Ascot US launches E&S casualty division with Roy hire
Ascot has continued the buildout of its US insurance platform by launching an E&S casualty division with the hiring of Matthew Roy from Axa XL as senior vice president.
In a statement, Ascot said the new division will provide a wide range of customized E&S casualty solutions that will initially focus on general liability and auto liability, along with supported and unsupported excess liability, across a variety of industry segments.
The move comes only a week after the carrier launched a new portfolio solutions underwriting division of its Ascot US platform led by former AIG executive Anthony Lyons.
The new casualty division will be wholesale only and focus on middle market business in areas like construction, manufacturing and hospitality.
Ascot said the offering will combine its capital strength with a wide range of lines for multiple industry segments, with a common access point, underpinned by a focus on efficiency of service and ease of transacting business.
The move reunites the executive with Ascot’s group president Jonathan Zaffino, who Roy worked under at Everest Insurance, where he held the position of vice president and Northeast regional manager for wholesale casualty.
New York-based Roy will be supported by underwriters in the city, as well as Chicago and Atlanta.
He was most recently assistant vice president of E&S primary casualty at Axa XL.
As previously reported, Zaffino officially joined Ascot in June this year after completing his contractual obligations at Everest, where he had been president and CEO of the Bermudian’s fast-growing insurance operations.
The executive said that as part of the expansion of CPP Investments-owned Ascot’s US insurance business the carrier is looking to deliver new products which augment existing areas of its operations to bring fresh solutions to brokers.
“Ascot has many years of casualty underwriting experience, and we can now combine this expertise with a new, legacy free, US division which complements our existing digital small-excess-casualty suite, and provides continued depth of solutions through the wholesale channel,” he said.
“We continue to invest in outstanding underwriting talent to join the already formidable team within Ascot Group. The appointment of Matt is a great example of this talent strategy in practice,” Zaffino added.
Continued build-out
The E&S casualty division adds to a range of specialty and financial lines products added as part of phase one of its US insurance company business line build-out.
The most recent of those was the addition of a team led by Drew Walter from Axis to target the cyber and E&O markets, rounding out an offering that already included products such as ocean marine, inland marine, environmental and trade credit, legal professional liability and SME casualty, among others.
The initial build-out took place under Greg Wolyniec, who is understood to have subsequently left his position as president and CEO of Ascot US.
Ascot also has a strong casualty insurance presence on its Bermuda platform after hiring Patrick Kenahan and his excess casualty team from Allied World last October.
Meanwhile the Lyons-led portfolio solutions underwriting division will look to identify, cultivate and maintain partnerships with third-party firms seeking a relationship with Ascot, working closely with MGUs and MGAs as well as insurtechs.
Lyons will also oversee group and single parent captive solutions to bring Ascot’s underwriting capabilities and multiple platforms to address increasing demand for the services from commercial clients.
As previously reported there is growing demand from corporate clients for captive solutions amid the fast hardening US commercial insurance market.
Ascot remains committed to its own MGU platform Ethos Specialty led by Rory Cline.
Its US insurance carrier and MGU platforms are part of a four-pronged strategy that also includes its Bermuda (re)insurance operations and its long-established Lloyd’s Syndicate 1414.