2 1

21 Hamish Buchanan Willis Towers Watson

2 1

21 Hannah Bearman Willis Towers Watson

2 1


21 Marcus Miller Marsh-JLT Specialty

2 1

21 Shahin Samiy RFIB 2 1



2 1

35 Andrew Gray RKH Specialty 1 1


35 Eran Charit Aon 1 1

35 George Pitcher Marsh-JLT Specialty

1 1

35 Katie Fowler Texel Finance 1 1

35 Laurie Flaux Aon 1 1

35 Rupert Morgan Arthur J . Gallagher

1 1


35 Tom Gladdle Arthur J . Gallagher

1 1


35 William Day Robinson

Arthur J . Gallagher

1 1

35 William Harrison Marsh-JLT Specialty

1 1




Rank 2019






5 Toby Heppel RFIB 8 3

6 James Reynolds BPL Global 7 5



9 Mark Gubbins Arthur J . Gallagher

5 2


5 3


12 James Gearing Texel Finance 3 1


3 2

12 Matthew Solley Arthur J . Gallagher

3 1


12 Sarah Taylor Aon 3 1



3 1

12 William Harrison Marsh-JLT Specialty

3 1

20 Alastair McLeod Marsh-JLT Specialty

2 1

Rank 2019


20 Axelle Lacaze Marsh-JLT Specialty

2 1

20 Fabrizio Mazza Marsh-JLT Specialty

2 1

20 James Esdaile BPL Global 2 1

20 Marcus Miller Marsh-JLT Specialty

2 1


20 Sophie Twiston Davies

Marsh-JLT Specialty

2 1

20 Vlad Bobko Aon 2 1


28 Benjamin Gibbons


1 1

28 David Evans Arthur J . Gallagher

1 1

28 George Bellord BPL Global 1 1

28 James Cunningham


1 1

28 Marina Cottaris Marsh-JLT Specialty

1 1

28 Nikki Hawthorne Texel Finance 1 1


28 Sara Wetherell Lockton 1 1

28 Toby Childs BMS Group 1 1





Over 20 yearsRanking of underwriters by respondents (brokers) who have more 20 than years’ experience in the London political risk marketRank 2019




2 Neil Galletti RKH Specialty 6 2




3 1

4 Peter Hornsby Lockton 3 1


9 Charles Berry BPL Global 2 1


9 James Pryar RKH Specialty 2 1

9 James Seddon Brown


2 1


9 Paul Torrington BPL Global 2 1

9 Sian Aspinall BPL Global 2 1



18 Abbey Sturrock Marsh-JLT Specialty

1 1

18 Emma Coffin Willis Towers Watson

1 1


18 Jamie Stork Marsh-JLT Specialty

1 1

18 Matthew Strong Marsh-JLT Specialty

1 1

18 Paul Davidson Willis Towers Watson

1 1



1 1



Segmentation of broker rankings – by premiums

Up to £2mnRanking of brokers by respondents (underwriters) who underwrote policies with premiums in the £0-2mn range within the last 12 months

£2mn to £5mnRanking of brokers by respondents (underwriters) who underwrote policies with premiums in the £2mn-£5mn range within the last 12 months

Rank 2019



2 Charles Purvis Lockton 3 1


BPL Global 3 1


2 Hannah Bearman Willis Towers Watson 3 1




8 Andrew Gray Marsh-JLT Specialty 2 1

8 Angus Plumbly BPL Global 2 1




14 Alastair Hill Willis Towers Watson 1 1


14 Kate Parry Crooke Willis Towers Watson 1 1


1 1

Rank 2019







4 Constantijn Bakker

Willis Towers Watson 3 1


4 Lydia Ashby Arthur J . Gallagher 3 1



3 2


11 Charles Grace BPL Global 2 1

11 Emma Quinlan Willis Towers Watson 2 1

11 Fred Scriven RKH Specialty 2 1

15 Alastair Hill Willis Towers Watson 1 1

15 Annabel Farrant BPL Global 1 1

15 George Pitcher Marsh-JLT Specialty 1 1

15 Ian Barnes Miller Insurance Services

1 1

15 Laurie Flaux Aon 1 1






£5mn to £10mnRanking of brokers by respondents (underwriters) who underwrote policies with premiums in the £5mn-£10mn range within the last 12 months

Rank 2019






5 2



7 Jonathan Lofts BPL Global 3 1

7 Oliver Bowes RKH Specialty 3 1

7 Theo Varenne Marsh-JLT Specialty 3 1

10 Alastair McLeod Marsh-JLT Specialty 2 1



BPL Global 2 1


10 Fabrizio Mazza Marsh-JLT Specialty 2 1



17 Chris Pritchard Miller Insurance Services

1 1


17 George Bellord BPL Global 1 1



17 Kerry Magnus Marsh-JLT Specialty 1 1



17 William Day Robinson

Arthur J . Gallagher 1 1



Ranking of brokers by respondents (underwriters) who underwrote policies with premiums over £10mn within the last 12 months

Over £10mn

Rank 2019











10 Kerry Magnus Marsh-JLT Specialty 6 3

10 Neil Galletti RKH Specialty 6 2


BPL Global 5 3

12 Mark Gubbins Arthur J . Gallagher 5 2



16 Benjamin Gibbons Miller Insurance Services

4 2



16 Marcus Miller Marsh-JLT Specialty 4 2


16 Tom Stansfield Marsh-JLT Specialty 4 2

16 William Harrison Marsh-JLT Specialty 4 2

23 Flavia Pritchard Marsh-JLT Specialty 3 1


23 James Gearing Texel Finance 3 1

23 Matthew Solley Arthur J . Gallagher 3 1

23 Peter Hornsby Lockton 3 1

23 Sarah Taylor Aon 3 1

23 Thomas Rutherford

RFIB 3 1

30 Alastair McLeod Marsh-JLT Specialty 2 1

30 Alexandre Bueno Marsh-JLT Specialty 2 1

30 Axelle Lacaze Marsh-JLT Specialty 2 1

30 Benjamin Mansbridge


Rank 2019


30 Charles Berry BPL Global 2 1


30 James Pryar RKH Specialty 2 1

30 James Seddon Brown


30 Kazimierz Layton Willis Towers Watson 2 1


30 Paul Torrington BPL Global 2 1


30 Shahin Samiy RFIB 2 1

30 Sian Aspinall BPL Global 2 1

30 Sophie Twiston Davies

Marsh-JLT Specialty 2 1


2 1


30 Vlad Bobko Aon 2 1

48 Abbey Sturrock Marsh-JLT Specialty 1 1


48 Andrew Gray RKH Specialty 1 1

48 David Evans Arthur J . Gallagher 1 1


48 Emma Coffin Willis Towers Watson 1 1

48 James Cunningham


1 1

48 Jamie Stephenson RKH Specialty 1 1

48 Jamie Stork Marsh-JLT Specialty 1 1

48 Katie Fowler Texel Finance 1 1

48 Marina Cottaris Marsh-JLT Specialty 1 1

48 Matthew Strong Marsh-JLT Specialty 1 1

48 Nikki Hawthorne Texel Finance 1 1

48 Paul Davidson Willis Towers Watson 1 1

48 Rupert Morgan Arthur J . Gallagher 1 1

48 Sara Wetherell Lockton 1 1

48 Toby Childs BMS Group 1 1




Return to contentsINDIVIDUAL PROFILE VIEWS

Profiles: Top 20 underwriters

Survey results 2017 2018 2019

Total number of votes 12 16 14

No . of top-choice votes 4 10 8

No . of second-place votes 4 5 3

No . of third-place votes 4 1 3

Total score 24 41 33

Rank among underwriters 2 1 1

RANK 1 Jerome SwinscoeCompany: Tokio Marine HCCJob title: Political risk and structured trade credit

