Westfield Specialty International and QBE have made a series of underwriting appointments in London as both look to expand their specialty portfolios.
Westfield Specialty International has hired Matthew Radbourne (pictured above, left) as class underwriter for power and onshore renewables. He will be based in London and report to Jon Hamilton, divisional director for marine and energy.
Radbourne joins with more than two decades of experience in the power and utilities market. He was most recently lead underwriter at MS Amlin, where he previously held the position of senior underwriter for power generation for over a decade. He has also held senior positions at Guy Carpenter, Aon, Jardine Lloyd Thompson and Marsh.
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Hamilton said Radbourne would play a role in identifying growth opportunities in the renewables market and in setting underwriting strategy and execution.
"As we continue to build out our energy offering, based on attracting market leading expertise, we will focus on expanding our conventional power and renewables portfolios, his extensive experience and understanding of the power and renewables field will make him an invaluable addition to the team," Hamilton said.
Separately, QBE has appointed Lucy Smith (pictured above, centre) and Hannah Dennis (pictured above, right) ahead of the launch of its new media professional indemnity product for the European operations division. Smith joins as senior media PI underwriter, while Dennis takes on the role of media PI underwriter.
Both appointments are based in London and report to Chris Pavlou, professional indemnity portfolio manager for international markets at QBE Europe.
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Smith brings more than 10 years of experience underwriting media products, most recently as senior media, film and TV underwriter at Tokio Marine HCC. Dennis, also joining from Tokio Marine HCC, has spent a decade in the insurance industry, with the last three years focused on media, film and TV underwriting.
The new hires will work to develop QBE's media PI product in Europe, following a similar offering launched in North America more than a decade ago. That product provides coverage for video and film production, radio and television broadcasting, publishing and other media.
Pavlou said the appointments support QBE's plans to expand its PI offering and diversify its portfolio. He described the hires as underpinning "QBE's commitment to growth in this area."
