Several UK and London market firms have made senior appointments and leadership changes, spanning underwriting, broking, claims, and insurtech.
He brings more than two decades of experience across underwriting and engineering within the energy and power market. His previous roles include positions at Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, CNA Hardy, and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance across Lloyd's and company markets in London.
Bond will report to Kate Sutcliffe, chief underwriting officer for short tail at HDI's UK & Ireland division. He will lead the energy & power portfolio with a focus on integrating specialist underwriting and engineering expertise into a cross-functional unit.
HDI said the appointment reinforces its commitment to supporting clients and broker partners as they navigate transformation in power generation, traditional energy, and emerging technologies.
Acrisure London Wholesale has expanded into the construction market with the launch of a specialist team led by Tom Hester (pictured above, right), who has been appointed senior vice president and head of construction, effective February 16. He reports to managing director Tom Quy.
Hester joins from Lockton, where he served as partner and head of international construction since 2018. He has more than 22 years of industry experience, with prior roles including head of builders' risk for North America at Alesco, part of Arthur J. Gallagher, and over a decade within the international construction team at JLT Specialty.
He will lead the build-out and strategic development of Acrisure London Wholesale's construction offering.
At AEGIS London, Jenny Macartney (pictured immediately above, right) and Zoe Hill (pictured immediately above, left)have both been promoted to claims manager. Macartney, who joined in 2018, will continue to lead the casualty claims team, while Hill, who joined in 2016, will lead the E&O and cyber claims team.
Neale Etheridge has also been appointed claims manager for marine & energy at AEGIS London, joining from Fidelis. He succeeds Dean Allen, who served as interim claims manager during the recruitment process.
AEGIS London's claims team has received the Outstanding Claims Service Quality Marque from Gracechurch Consulting for the 10th consecutive year, having earned the recognition every year since its introduction in 2017.
Separately, UK pet insurance firm Waggel has confirmed a change in chief executive. Founder and CEO Andrew Leal is stepping down, with Henri Dowling (pictured immediately above) taking over the role.
Dowling joins from Correlation One Investments (Europe) Limited, an early investor in the business that now holds a majority stake in the company.
Leal co-founded Waggel with Ross Fretten in 2018. Under his leadership, the firm grew to insure more than 200,000 pets in the UK, generating revenues of £11m in 2024 with a projection of £15m for 2025.
Dowling, an actuary with an MBA from the University of Cambridge, said he is committed to preserving Waggel's mission to be "the most human pet insurer on the market" while accelerating the firm's AI initiatives.