Testimonials“Jerome is very knowledgeable, has a very good work ethic and has the ability to review challenging risks and structures quickly and effectively. He is well-respected by his peers, brokers and clients alike”

“Very strong knowledge and expertise” “Always willing to look at tricky deals to find a way to make them work” “Incredibly efficient and willing to support clients throughout their portfolio” “A real market leader. Well respected throughout the industry” “All-round excellence” “Excellent broker service, open to challenging risks, fast response times and very knowledgeable”

“Best underwriter in the market! Knowledge and reputation far exceeds his peers” “Extensive knowledge and expertise, particularly within larger political risk programmes” “Ability to review incredibly complicated risks and make quick and sound assessments. In my opinion he is the market leader in this field” “He is extremely knowledgeable and willing to give an open mind to risks of all types and sizes” “Willing to do the work on unusual risks”

“Excellent understanding of contract frustration business and works with the broker to find solutions that are flexible and workable”

“Despite challenging conditions, has maintained a consistent approach to underwriting and does not simply follow the crowd” “Rapidly becoming extremely useful”

“Continued confidence in underwriting as he thinks it should be done and his success when doing so” “Ability to underwrite credit exposure in a challenging underwriting environment. Able to look past a pure balance sheet and understand other elements of a transaction which contribute positively to its success”

“Excellent knowledge and experience, lateral thinking – ready to help a client where possible with alternative solutions. Great explanation on why he would do and wouldn’t do something. Could do with a little more boldness in the underwriting in certain sectors”

“Very clever individual and well respected. When his name is on the slip people are happy to follow. Consistent and knows what he wants”

“Jerome’s high intellect and knowledge of our business, his attention to detail and ability to continue to provide innovative solutions to transactions/assets over our market’s entire product range”

“Genius – you don’t really get anything past him. Great risk appetite. Fast responses”

Scores 5% higher than the attributes average in green . Scores 5% lower than the average in red . 2018 testimonials in blue, 2017 in purple

RANK: 1Jerome Swinscoe

Company: Tokio Marine HCCJob title: Chief underwriting officerCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance:10-20 years

Survey results 2017 2018 2019Total number of votes 12 16 14No. of top-choice votes 4 10 8No. of second-place votes 4 5 3No. of third-place votes 4 1 3Total score 24 41 33Rank (underwriters) 2 1 1

4.79 4.38 4.43 4.07 4.64 4.502.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0


Negotiating skills Fast response Communicationskills


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Rank (underwriters) 5 7 2

RANK 2 James WilsonCompany: ChubbJob title: Political risk and structured credit underwriterCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditPolitical risk experience: 5-10 years

Testimonials“He is super impressive in front of clients, very helpful and very knowledgeable”

“Extremely supportive and commercial”

“You know exactly where you stand with James. He is always willing to do a deal”

“Very helpful and knowledgeable”

“Excellent knowledge base and confidence in underwriting ability”

“James gives detailed and helpful feedback even when we have limited details to work with. He is very thorough and efficient”

“Most impressive range of knowledge across different classes of business for his experience level”

“Positive attitude to working with the right clients”

“Willingness to work on a deal”

“James is a newer entry from my other selections, but demonstrates a high level of knowledge and understanding. He always provides quick responses and very thoughtful feedback”

“James is a very technical yet commercial underwriter, always helpful and consistent. He is also very helpful as a ‘market player’ keen to offer training/support etc”

“Always helpful, very good at coming back quickly, always tries to underwrite things rather than find reasons to decline”

INDIVIDUAL PROFILE VIEWS


>>>> RANK: 2James Wilson

Company: ChubbJob title: Political risk and structured credit underwriterCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance:5-10 years


4.58 4.25 4.58 4.33 4.42 4.252.5

3.03.5

4.0

4.5

5.0




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Total number of votes NR 5 11

No . of top-choice votes NR 2 3

No . of second-place votes NR 1 5

No . of third-place votes NR 2 3

Total score NR 10 22

Rank (underwriters) NR 14 3

RANK 3Richard HuttonCompany: BeazleyJob title: UnderwriterCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditPolitical risk experience: 5-10 years

Testimonials“Excellent broker service, open to challenging risks, fast response time. Very knowledgeable”

“What Richard lacks in experience (versus some of his peers) he makes up with his underwriting, risk selection and creativity to expand Beazley’s book. He is well-liked, respected and has helped to considerably develop relationships with various brokers raising Beazley’s profile in the market further”

“Richard’s service is very efficient and you are rarely left waiting for feedback. Although he has only been an underwriter for around three years, he is very commercial and knowledgeable”

“Has really grasped underwriting in such a short period of time. Very helpful and supportive of the oil transactions we specialise in”

“Has a pragmatic underwriting approach”



>>>>> RANK: 3Richard Hutton

Company: BeazleyJob title: UnderwriterCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance:5-10 years

Survey results 2017 2018 2019Total number of votes NR 5 11No. of top-choice votes NR 2 3No. of second-place votes NR 1 5No. of third-place votes NR 2 3Total score NR 10 22Rank (underwriters) NR 14 3

4.18 4.18 4.55 4.55 4.18 4.182.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0




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Total score 3 10 20


RANK 4Nick OxleyCompany: MS AmlinJob title: Political risk underwriterCoverage: Political risk and trade creditPolitical risk experience: 5-10 years

Testimonials“Nick is very professional”

“Broad knowledge of the credit and political risk market”

“Supportive and commercial”

“Quick service, flexible to clients’ needs”

“Highly knowledgeable on all products. Willingness to support key clients”

“Usability”



RANK: 4Nick Oxley

Company: MS AmlinJob title: Political risk underwriterCoverage: Political risk and trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance:5-10 years


4.25 4.50 4.63 4.88 4.38 4.632.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0




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Total score 5 23 19


RANK 5Neil EdwardsCompany: ChaucerJob title: Class underwriter – political risk

Testimonials“Knowledgeable, willing, flexible, helpful”

“Top bloke”

“A very high understanding of both client demands and market needs to help deliver workable solutions across a range of business and domiciles”

“Knowledge, willingness to meet and understand clients needs and fast response”

“Very reliable, consistent underwriter who works tirelessly to support our business”

“Great underwriter who is not afraid to stand behind what he thinks is right (or wrong). A pleasure to work with. Consistent and approachable and one to work things out with the client and the broker if needed” “His willingness to listen and ability to judge very complicated transactions”

