Several insurers and brokers across the UK and London market have announced senior appointments and leadership changes spanning underwriting, broking, claims and insurtech.
HDI Global UK & Ireland appoints head of energy & power
HDI Global UK & Ireland has named Matthew Bond as head of energy & power, effective March 2, 2025. He joins from AIG, where he most recently served as APAC head of energy & construction based in Singapore.
Bond brings more than 20 years of experience in underwriting and engineering within the energy and power sector. Over the course of his career, he has held roles at Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, CNA Hardy and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, working across both Lloyd’s and company markets in London.
In his new role, Bond will report to Kate Sutcliffe, chief underwriting officer for short tail lines at HDI’s UK & Ireland division. He will oversee the energy & power portfolio, with a mandate to further integrate specialist underwriting and engineering expertise within a cross-functional structure.
Acrisure London Wholesale launches construction team
Acrisure London Wholesale has expanded into the construction segment with the creation of a dedicated specialist team. Tom Hester has been appointed senior vice president and head of construction, effective February 16, reporting to managing director Tom Quy.
Hester joins from Lockton, where he served as partner and head of international construction since 2018. He has more than 22 years of industry experience, including serving as head of builders’ risk for North America at Alesco, part of Arthur J. Gallagher, and spending over a decade within the international construction team at JLT Specialty.
He will lead the strategic development and build-out of Acrisure London Wholesale’s construction proposition.
AEGIS London promotes claims leaders
AEGIS London has promoted Jenny Macartney and Zoe Hill to claims manager roles. Macartney, who joined the business in 2018, will continue to head the casualty claims team, while Hill, who joined in 2016, will lead the E&O and cyber claims team.
Neale Etheridge has also been appointed claims manager for marine & energy, joining from Fidelis. He succeeds Dean Allen, who had been serving as interim claims manager during the recruitment process.
The AEGIS London claims team has been awarded the Outstanding Claims Service Quality Marque by Gracechurch Consulting for the 10th consecutive year, maintaining the recognition every year since its introduction in 2017.
Waggel confirms CEO transition
UK pet insurer Waggel has announced a leadership change, with founder and chief executive Andrew Leal stepping down. Henri Dowling will assume the CEO role.
Dowling joins from Correlation One Investments (Europe) Limited, an early investor that now holds a majority stake in the company.
Leal co-founded Waggel alongside Ross Fretten in 2018. During his tenure, the business expanded to insure more than 200,000 pets across the UK. The company reported revenues of £11 million in 2024 and is projecting £15 million for 2025.
