In a Press release, the insurer revealed that the decision to merge the two divisions is part of the wholesale business’ attempts to simplify the trading experience of its broker partners and to make its product offerings as innovative, comprehensive and relevant as possible.
As part of the restructuring, David Sawyer, who joined Markel International in 2015, will take on an expanded role with responsibility for the combined divisions as divisional managing director of PFR and cyber. Meanwhile, Chris Burgess will continue to lead the London-based cyber team, and will now report into Sawyer, with a role focused on developing growth potential for the business line.
Markel’s commitment to the evolution of its cyber team has been clear in recent years from its variety of senior appointments including that of Ed Rawe, who joined Markel in 2021, and has been promoted to senior cyber underwriter.
Commenting on the move, Andrew McMellin, managing director of wholesale at Markel International, said: “When Markel started writing cyber business almost ten years ago, clients were facing a very different, and significantly less complex risk landscape than the one they face today.
“Cyber risks have gained prominence and are now intertwined with other business lines, especially those that sit under our PFR division. When we were looking at how we can keep our business relevant and tailored for our clients, we saw many benefits in the merging of the two divisions.”
He added that this means that Markel International’s cyber underwriters can now align themselves more closely with its PFR teams. This, he said, will allow them to plan and innovate collaboratively, and bring about a more holistic approach to its cyber offering – to the benefit of both its broking partners and end clients.
Discussing the growing cyber team, Sawyer commented: “We have highly skilled and well-respected cyber underwriters and I look forward to working with Chris and the rest of the team, as we continue to expand our combined offering for our brokers and clients.”