“Highly supportive of key clients”

“Helpful, prepared to look at alternative risks. Very friendly. Strong team to support him”

“Fantastic underwriter – very helpful, knowledgeable and willing to go the extra mile to help a client”



RANK: 5Neil Edwards

Company: ChaucerJob title: Class underwriter - political riskCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance:10-20 years


4.75 4.75 3.75 4.38 4.38 4.502.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0




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RANK 6Jeremy ShallowCompany: Argo GlobalJob title: Class underwriter – credit and political risksCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditPolitical risk experience: 5-10 years

Testimonials“Great balance of skills and approach to underwriting. Reliable, professional, consistent and approaches work with integrity”

“Jeremy is great. Understands the business perfectly and makes very fair and clear decisions. We have an extremely demanding client and he is very understanding and responsive to moments where the broker has, ahem, slipped up”

“Jeremy is an excellent communicator and a good supporter of our book of business”

“Good and consistent position – makes sure you always know where you stand”

“Response time is usually quick and I can’t think of many underwriters more straightforward to work with. Information requirements and communication is always very clear and his approach is flexible where required which is very much appreciated by brokers and clients I’m sure”

“I have worked with this chap a long time ago and since leaving Aspen he has demonstrated an ability to create a book and write business that makes sense, focusing on the risk he is writing and the client, whilst being commercial”

“Jeremy is very knowledgeable and applies this in his underwriting. Whilst being selective, he also is commercial”

“Very knowledgeable and intelligent, trustworthy, always commercial and a pleasure to work with”

“An experienced and knowledgeable underwriter”

“Very clear and well informed decision making and feedback. Understanding reasons why an underwriter does and doesn’t want to do something is very important as a broker. This underwriter understands the deals intimately and explains clearly his position”

“Thorough and interesting feedback given his previous experience in banking. Commercial decision making and very helpful and flexible”



RANK: 6Jeremy Shallow

Company: Argo GlobalJob title: Class Underwriter - credit and political risksCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance:5-10 years


4.67 4.38 4.33 4.56 4.11 4.442.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0




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Total score 4 14 16


RANK =7Ian NunnCompany: Axa XLJob title: Senior underwriter – political risk and trade creditCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditPolitical risk experience: 5-10 years

Testimonials“Ian is an incredibly commercial underwriter who is supportive of key clients”

“Incredible work ethic and ability to respond quickly and helpfully. Feedback is usually detailed and he very much takes the approach of trying to make something work rather than finding reasons not to do it. His flexibility in approach to underwriting is very much appreciated by brokers and clients – fostering a strong relationship which is still very much important and valued”

“A very pleasant and well-balanced underwriter who wants to support business and your clients in a sensible but creative manner”

“Very responsive and keen to develop interesting and new ways to apply the product to new industries and clients”

“Flexible, efficient, accessible with significant capability in terms of lines, limits, products etc”

“Quick service from a knowledgeable and experienced underwriter who understands the clients”

“Always on top of new deals – service comes naturally to this underwriter”

“Able to provide consistent and sizeable support for new and current clients and is flexible and responsive to the brokers”



RANK: =7Ian Nunn

Company: Axa XLJob title: Senior underwriter - political risk and trade creditCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance:5-10 years


4.50 4.33 4.83 4.67 4.17 4.672.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0




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Total score 6 6 16


RANK =7 Jamie ClearyCompany: MS AmlinJob title: Lead underwriter

Testimonials“Jamie is the most supportive underwriter in the market”

“Jamie has a good commercial mindset and values partnerships with insureds”

“Response times, willingness to take a fresh look at difficult risks”

“Extremely helpful underwriter. Always has time to talk through a risk and offers willing support when he can”

“Flexible approach with a clear focus and ability to deliver”

“His creativity in working with brokers to create new solutions for clients”



RANK: =7Jamie Cleary

Company: MS AmlinJob title: Lead Underwriter


4.43 4.43 3.86 4.14 4.71 4.862.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0




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RANK =7Nick KilhamsCompany: ChaucerJob title: Senior underwriter – political riskCoverage: Political risk and trade creditPolitical risk experience: >20 years

Testimonials“All-round excellence”

“Very flexible and supportive. It’s great to have him back in the market”

“Understanding of client needs and adapting to different requirements”

“Nick is a good commercial underwriter”

“Consistency of support, knowledge and speed of service”

“Loyal underwriter who always backs our largest client”

“Classic supportive underwriter”

“Helpful, flexible and approachable”

“Understands difficult markets and obligors meaning difficult risks have been placed”

“He is very consistent in his approach to underwriting, which means that the broker knows where he stands. He is also excellent in the handling of claims and from a broker’s perspective this is essential”

“As with my second choice, supportive of key clients in a challenging underwriting environment. Typically looks to find ways to do deals not decline them”

“Very loyal to the client, bold but not silly, very commercial. Also, very clear on his decision making process and very committed to reply always in time to request”

“He leads lots of my business”

“Experience, ready to pay claims. Logical and consistent”

“Very adventurous, always looking to help the client out”

“Nick’s willingness to listen to any audience no matter how experienced or how junior, his broad risk-evaluation skills, his dedication to service to his market when many of his contemporaries are no longer visible, his good humour and undimmed passion for this class of business and, most importantly, his desire to pay a claim as promptly as possible when the unfortunate unforeseen situation occurs – which is the yardstick on how we should measure all underwriters”

“Nick has always been a very flexible and commercially minded underwriter, but in recent times he has invested heavily in his team both on the underwriting and analytical side to allow him to go to the next level in positioning Chaucer as a genuine market leader. The tie-up with Axa to focus on African business shows some unique creativity”

“Consistently top-performing market, especially in claims management”

“His response time is second to none. His market knowledge is excellent”



RANK: =7Nick Kilhams

Company: ChaucerJob title: Senior underwriter - political riskCoverage: Political risk and trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance:>20 years


5.00 4.57 4.57 4.71 4.43 4.712.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0




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Total score 9 22 15







Total score 11 4 15


RANK =10Richard LambCompany: Axis CapitalJob title: Unit head – political and creditCoverage: Political risk and trade creditPolitical risk experience: 10-20 years

RANK =10 Sundeep DaddarCompany: W/R/B UnderwritingJob title: Underwriter – political risk and violenceCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditPolitical risk experience: 5-10 years

Testimonials“Very balanced consistent underwriting ability even when hard decisions need to be made”

“Richard has tremendous knowledge of the political risk market. He is very engaging with clients and extremely helpful in finding solutions to challenging situations”

“Very well respected lead underwriter with exceptional underwriting results”

“Very impressive underwriter – excellent/comprehensive knowledge of the credit market in particular. He provides solutions to very tricky risks and will work hard to find solutions that will operate effectively for all parties”

“Very accessible. Happy to take phone calls whenever/wherever to support key insureds on key transactions and to make quick decisions, which is crucial to keep momentum on some large complex placements. A very reliable and respected leader”

Testimonials“Sundeep has a willingness and ability to consider difficult transactions. He has great problem-solving skills. Honest approach”

