Tysers has confirmed that Paul Chapman (pictured) is stepping down from his role as CEO of Tysers Live following his return from a sabbatical in early April.
In the interim, leadership responsibilities for Tysers Live will be shared by John Claffey, Tim Thornhill and Tom Hodgson, who will report to Tysers CEO Tom Wilson. The trio will oversee the unit's day-to-day operations and support its teams as they work to maintain service standards for clients and progress plans for 2026.
Tysers Live is the group's live entertainment and events arm, providing insurance solutions for tours, festivals, promoters, venues and production companies. It developed out of the entertainment and sport division that became part of Tysers after the Integro brand was retired, bringing together contingency, entertainment and sport expertise under a single banner.
The wider Tysers group is a long-established specialist broker in the London market, founded in 1820 and now operating as one of the larger wholesale brokers at Lloyd’s. In 2022 it was acquired by Australia-based AUB Group in a deal valued at around AU$880 million (about £500 million), giving AUB direct access to the Lloyd’s market and expanding its specialty footprint.
Chapman’s departure and the move to an interim three-person leadership team comes at a time when live entertainment and sport risks remain a focus for carriers and clients.
Since the pandemic, contingency and event cancellation markets have tightened terms and capacity, while promoters and venues have had to contend with higher costs and more complex cover requirements for terrorism, adverse weather, non-appearance and liability. Brokers with sector-specific expertise, such as Tysers Live, play a key role in structuring programmes and navigating changing appetite among London market insurers.
The interim leadership arrangement provides continuity within a business that has already seen significant corporate change in recent years, including the AUB transaction and earlier expansion through acquisitions to build scale in specialist lines.
Claffey, Thornhill and Hodgson are established figures within Tysers’ entertainment and live events practice, and their appointment is intended to avoid a leadership gap while the firm refines its plans for 2026.
For clients, the main question will be whether the leadership change has any impact on appetite, service or market access in the short term. Tysers' position within a larger listed broking group gives it additional capital and distribution backing, while the Live unit operates in a niche where relationships with promoters, agents and underwriters are central to placing business.
With major tours and international events typically arranged on long lead times, brokers and insurers will be watching how the new structure beds in as Tysers Live works through renewals and new placements for the 2025–2026 events calendar. The firm’s ability to maintain consistency on complex, multi-jurisdictional event risks is likely to be a key focus for clients as the live entertainment sector continues to adjust to shifting economic conditions and evolving risk profiles.
