10 People on the Move

Starr names new head of global aviation, SterlingRisk hires new chief marketing officer, and K2 International appoints two executives in this edition of People on the Move.

By: Emma Brenner | October 18, 2020

Andy Trundle Named Starr’s Head of Global Aviation

Starr Insurance Company recently announced the appointment of Andy Trundle as head of global aviation.

Trundle began working at Starr in 2017 as its global head of airlines and has 35 years of aviation and underwriting experience. Since he joined Starr, Trundle has been a part of the company’s vision to become a top aviation insurance provider.

In his role as head of global aviation, he will work to enhance the growth of the company across several subgroups, which include airlines, general aviation, light aviation and aerospace.

“Having someone with Andy’s experience and expertise keeps Starr on track to expand the aviation division and strengthen our relationships with clients and brokers,” said Maurice R. Greenberg, Starr chairman and CEO.

“His success in running our airline business has been an important factor in establishing Starr as a global leader in the aviation insurance market,” Greenberg added.

Marsh Announces Hiring of Tamara Franklin

Tamara Franklin, chief digital, data analytics officer, Marsh

Marsh announced the hiring of Tamara Franklin as chief digital, data and analytics officer.

In her new role with Marsh, Franklin will lead the designing and implementation of digital technology for the company.

Additionally, she will be ensuring Marsh’s use of data and analytics in order to better reach its clients.

Franklin previously served as vice president of media and entertainment solutions at IBM. Her career spans 25 years working within digital strategy.

“More than ever, our clients are looking to use the power of digital solutions to help them manage a rapidly-changing risk and insurance landscape, especially in light of the COVID-19 global pandemic. With her extensive experience driving digital transformation and developing digitally-enabled client solutions, Tamara will help us achieve our goal of further digitizing the client experience,” said John Doyle, president and CEO of Marsh.

Bailey Southwell & Co Brings on Tim Scallen as Managing Partner

Bailey Southwell & Co, a health care and tech-enabled services merchant bank, appointed Tim Scallen as a new managing partner. Scallen will lead BSC Capital Partners (BSCCP), an affiliated principal investment fund.

With over 10 years of experience in portfolio management, Scallen joins BSCCP after most recently serving as a principal at TripleTree’s TT Capital Partners.

“We are thrilled to be welcoming Tim to our leadership team to help solidify and expand our investment capabilities,” said Jeff Bailey, co-founder and managing director of Bailey Southwell.

“His sector experience aligns perfectly with our investment thesis, and he has experience in building a world-class private equity platform. Our three foundational elements of providing access to our network, insights to monitor emerging trends, and M&A market feedback through our investment banking platform has enabled the fund to make differentiated investments that we know Tim will continue to build upon.”

Angie Henderson Moncada, staff senior vice president, marketing, FM Global

George Plesce, client experience and sales officer, FM Global

FM Global Appoints Two Execs

FM Global announced two executive appointments.

George Plesce has been named the insurer’s first client experience and sales officer.

Angie Henderson Moncada is appointed as staff senior vice president, marketing.

Plesce started working with FM Global in 1991 as a senior account executive. Since then, his roles have varied throughout the company, with his most recent being senior vice president, manager, client services and sales.

Henderson Moncada’s new role within FM Global will consist of leading the mutual insurance company’s marketing efforts on a global scale. She will report to Plesce.

“Angie brings to FM Global a wealth of global marketing experience across industries and sectors,” said Plesce.

“She will play a vital leadership role as FM Global continues to advance a client-centric, data-driven marketing strategy.”

Geraldine DelPrete, chief marketing officer, SterlingRisk

SterlingRisk Appoints Chief Marketing Officer

SterlingRisk Insurance named Geraldine DelPrete as chief marketing officer. This role comes as a promotion for DelPrete, who will still serve as SterlingRisk’s president of programs for both the company’s marketing and programs departments.

DelPrete joined SterlingRisk in 2018 as director of programs, senior vice president. Through her two years with the brokerage, she has added various new platforms, helped to relaunch the broker’s real estate program and helped to expand several additional offerings.

“The role that Geraldine now plays as chief marketing officer is unprecedented at SterlingRisk,” observed CEO David Sterling. “Her depth of insurance and reinsurance experience and vast carrier relationships will enable us to aggregate our premiums and relationships, resulting in increased clout for our business units.”

Lockton Brings on Jason Del Grande To Head Business Growth

Lockton Pacific, a sector of the global insurance broker Lockton Companies, appointed Jason Del Grande to oversee the growth of the company’s presence in the San Francisco Bay area.

Specifically, Del Grande will work with employers to discover best practices regarding workplace wellness, talent retention and bottom line management.

Del Grande has 15 years of experience in employee benefits and the commercial insurance industry. Prior to his appointment with Lockton, he served as vice president for Hefferman Insurance Brokers.