“Very good knowledge and experience. Always helpful when meeting clients’ needs”

“Always looking to help a client out i.e. to finish off a placement or start the ball rolling with initial questions”

“Sunny is always quick to work with the broker to find a solution which is workable for all parties. He is very knowledgeable and able to think outside of the box. His service is also very good”

“Tries to help out where possible”

“Very commercial and always willing to listen. He is always someone that you feel wants to work with you and make things happen so very supportive”



RANK: =10Richard Lamb

Company: Axis CapitalJob title: Unit head – political and creditCoverage: Political risk and trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance:10-20 years


5.00 4.40 4.40 4.80 4.20 4.802.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0




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RANK: =10Sundeep Daddar

Company: W/R/B UnderwritingJob title: Underwriter - political risk and violenceCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance:5-10 years


4.60 4.30 4.90 4.90 4.70 4.802.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0




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Total score 1 4 14







Total score 9 2 13


RANK 12 Edward AshtonCompany: Tokio Marine HCCJob title: Senior underwriterCoverage: Political risk and trade creditPolitical risk experience: 10-20 years

RANK 13 Adam BowenCompany: Tokio Marine HCCJob title: Underwriter – credit and political riskCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditPolitical risk experience: 3-5 years

Testimonials“Excellent communication and underwriting skills. Helpful for key clients. Clear and effective to deal with”

“Swift response. Very approachable. Flexible in terms and pricing”

“Good solid performer”

“Always willing to go the extra mile for the right clients”

Testimonials“Easy to deal with, explains themselves well and is supportive”

“Responsive, hard working and focused”

“Has a pragmatic underwriting approach”



RANK: 12Edward Ashton

Company: Tokio Marine HCCJob title: Senior underwriterCoverage: Political risk and trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance:10-20 years


4.71 4.43 4.14 4.14 3.86 4.142.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0




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RANK: 13Adam Bowen

Company: Tokio Marine HCCJob title: Underwriter - credit and political riskCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance:3-5 years


4.00 4.00 4.20 4.00 3.80 4.002.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0




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Total score 4 7 12



Total number of votes NR NR 4

No . of top-choice votes NR NR 2

No . of second-place votes NR NR 2

No . of third-place votes NR NR 0

Total score NR NR 10

Rank (underwriters) NR NR 15

RANK 14 James ThomasCompany: AntaresJob title: Deputy political and financial risks underwriterCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditPolitical risk experience: 5-10 years

RANK =15Dan OsmanCompany: AspenJob title: Senior underwriter, credit and political RiskCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditPolitical risk experience: 10-20 years

Testimonials“For such a small team, response time always amazes me. Feedback is usually very detailed and incredibly helpful. Very easy to work with in terms of good communication and understanding their perspective”

“Very impressive communicator. When talking through complex deals with key clients, James is on the same wavelength and is a very reassuring pair of hands”

“James is a rising star and technically impressive. One to watch”

“Highly experienced”

“Very thorough analysis of deals and explanations as to the reasons behind each indication or declinature. Not the fastest to respond but gives every enquiry due care and attention”

“Very detailed, helpful feedback – whether positive or negative Very approachable, swift responses”

“Technical expertise”

“Technically excellent, commercial, willingness to negotiate, reliable”

Testimonials“Dan has a can-do attitude and wants to push the market to do new structures”

“Dan is still a relatively new underwriter as has come over from the banking industry but he is extremely aware of the product and different transactions, while being personable and respecting the value of relationships”



RANK: 14James Thomas

Company: AntaresJob title: Deputy political and financial risks underwriterCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance:5-10 years


4.33 4.17 4.50 4.83 4.17 4.672.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0




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RANK: 15Dan Osman

Company: AspenJob title: Senior underwriter, credit and political RiskCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance:10-20 years

Survey results 2017 2018 2019Total number of votes NR NR 4No. of top-choice votes NR NR 2No. of second-place votes NR NR 2No. of third-place votes NR NR 0Total score NR NR 10Rank (underwriters) NR NR 15

4.50 4.50 4.50 4.75 5.00 4.502.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0




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Total score 8 9 9



Total number of votes 2 NR 3

No . of top-choice votes 1 NR 3

No . of second-place votes 1 NR 0

No . of third-place votes 0 NR 0

Total score 5 NR 9

Rank (underwriters) 26 NR 16

RANK =16Adam VulliamyCompany: Axis CapitalJob title: Class underwriterCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditPolitical risk experience: 5-10 years

RANK =16Norm KimberCompany: Swiss re Corporate SolutionsJob title: Vice president and senior underwriter political risk insuranceCoverage: Political risk and trade creditPolitical risk experience: >20 years

Testimonials“All-round understanding of the market and clients”

“He is a great underwriter who knows his product and how to negotiate correctly”

“Straight to the point and commercially in tune with clients’ needs”

Testimonials“Experience, speed of response and willing to be commercial”

“Very understanding of the clients’ needs and competitive pricing”

“He has been creative in suggesting different structures he would be able to cover”



RANK: =16Adam Vulliamy

Company: Axis CapitalJob title: Class underwriterCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance:5-10 years


4.40 4.40 4.00 4.40 4.60 4.602.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0




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RANK: =16Norm Kimber

Company: Swiss Re Corporate SolutionsJob title: Vice president and senior underwriter political risk insuranceCoverage: Political risk and trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance:>20 years

Survey results 2017 2018 2019Total number of votes 2 NR 3No. of top-choice votes 1 NR 3No. of second-place votes 1 NR 0No. of third-place votes 0 NR 0Total score 5 NR 9Rank (underwriters) 26 NR 16

4.67 4.67 4.67 4.67 4.67 4.332.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0




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Total score 9 8 9







Total score NR 4 8


RANK =16 Sophie DemeyerCompany: Sovereign Risk InsuranceJob title: Vice president and senior underwriting officer

RANK 19Neil BeattieCompany: BeazleyJob title: Underwriter, political risk and trade creditCoverage: Political risk and trade creditPolitical risk experience: 5-10 years

Testimonials“When negotiating with Sophie, she is always very fair. When faced with a potential stumbling block, she will be open to and propose solutions in order to reach a mutually agreeable outcome. Clients are always very impressed by Sophie and love to work with her. She will always give things due consideration, even those opportunities that are a bit ‘outside of the box’. She is extremely thorough and efficient and always a pleasure to work with”

“Diligent, responsive, commercial, fair, thorough knowledge of the market and clients’ needs, extensive wording knowledge”

“Reliable and insightful. Sophie has tremendous attention to detail”

“Provides really valuable feedback in a timely manner. Always very thorough and diligent and raises issues that others have not considered. This is always useful for our clients to ensure that the wordings make sense and are robust”

Testimonials“Very visible (always on the box), consistent and helpful”

“He works fast to find a solution. He has a very positive attitude”



RANK: =16Sophie Demeyer

Company: Sovereign Risk InsuranceJob title: Vice president and senior underwriting officer


5.00 4.67 4.67 5.00 4.67 4.672.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0




