Markel Insurance has appointed John Riley (pictured above) as senior claims adjuster for financial institutions, bolstering the insurer's capacity at a time of mounting claims complexity.
Riley, based in London, will report to Natalie Myhill, claims manager for financial institutions and fintech, within the professional and financial risks claims team led by Jonathan Pestell.
He brings more than 25 years of experience handling financial institutions and directors and officers (D&O) claims in the London Market, spanning complex cross-border matters across the UK, US, South America, Europe and Israel.
His remit covers financial institutions and management liability claims across the UK and international markets, working with managing agents and service providers across multiple jurisdictions, and liaising with underwriting teams on policy wordings.
Most recently, Riley served as senior adjuster at Starr Underwriting Agents. Prior to that, he held a role at Aon UK as a referral point for financial lines claims.
The appointment comes as the financial institutions claims landscape grows more challenging. Cornerstone Research data showed that while securities class action filings in 2025 fell to 207 from 226 a year earlier, the Disclosure Dollar Loss surged from US$429 billion to US$694 billion.
Average settlement amounts in Rule 10b-5 class actions nearly doubled in the second half of 2025. Freshfields' 2025 outlook warned that financial institutions face rising risks from mass consumer claims and group litigation, alongside continued regulatory enforcement over anti-money laundering controls.
Pestell pointed to regulatory scrutiny, cross-border exposures and evolving management liability risks as drivers of the hire. He described John Riley as having a strong track record in the London Market, with technical expertise and a network of brokers, co-insurers and insureds that would support Markel's continued growth in financial institutions and fintech.
The hire arrives against the backdrop of adverse development on Markel's run-off D&O professional liability product lines. The issue first surfaced in the company's second-quarter 2025 results, when Markel disclosed it as a primary driver of a higher combined ratio.
CFO Brian Costanzo said on the third-quarter earnings call that the adverse development involved large individual claims in the US$5 million to US$10 million range on a net basis, though he described the overall amount as "fairly modest."
AM Best has warned the trend is not unique to Markel, noting that adverse development is embedded in prior-year D&O reserves industry-wide and questioning whether prices "fell too far, too quickly." WTW's 2025 outlook similarly flagged that continued rate reductions had reached the point of unsustainability.
For full-year 2025, the insurance segment posted a combined ratio of 94.6%, improving from 95.9% in 2024, with the international division growing gross written premium 14% and delivering an 83% combined ratio. Group operating revenues reached US$15.51 billion, up 5%.