“Jason’s energy and creativity will be a tremendous asset to us as we continue to build our presence and deepen our bench in the region,” said Phil Pierce, COO of Lockton Pacific North.

“We are thrilled that a professional of Jason’s caliber who shares our core values, integrity and passion for client service is joining our team. Through his leadership and established relationships, he will fuel our business and shore up our long-term success in the region.”

K2 International Appoints Two Executives in Opening of New Office

Richard Coello, managing director, K2 International

Michael Butcher, head underwriter, K2 International

K2 International, a specialty insurance company, announced the hiring of Michael Butcher and Richard Coello to head its new European operations in Brussels.

The office will be lead by Butcher, who will also serve as head underwriter for K2 International Europe S.A., and will be reporting to Coello, who will work as managing director.

Coello shared his thoughts on the new operation and his appointment saying, “This is an exciting moment for K2 International as we build and strengthen our business in Europe with the opening of our Brussels office. While immediately supporting the development of our financial institutions business, the new office will help us to deliver on our strategic goal of expanding into additional business classes across Europe.”

He also added, “I am confident Michael will bring dynamism and outstanding technical skill to deliver risk management and insurance solutions to clients and brokers across the continent.”

Butcher commented, “K2 International has a reputation for exacting underwriting standards in the financial institutions markets across Europe. Our new office location will give us the opportunity to get closer to existing clients and brokers and build new relationships in an expanding list of business classes throughout the whole of Europe.”

Brando Guerrero, regional sales executive, Distinguished Programs

Distinguished Programs Brings on Brando Guerrero in Executive Position

Distinguished Programs hired Brando Guerrero as a regional sales executive, based in New York.

In this role, Guerrero will manage the sales of Distinguished’s program to the New York region.

Before joining Distinguished Programs, Guerrero worked with Nationwide Insurance in New York as both an associate sales manager and agency development sales manager.

“Brando brings a strong history of insurance experience in sales strategy and management that will be incredibly valuable as we seek to expand our outreach in New York,” said Kurt Meister, senior vice president of business development at Distinguished Programs.

“We are very excited to see his breadth of experience translate into great success in the near future.” &

Emma Brenner is a staff writer with Risk & Insurance. She can be reached at [email protected].

How a Carrier Partner Can Help Navigate a Challenging Management and Professional Liability Market

A combination of a choppy economy with increased claims frequency and severity could lead to rate increases in the Management & Professional Liability market.

Rates in the management & professional liability (M&PL) markets were on the rise from 2020 to early 2023 and are now falling rapidly.

M&PL divisions manage a number of different insurance products including management liability (D&O), professional liability (E&O), employment practices liability (EPL), fiduciary liability policies, cyber, etc. In 2023 and into 2024, a big influence on the marketplace has been the extremely aggressive and softening public company D&O market.

Though these rates have been softening for management liability, that may change over the next few years as companies continue to adjust their business models motivated by economic uncertainty. Layoffs were up nearly 200% last year, Forbes reported, even as other recession indicators, like the inflation rate, improved. A recession could lead to an increased claim activity and force carriers to raise rates.

“Whenever there is a meaningful downturn in the economy, we tend to see claim frequency pop up,” said George Schalick, Jr., senior vice president of the Management and Professional Liability Division at Philadelphia Insurance Companies (PHLY).

With continued fiscal uncertainty, businesses potentially already burdened with pandemic-related claims should seek a carrier with a long history in M&PL products. They will provide much-needed risk management guidance and be better positioned to support their insureds during market fluctuations.

Why Insureds Might See an Uptick in M&PL Claims

George Schalick, Jr., Senior Vice President of the Management and Professional Liability Division, Philadelphia Insurance Companies

The current soft market might come as a bit of a surprise as it does not track with previous underwriting cycles and economic conditions. Afterall, many privately held and non-profit organizations struggled during the early days of the pandemic with shutdowns and rapidly declining revenues. But the Government assistance programs, like the Paycheck Protection Program loans, helped keep many afloat during the tough times.

“During COVID many organizations stopped doing business until they were able to sort out all of the health and safety challenges,” Schalick said. “They were forced to lock down, but then all the government assistance programs allowed them to keep people employed. The increased volume of claims we anticipated we would see coming from the lockdowns and restrictions that were imposed upon businesses in the U.S. didn’t manifest at first.”

“Just because there wasn’t an onslaught of reported claims at the beginning of the pandemic, doesn’t mean the circumstances that would give rise to a claim being reported didn’t occur. Courts and the judicial system were closed or slowed and now that they are back open, we’re starting to see the circumstances that occurred during the COVID lockdowns becoming claims today,” Schalick said. “Litigation is progressing.”