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RANK: =19Neil Beattie

Company: BeazleyJob title: Underwriter, political risk and trade creditCoverage: Political risk and trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance:5-10 years


4.25 4.25 4.25 4.50 4.00 4.252.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0




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Total score NR 5 8


RANK =19Sam WildeCompany: Liberty Specialty MarketsJob title: Senior underwriter – global financial risksCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditPolitical risk experience: 10-20 years

Testimonials“I nominated Sam because of his expertise and client focused approach”

“Deep knowledge background and consistency in underwriting”

“He has made the jump from banking to underwriting without any of the problems sometimes faced by ex-bankers in our market. His experience from his banking days has really helped his team”

“Has brought a fresh perspective to the CPRI market. Always very receptive to new enquiries even if they are slightly outside the norm or tricky. Good to work with as wants to ‘do the deals’”


RANK: =19Sam Wilde

Company: Liberty Specialty MarketsJob title: Senior underwriter - global financial risksCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance:10-20 years


4.50 3.75 4.25 4.50 4.00 4.252.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0




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Profiles: Top 20 brokers







Rank (brokers) 1 1 1

RANK 1Chris WetherellCompany: LocktonJob title: Political and credit risk insurance brokerCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditPolitical risk experience: 10-20 years

Testimonials“Again and again Chris proves himself to be an absolute titan of the broking market. He lives and breathes the market. He understands what the client wants and needs. Always thinks of the best interests of his client”

“Excels in all key broker attributes and delivers unbeatable client service”

“A very strong broker and is head and shoulders above others in the market”

“He keeps his cool and doesn’t make problems any worse than they need to be. He represents his client superbly”

“Doggedly determined and hard working”

“Very responsive and knows the client and business very well, adding value”

“Strong ability to present deals clearly and solve problems”

“Has a deep understanding and commitment to the long-term relationship between the client and the insurer that is not always common in his peers. Never afraid to point out to his client the best course of action for all parties concerned over the long term – this can be in stark contrast to his peers who can see the relationship as very much a one-way street. Also incredibly committed to the client(s)”

“Chris has been number one on this list for a while and rightly deserves this place again as he stands out from all other brokers in the unwavering service he provides his clients, the knowledge he has of the market and his unparalleled ability to get all parties to a balanced compromise ultimately to his clients’ benefit”

“Honesty and integrity and diligent year-round attention to detail”

“Works incredibly hard for the client and although not alone in this he stands out in terms of honesty, integrity and working together with insurers and clients in the interest of the long-term relationship with the market rather than going for cheap wins”

“He is a fantastically hard worker. He sorts a number of problems out early in the morning before other brokers have even arrived at work. He understands complex situations and does NOT try to waffle his way through difficult issues. He cares about his clients and goes back repeatedly to get the correct information from them to enable the underwriter to make an informed decision about the problem in hand. He is also very documentation focused”

“Very knowledgeable and good communicator”

“Utterly devoted to his clients, lives and breathes this class of business. Chris is always working to get the best deal but is not afraid to say hard truths back to his insureds”

“Consistently open, easy to do business with and very diligent on behalf of both underwriter and client, does not waste anyone’s time”

“I trust him”

“Manages possibly the biggest Lloyd’s account in our market. Considering the level of responsibility he is still very attentive and forthcoming to insurers and has an incredible ability to meet the needs of his client(s), but not at the expense of their long-term relationship with the market”

“Lives and breaths for his clients – simply could not do more”

“Excellent handler of his clients’ accounts”


RANK: 1Chris Wetherell

Company LocktonJob title Political and Credit Risk Insurance BrokerCoverage Political risk and structured trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance10 - 20 years

Survey results 2017 2018 2019Total number of votes 16 18 18Total Score 41 43 44No. of Top-choice votes 11 10 11No. of Second-place votes 3 5 4No. of Third-place votes 2 3 3Rank (brokers) 1 1 1

(1) Chris Wetherell 2019

4.82 4.94 4.47 4.59 4.88 4.82 4.82 4.532.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Riskknowledge

Honesty/Integrity

Reasoning Analyticalskills


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“Very fair, balances interests of the market with a view to maintaining a fruitful partnership with his clients”

“Chris is a very diligent and hard-working individual who maintains an excellent working relationship with and the respect of underwriters, clients and his colleagues”

“Top performer. Always working”

“Cornerstone broker for the PRI market managing one of the strongest underwriter-client relationships in the market”

“Manages to balance client and market relationships so both sides feel valued and fairly treated”

“Effectively manages one of the largest accounts in the political risk market. Does so with great diligence and integrity, both when things are going well and at difficult times”

“Keeps knocking it out of the park – but only works on one client”




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RANK 2Charlie RadcliffeCompany: BPL GlobalJob title: DirectorCoverage: Political risk and trade creditPolitical risk experience: 10-20 years

Testimonials“Exemplary dedication to the client account and excellent desire to develop and maintain strong relations with underwriters to secure the best service for the client”

“A very honest broker who will always try his hardest to find an amicable solution for all parties involved. He knows the product extremely well and is very easy to work with”

“Great communication skills and technical knowledge”

“Great dedication to his clients and good at structuring a deal. Integrity and his appreciation of the long-term value of underwriters”

“He is the best there is currently. One of the truly indispensable brokers in the market”

“A very honest and transparent partner. Utterly devoted to the client, whilst maintaining fairness and long-term relationships with underwriters. Ability to handle a very large volume of transactions and remain calm. A pleasure to deal with”

“He is very intelligent and uses that intelligence to the best of his abilities. He is down to earth, yet very efficient in time budgeting”

“Well recognised hard worker with good ethics and strong support from and for his team”

“Excellent all-rounder with a great balance of skills and qualities”

“Charlie’s integrity, expertise and commitment to the class of business. He takes a long-term view of the market and his clients benefit as a result”

“Good communicator, balanced view, reasonable and high level of knowledge”

“Intermediation skills are the best which is the core competence of a broker and as a result he has risen to a high level very quickly”

“Risk knowledge and reasoning / effective communicator”

“Diligent, helpful, friendly, not unnecessarily pushy”

“Charlie is the future of the market. He’s bright, diligent and an exceptional operator. He’ll run a firm in the not-too-distant future”

“One of the brightest and best. Will be a leader of the market for the next 20 years”

“Good brain, balanced in his negotiation style, really good with his main banking client. Charlie is curious about the risks he brokes. Strong ownership, doesn’t drop the ball when things get more complicated, find solutions and communicates well. Overall, really nice dealing with him and his team who he manages very well”

“Charlie has risen within BPL as an integral part of the team and has established a solid reputation as being trustworthy and knowledgeable”

“He understands the risks that are doable but need a broke”

“Excellent knowledge and very effective at representing his clients to the market, and vice versa”



RANK: 2Charlie Radcliffe

Company BPL GlobalJob title DirectorCoverage Political risk and trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance10 - 20 years


(2) Charlie Radcliffe 2019

4.72 4.76 4.56 4.33 4.61 4.61 4.18 4.172.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Riskknowledge

