Insurers, MGAs and insurtechs have announced a series of senior appointments and role changes across underwriting, governance and data functions.
Allianz Commercial has announced two senior moves within its large-corporate property business, promoting Danny Stock (pictured, left) to regional head of property for the UK and South Africa and moving incumbent Tim McGain into the global CUO property team, with both appointments effective immediately.
Stock, who has more than 20 years’ property underwriting experience with previous roles at RSA, Brit Insurance and Charringtons at Lloyd’s, has led Allianz’s UK property book in the large-corporate segment for over a decade. In his new role, he will oversee the profitability and strategic direction of the large-corporate property portfolio across the UK and South Africa.
Meanwhile, McGain, regional head of property since 2018, moves into a global CUO property role, where he will support the development and execution of Allianz Commercial’s worldwide property underwriting strategy and help drive technical alignment across regions. He will remain London-based and will report to Mike Martin, global head of property at Allianz Commercial.
The moves come as Allianz continues to integrate its large-corporate and mid-corporate operations under the Allianz Commercial brand and push for more globally consistent but locally executed property solutions for major clients.
Transactional risk MGA Devonshire Underwriting has made its first overseas hire with the appointment of Liria Martinez‑Salmon (pictured, centre) as managing director – head of Southern Europe.
Martinez‑Salmon joins from RiskPoint, where she was head of M&A – Mediterranean. She brings extensive experience underwriting complex cross‑border deals across Spain, France and Italy, as well as long-standing relationships with brokers, law firms and private equity sponsors in the region. In her new role she will lead Devonshire’s Southern European strategy and underwriting execution, with responsibility for Spain, France, Italy and Portugal.
Devonshire expanded into Europe in 2024 after securing Lloyd’s approval to write transactional risk business in EU markets. The MGA has since reported strong growth in European transactional liability placements, with Southern Europe emerging as one of its most active regions.
Telematics insurtech ThingCo has added two hires following a £2 million capital injection from BHL (UK) Holdings in 2025, as it looks to scale its data and operational capability in a year the business has described as “pivotal”.
Adam Lough (pictured top, right) has joined as telematics operations manager, reporting to head of operations Alex Brockman, with a remit to refine and future‑proof operational processes across the business. He previously spent more than four years in telematics roles with InsureTheBox and Aioi Nissay Dowa Europe.
Meanwhile, Elliot Hurley (pictured immediately above) joins the data analytics and data science team as a data analyst, reporting to head of data analytics Carlo Conner‑Hill. He will focus on delivering insights to help insurer clients develop risk management and intervention strategies aimed at reducing loss ratios.
OAK Global has appointed Kaylee Darkins (pictured immediately right) as chief people and communications officer, effective March 9.
Darkins, who has 18 years’ HR experience, joins from AXA XL, where she was chief human resources officer for the UK and HR business partner to the global chief client office.
In addition to leading people strategy and internal and external communications, she will be responsible for OAK Global’s sustainability agenda, reflecting the growing regulatory and investor focus on culture, conduct and ESG within specialty underwriting platforms.