Added to the delayed pandemic litigation is a concern over newer claims that might be filed as the country inches toward an economic downturn. Though a recession was avoided in 2023, experts think a soft dip could occur in 2024, with 76% of economists saying there’s a 50% or less chance of an economic downturn this year — that almost always results in more management liability claims.

“During the Great Recession in 2008, we saw an almost immediate spike in claims because of the economic conditions and the pressure it placed on organizations. They were making personnel changes with significant belt tightening almost immediately.” Schalick said.

What’s in Store for M&PL Policy Rates in 2024?

Despite an uptick in claims and increased economic uncertainty, management liability rates haven’t increased, resulting in market-wide pricing levels that may not meet the increased pressure of rising settlements and jury verdicts.

“Rates are going the other direction and settlement values are not falling,” Schalick said.

The mismatch between rates, claim frequency and severity is, in part, because carriers experiencing the dramatic soft market in the public D&O market are seeking premium gain in the private and non-profit market.

“In the public company market, the rates have been decreasing significantly. The rates were increasing in the private, not-for-profit market, and rightfully so, but there’s a desire to supplement overall mid-size D&O for carriers who also write private not-for-profit, and they see that as an opportunity to aggregate premium,” Schalick said. “So the always competitive landscape in the private, not-for-profit market has dramatically increased in the last 18 to 24 months.”

Still, companies of all sizes and types should be concerned about management liability rates in the future. Legal system abuse is resulting in increases in both the amount of litigation and the size of verdicts plaintiffs are receiving.

Certain areas of the country are particularly vulnerable to this type of legal system abuse. As a result, insureds in these localities are likely to be vulnerable to rate increases.

“The environment is so positive for the plaintiff that forces premium increases so carriers are able to stay in that market long term,” Schalick said.

Why a Tenured Carrier Partner Can Help Insureds Navigate An Uncertain Market

It’s clear that insureds are facing an uncertain M&PL market over the next few years. Fortunately, carriers with a long history in the M&PL space will be there to offer stability.

Philadelphia Insurance Companies has been supporting this market for 35 years. PHLY is committed to offering long-term rate stability, even as economic and claims trends start to push premiums upwards. They have an appetite for all sorts of companies, large and small, for-profit and nonprofit alike.

“We’ve been at this game for a long time and are one of the most tenured underwriters in this space,” Schalick said. “We like to stay very consistent.”

PHLY has worked with both for-profit and non-profit on management liability policies. With dedicated M&PL teams throughout the company’s 13 regions, PHLY provides the support agents and brokers are looking for on behalf of their clients. The teams know their regions well and can respond to local trends. They’re also dedicated to making the renewal process as easy as possible for their partners and policyholders.

“We have real confidence in our results, so we focus a lot on making the renewal experience as painless as possible for all agents and insureds,” Schalick said.

The company is also investing in tools to help insureds avoid losses. Earlier this year, they launched a new online risk management platform, PHLYGateway, which offers resources for insureds on how to create an employee handbook and trainings on issues such as recognizing workplace sexual harassment and discrimination.

If insureds have questions, they can consult a Best Practices Help Line, provided via the platform. That way, they can get on the spot risk management guidance to help them prevent claims.

To learn more, visit: https://www.phly.com/mplDivision/managementLiability/default.aspx.

This article was produced by the R&I Brand Studio, a unit of the advertising department of Risk & Insurance, in collaboration with Philadelphia Insurance Companies. The editorial staff of Risk & Insurance had no role in its preparation.

10 People on the Move

Andy Trundle Named Starr’s Head of Global Aviation

Marsh Announces Hiring of Tamara Franklin

Bailey Southwell & Co Brings on Tim Scallen as Managing Partner

FM Global Appoints Two Execs

SterlingRisk Appoints Chief Marketing Officer

Lockton Brings on Jason Del Grande To Head Business Growth

K2 International Appoints Two Executives in Opening of New Office

Distinguished Programs Brings on Brando Guerrero in Executive Position

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10 People on the Move

Andy Trundle Named Starr’s Head of Global Aviation

Marsh Announces Hiring of Tamara Franklin

Bailey Southwell & Co Brings on Tim Scallen as Managing Partner

FM Global Appoints Two Execs

SterlingRisk Appoints Chief Marketing Officer

Lockton Brings on Jason Del Grande To Head Business Growth

K2 International Appoints Two Executives in Opening of New Office

Distinguished Programs Brings on Brando Guerrero in Executive Position

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Sponsored: Philadelphia Insurance Companies

How a Carrier Partner Can Help Navigate a Challenging Management and Professional Liability Market

Why Insureds Might See an Uptick in M&PL Claims

What’s in Store for M&PL Policy Rates in 2024?

Why a Tenured Carrier Partner Can Help Insureds Navigate An Uncertain Market

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