Honesty/Integrity



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RANK =3Andrew BarrCompany: Texel FinanceJob title: Credit and political risk insurance brokerCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditPolitical risk experience: 5-10 years

Testimonials“Very knowledgeable of the underlying subject matter. A great person to deal with and gets the balance right between supporting clients’ needs and being fair to underwriters”

“Excellent work ethic, passionate and delivers”

“Very hard working individual that knows the subject matter very well”

“Diligent and tenacious”

“Goes above and beyond to understand the nuances of the risk in order to provide a comprehensive and value-adding service to clients and underwriters”

“Andrew delivered a brand new client to market in less than 12 months, making the client a preferred insured to underwriters and seeking to optimise capacity on some trickier risk classes”

“He brings complicated risks to the market with a very in-depth knowledge of the transactions and is able to find the best solutions for them”

“Excellent broker with a sound understanding of his risks, and knows what underwriters look for”

“Incredibly thorough, understands the technical side and very good at distilling information (risk or policy wordings etc) to the key facts”

“Insurance product and underlying transaction knowledge and ability to communicate this knowledge to the market and clients”

“Amongst the group of brokers moving quickly to the top level, he has the best technical skills in understanding and presenting complex transactions”

“Works exceptionally hard and has full understanding of the risk and deal structures before approaching the market. Very responsive”

“Good grasp of the key risks, honest, balanced, diligent”

“Drags deals through and keeps you up to date”

“Andrew clearly puts a huge amount of effort into his work and is a diligent broker who achieves results”

“Knows his stuff, personable and communicates very well”

“Produces and understands good risks and effectively brokes this to a high level of effectiveness”



RANK: 3Andrew Barr

Company Texel FinanceJob title Credit & Political Risk Insurance BrokerCoverage Political risk and structured trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance5 - 10 years


(3) Andrew Barr 2019

4.83 4.08 4.33 4.50 4.67 4.50 4.25 4.332.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Riskknowledge

Honesty/Integrity



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Total score 6 10 25


RANK =3 Matthew GoldingCompany: Lockton Job title: Lloyd’s insurance brokerCoverage: Political risk and trade credit Political risk experience: 5-10 years

Testimonials“Understands his clients’ requirements and how best to achieve these while maintaining excellent working relationships with insurers. Adept at explaining the rationale and context to a submission, negotiating terms and aligning interests between insurers and clients. He has an excellent ability to represent his clients’ interests to the market, and his approach is often one which gets results”

“Matt’s knowledge of the risks he presents and his due diligence on policies he has placed are second to none. He takes great ownership of his policies and keeps underwriters closely up to date all along the life of the policy. This seems a basic duty but it is actually quite rare”

“Matt is a very personable broker who is also very diligent and takes all transactions he handles to heart, doing the utmost for his client while communicating seamlessly with underwriters”

“Matt’s knowledge of his files is excellent”



RANK: 3Matthew Golding

Company LocktonJob title Lloyd's Insurance BrokerCoverage Political risk and trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance5 - 10 years


(3) Matthew Golding 2019

4.82 4.55 4.45 4.18 4.82 4.73 4.64 4.362.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Riskknowledge

Honesty/Integrity



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Total score 6 9 20


RANK 5David CouplandCompany: Lockton Job title: Broker – credit and political risk Coverage: Political risk and structured trade creditPolitical risk experience: 10-20 years

Testimonials“David has a very broad knowledge of the political risk and credit markets and is able to deal with clients with very different backgrounds to respond to their needs in the most effective way. He is often involved with some of the most complex transactions in the field. Another reason for him to be on this list is that a photo of him outside Lloyd’s keeps appearing in a number of publications so he has got to feature!”

“David is 100 percent committed to his clients and is energetic in pursuing new avenues. He is a pleasure to deal with and has a strong understanding of his market”

“David’s integrity is excellent. I also value his balanced approach between his clients’ interest and underwriters. He always has long-term interests in mind and this is why he is so successful placing business in the market”

“Handles some tricky accounts and gets deal across the line that others might not”

“Quality professional – shuns limelight but gets the job done”

“I appreciate David’s knowledge of his files and his integrity”

“David is excellent with clients at site visits and has the ability to drill down to the details of each transaction”



RANK: 5David Coupland

Company LocktonJob title Broker - Credit and Political RiskCoverage Political risk and structured trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance10 - 20 years


(5) David Coupland 2019

4.71 5.00 4.71 4.57 4.43 4.71 4.86 4.712.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Riskknowledge

Honesty/Integrity



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RANK 6 Simon BessantCompany: Texel FinanceJob title: Broker – directorCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditPolitical risk experience: 10-20 years

Testimonials“Regardless of the pressures, he acts with grace. He has an ability to find a common solution that surpasses most other brokers. Simon understands the risks and the underwriting market. I admire his refusal to give up”

“Constantly seeking innovative new business opportunities whilst also being a very nice bloke”

“Great product knowledge and very trustworthy”

“Excellent communicator and trouble-shooter”

“Very innovative and knowledgeable”

“He is a true market participant, he has dedicated himself to the job in hand and is very pleasant to deal with”

“Knowledge of product, market and clients needs whilst dealing honestly, openly and effectively with underwriters”

“Simon knows how to get deals done and is always open to new ideas and solutions for his clients”

“Smart trading with professional execution”

“Simon is so important to Texel that he is their key-man risk. He’s ultimately responsible for so much of the account that if he were to leave there would be a massive issue”

“Good all-round knowledge, professionalism, integrity, openness and reasonable”

“Friendly, looks for solutions, good communicator”

“Simon is solution-driven and very efficient and pragmatic. He gets things done. He thinks long-term when he negotiates (he always gets the best solution for his clients but in a balanced way so that it remains fair for both parties). He puts himself in the shoes of the underwriter / has good analytical skills and always offers viable options which can work for both parties. He listens well, he communicates well. Excellent in client origination. Overall, it is a pleasure to do business with him and his team who he manages very well indeed”

“Simon is a key person within the Texel framework. A true broker who can put across a compelling argument, I believe he will continue to bring good business to our market”

“Knows the risks well and gets the deal done for his clients”

“Approachable, honest, technically adept”

“Consummate professional. Very understanding of both the customer and insurer’s needs and pressures. Transactions are always concluded in a spirit of partnership and long-term relationship building”



RANK: 6Simon Bessant

Company Texel FinanceJob title Broker - DirectorCoverage Political risk and structured trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance10 - 20 years


(6) Simon Bessant 2019

4.71 4.57 4.57 4.57 4.57 4.43 4.29 4.292.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Riskknowledge

Honesty/Integrity



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Total score NR 7 16

Rank (brokers) NR 14 7

RANK 7Nick McBrideCompany: LocktonJob title: Broker – political and credit risksCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditPolitical risk experience: 5-10 years

Testimonials“Excellent knowledge”

“Quietly effective”

“Strong work ethic”



RANK: 7Nick McBride

Company LocktonJob title Broker, Political & Credit RisksCoverage Political risk and structured trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance5 - 10 years

Survey results 2017 2018 2019Total number of votes NR 4 8Total Score NR 7 16No. of Top-choice votes NR 1 2No. of Second-place votes NR 1 4No. of Third-place votes NR 2 2Rank (brokers) NR 14 7

(7) Nick McBride 2019

5.00 4.88 4.75 4.50 4.88 4.63 4.50 3.882.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Riskknowledge

Honesty/Integrity



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Total score 2 7 13


RANK 8 Charlotte HampshireCompany: BPL GlobalJob title: Senior broker – political and credit risksCoverage: Political risks and trade creditPolitical risk experience: 5-10 years

Testimonials“She is very friendly, knowledgeable and very easy to work with”

“Fast and clear responses, easy to deal with, very responsive and knowledgeable in our business”

“An all-round great broker. An excellent person to deal with who has a good understanding on the technical side and is very fair”

“Very organised/focused on the client, provides an excellent service for underwriters, effective at distilling key messages and overall, a great person to deal with”

“Very approachable and honest”



RANK: 8Charlotte Hampshire

Company BPL GlobalJob title Senior Broker, Political and Credit RiskCoverage Political risk and trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance5 - 10 years


(8) Charlotte Hampshire 2019

3.67 4.67 4.50 3.83 4.33 4.00 3.83 3.502.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Riskknowledge

Honesty/Integrity



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Total score 6 3 12


RANK =9Sam EvansCompany: BPL GlobalJob title: Assistant director

Testimonials“Honest and reasonable. Focused on creating value through long-term relationships. Able to make difficult and complicated requests in a calm, straightforward and collaborative way”

“Good communication and negotiation”

“Focuses on the long-term value in the partnerships between insured, insurer and broker. Very diligent in updating underwriters and working through challenging situations on existing risks together”

“Has to manage a variety of different insureds, from banks, to commodity traders to investors. As a result needs a huge breath of knowledge. Has an impressive ability to keep abreast of change in the insured’s world, and ensure that these are well represented in the market”

“Consistent high performance. Accessible and user-friendly”

“Sam is a very personable and trustworthy broker, always responsive and has a calm matter in Lloyd’s. A safe pair of hands“

“Very clear broker, takes time to explain the risk and answers all questions”



RANK: 9Sam Evans

Company BPL GlobalJob title Assistant DirectorCoverage NAYears of experience in political risk insuranceNA


(9) Sam Evans 2019

4.43 5.00 4.86 4.29 4.29 4.86 4.71 3.712.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Riskknowledge

Honesty/Integrity


Diligence Ownership Consistency CreativitySc

ore

(out

of 5

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RANK =9Thomas HolmesCompany: Miller Insurance ServicesJob title: Political risk and trade credit broker

Testimonials“The most complete individual broker throughout all components of political risk accounts, from producing to placing to claims”

“Tom has built a genuine niche in the market and has a unique ability to connect clients and underwriters and get everyone on the same page”

“Tom’s integrity is excellent, he fights for his clients’ interests but at the same he takes a balanced approach to be also fair to underwriters. I know that questions I ask will indeed reach the client. Not always something you can take for granted”

“Genuine producer, technician and collaborative thinker. Eats what he kills”

“Able to deal with all components of the risk-placing process, largely independently. Very capable at understanding potential issues and predicting possible questions (from both insureds and insurers) to help ensure that the business is placed”

“He has been consistently knowledgeable about the account and represents his client in a effective but professional manner to ensure the best cover and price is achieved whilst working closely with the underwriters to produce a effective cover”

“Innovative, diligent and brings genuine new business into the market”

“Excellent producing broker, very adept at developing new clients, getting to the heart of the risk and helping to build an insured’s position in a line of business where track record is everything”

“Ability to advise and create across different sub classes of the business”



RANK: 9Thomas Holmes

Company Miller Insurance ServicesJob title Political Risk and Trade Credit BrokerCoverage NAYears of experience in political risk insuranceNA


(9) Thomas Holmes 2019

4.86 4.86 4.43 4.71 5.00 5.00 4.86 4.572.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Riskknowledge

Honesty/Integrity



ore

(out

of 5

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RANK =11James ReynoldsCompany: BPL GlobalJob title: Assistant director

Testimonials“Great ability to represent his client”

“Strong negotiating skills, ability to extract the best from underwriters to deliver on client needs”

“Straight talking, adaptive and very good communicator between client and insurer. Also more creative than most”

“Understands perfectly what both sides of the equation require and makes it happen. Easier said than done”

“Ability to work towards complex and amicable solutions for client and underwriters whilst managing the client relationship”

“Honesty and integrity, overarching knowledge and energy and the desire to move the client base and market forward”

“Thorough, fair, gets a transaction closed”

“James’ creativity has been critical to get a deal eventually placed for his client when it seemed at first glance that it would not be possible”

“Manages a key client to the Lloyd’s political risk and trade credit market exceptionally well”

“Good communicator with deep technical knowledge”

“Excellent Lloyd’s broker, understands exactly what the client requires at any given moment and very skilled at helping ensure a good result for the client whilst keeping insurers on side for a long-term view”

“Client focus bordering on the insane”

“Handles loads of different and difficult enquiries”



RANK: 11James Reynolds

Company BPL GlobalJob title Assistant DirectorCoverage NAYears of experience in political risk insuranceNA


(11) James Reynolds 2019

4.00 4.60 4.40 3.80 4.80 4.60 4.40 4.402.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Riskknowledge

Honesty/Integrity



ore

(out

of 5

)



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Total score 2 6 10







Total score NR 7 9


RANK =11 Toby HeppelCompany: RFIBJob title: Director political risks and trade creditCoverage: Political risk and trade creditPolitical risk experience: >20 years

RANK 13Tim HughesCompany: BPL GlobalJob title: Assistant directorCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditPolitical risk experience: 5-10 years

Testimonials“He has been our highest income producing broker for the last couple of years and also looks like being the same for 2019. He has almost cornered the market in a highly demanded and extremely well-performing subset of our business”

“Still passionate about the business after many years. Dedicated to clients and delivers the best service possible”

“A huge presence for over 40 years. Toby is an old fashioned (in a good way) utter professional. A true example to the rest”

“An old hand but still loves pounding the floors of Lloyd’s. Laser-like focus on client needs. Genuinely has made the market millions by bringing in new multilaterals and ECA clients”

“Superb broker”

“Very thorough, committed and always offers face to face service”

Testimonials“Tim really knows his clients and is also hugely personable”

“Tim is charming, knowledgeable and effective. Proof that you don’t have to be a bastard to succeed”

“Pretty strong across the board and good to deal with”

“Very experienced, great depth of knowledge and a very good communicator”



RANK: 11Toby Heppel

Company RFIBJob title Director Political Risks and Trade CreditCoverage Political risk and trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance> 20 years


(11) Toby Heppel 2019

4.50 5.00 4.25 3.75 5.00 4.75 4.75 4.002.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Riskknowledge

Honesty/Integrity



ore

(out

of 5

)


RANK: 13Tim Hughes

Company BPL GlobalJob title Assistant DirectorCoverage Political risk and structured trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance5 - 10 years


(13) Tim Hughes 2019

4.25 5.00 4.75 4.00 4.75 4.75 5.00 4.002.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Riskknowledge

Honesty/Integrity



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Total score 4 3 7







Total score 4 5 7


RANK =14Kerry MagnusCompany: Marsh-JLT SpecialtyJob title: Senior vice president – credit specialties, political risk and structured credit

RANK =14Sean AustinCompany: BPL GlobalJob title: Senior brokerCoverage: Political risk and structured trade creditPolitical risk experience: 3-5 years

Testimonials“Ability to cut to the chase when a problem arises and find an effective solution, saving time and giving strong direction to others on her team”

“She is incredibly knowledgeable and well respected, by underwriters, clients and other brokers”

“Communicative, easy to deal with, open, knowledgeable”

Testimonials“Trustworthy and knowledgeable”

“Clarity, honesty, integrity and understands insurers’ limitations”

“Hard-working young broker that is trying to add value. Recognises the individual ability of underwriting teams and is willing to provide a high level of access to his clients”

“Preparation on presentation of risks”

“Very attentive to his accounts and reasonable to negotiate with”

“Consummate professional. Very understanding of both the customer and insurer’s needs and pressures. Transactions are always concluded in a spirit of partnership and long-term relationship building”

“Strong diligence and integrity”



RANK: 14Kerry Magnus

Company Marsh-JLT SpecialtyJob title Senior Vice President - Credit Specialties, Political Risk and Structured CreditCoverage NAYears of experience in political risk insuranceNA


(14) Kerry Magnus 2019

4.75 5.00 5.00 4.00 4.00 4.50 3.75 3.502.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Riskknowledge

Honesty/Integrity



ore

(out

of 5

)


RANK: 14Sean Austin

Company BPL GlobalJob title Senior BrokerCoverage Political risk and structured trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance3 - 5 years


(14) Sean Austin 2019

4.33 5.00 5.00 4.67 4.67 4.67 4.67 4.332.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Riskknowledge

Honesty/Integrity



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Total score NR 5 7







Total score NR NR 0

Rank (brokers) NR NR 17

RANK =14Tom StansfieldCompany: Marsh-JLT SpecialtyJob title: Vice president

RANK =17 Charles PurvisCompany: LocktonJob title: Broker – political and credit riskCoverage: Political risk and trade creditPolitical risk experience: 3-5 years

TestimonialsNo testimonials available

Testimonials“Very enthusiastic and has a great growing book of business. Worked hard to get new clients on boards and is now reaping the rewards”

“Pushing the boundaries of the market, expanding the business and having the most impressive knowledge of bank regulations and the current challenges they face on this front”

“Does not compete with other brokers for clients, rather finds new sources of revenue and new solutions by looking at problems in line with clients’ needs rather than historic solutions the market has offered”



RANK: 14Tom Stansfield

Company Marsh-JLT SpecialtyJob title Vice PresidentCoverage NAYears of experience in political risk insuranceNA


(14) Tom Stansfield 2019

4.50 5.00 5.00 3.50 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.002.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Riskknowledge

Honesty/Integrity



ore

(out

of 5

)


RANK: 17Charles Purvis

Company LocktonJob title Broker - Political & Credit RiskCoverage Political risk and trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance3 - 5 years

Survey results 2017 2018 2019Total number of votes NR NR 2Total Score NR NR 6No. of Top-choice votes NR NR 2No. of Second-place votes NR NR 0No. of Third-place votes NR NR 0Rank (brokers) NR NR 17

(17) Charles Purvis 2019

4.50 5.00 4.50 4.00 4.50 4.50 4.00 3.502.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Riskknowledge

Honesty/Integrity



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Total score NR 0 1







Total score NR NR 1

Rank (brokers) NR NR 17

RANK =17Dermot BrindleyCompany: BPL GlobalJob title: Director

RANK =17Flora BarrCompany: BPL GlobalJob title: Broker – credit and political risk – assistant directorCoverage: Political risk and trade creditPolitical risk experience: 5-10 years

TestimonialsNo testimonials available

Testimonials“Dermot is very experienced and has a great understanding of the market. Great person to deal with day to day, excellent with clients and a very fair negotiator “



RANK: 17Dermot Brindley

Company BPL GlobalJob title DirectorCoverage NAYears of experience in political risk insuranceNA


(17) Dermot Brindley 2019

4.00 5.00 4.67 4.00 4.33 4.67 4.67 3.672.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Riskknowledge

Honesty/Integrity



ore

(out

of 5

)


RANK: 17Flora Barr

Company BPL GlobalJob title Broker - Credit and Political Risk - Assistant DirectorCoverage Political risk and trade creditYears of experience in political risk insurance5 - 10 years

Survey results 2017 2018 2019Total number of votes NR NR 3Total Score NR NR 6No. of Top-choice votes NR NR 1No. of Second-place votes NR NR 1No. of Third-place votes NR NR 1Rank (brokers) NR NR 17

(17) Flora Barr 2019

4.67 4.33 4.67 4.67 4.67 4.67 4.33 4.002.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Riskknowledge

Honesty/Integrity



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Total score 5 6 6


RANK =17Neil GallettiCompany: RKH SpecialtyJob title: Managing director – political risks and credit division

Testimonials“A strong innovator and strategist, as well as having a deep understanding of both clients and insurers”

“He is a long-term thinker who understands the balance between the market and getting the best outcome for his client. He consistently challenges the market. He is a superb account handler and passionate about our business”

“Neil has a vision for the industry – he also gets things done. Its rare someone can do both”

“Very good with getting the most out of the market and servicing their clients’ long-term needs. Very experienced and always looking for solutions. Superb approach in presenting risks and structuring. Created and handled many of the markets top clients over the last 25 years. Pioneered the first IT platform for our short-term banks business 12 years ago”

“Market leader with vision to put together complex structures and transaction”



RANK: 17Neil Galletti

Company RKH SpecialtyJob title Managing Director - Political Risks and Credit Division Coverage NAYears of experience in political risk insuranceNA


(17) Neil Galletti 2019

4.50 5.00 4.50 4.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.002.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Riskknowledge

Honesty/Integrity



ore

(out

of 5

)



Return to contentsNOTES

Notes and people changes

To get in touch with the Rankings team please contact: Khilan Shah – Data AnalystKhilan .shah@insuranceinsider .comT: +44 (0)20 7779 8807

For sponsorship opportunities please contact: Benjamin Bracken – Head of Marketing ServicesBen .bracken@insuranceinsider .comT: +44 (0)20 7779 8754

Oliver Nevill – Head of Strategic PartnershipsOliver .nevill@insuranceinsider .comT: +44 (0)20 7397 0619

When designating their top-three choices, our survey form requires respondents to also mention the companies for which each of these three individuals works .

As part of our methodology, professionals who change employers during the survey (in this case, from 20 March 2019 to 3 May 2019) will appear

affiliated to the company that was in the mind of the respondent who nominated that professional – usually their former company .

Please note that underwriters and brokers may have also changed companies between the time when the survey was conducted and the production of this report .

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