Xl Group News

Norway based dry bulk shipping company Golden Ocean Group Limited IGOGL) has announced that Ulrika Laurin and James O'Shaughnessy have been elected as new board members.Ulrika Laurin has been the Executive Chairman of ship-owning company Anglo-Atlantic Steamship Co. Ltd. and the Chairman of Laurin Shipping AB, an international ship-management company.She has served as the CFO of Anglo-Atlantic Steamship Co. Ltd. and as Commercial Manager of Laurin Maritime (UK) Ltd. Prior to that, she worked with fund manager Tufton Oceanic Ltd. and with management consultant Karlöf & Partners. She holds a Master of Science degree in Economics and Business Administration from the Stockholm School of Economics.James O'Shaughnessy has been an Executive Vice President…

XL Group plc through its subsidiaries and under the XL Catlin brand, is a global insurance and reinsurance company providing property, casualty and specialty products to industrial, commercial and professional firms, insurance companies and other enterprises throughout the world. The firm employs 7,000 and has sales of $9,300,000,000 annually. XL Catlin’s insurance segment provides commercial property, casualty, professional liability, environmental liability, aviation and satellite, marine, product recall, political risks, surplus lines and other coverages.

In October 2013, a fire blazed through Brazil’s Santos port, destroying six warehouses and the 180,000 tons of raw sugar inside Sugar Company Copersucar’s terminal. The fire hit all of the sugar giant’s warehouses at the port and left many exporters holding contracts for sugar with an empty bag. Following the fire, Copersucar declared “force majeure” to third party exporters who had contracts to ship the sugar through the now-burned terminal. Force majeure is a legal term referring…

To help yacht owners navigate increasingly risky waters, XL Group is adding a Kidnap, Ransom & Extortion (KRE) Crisis endorsement to ShipShape, and ShipShape Plus, its recreational marine insurance coverages. "Crisis events like kidnapping, disappearance and hijack are increasingly real threats, especially on open seas," explained Denise Balan, Country Manager of XL's US Crisis Management business which developed the KRE endorsement. According to Rick Salway, Vice President of XL Group's Recreational Marine business, "Our ShipShape insurance pulls together the most relevant, comprehensive insurance coverages for yacht owners and other recreational watercrafts under one policy.

XL Group informs that its leading marine underwriters will join the annual International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) conference, the first time to be held in Hong Kong in the organisation’s 140-year history. IUMI is being held in HK from 21-24 September 2014 with the theme 'Building Expertise for a Changing World'. XL Group’s Chief Underwriting Officer, Marine, Asia Pacific, Mike Davies, has been global Vice Chairman of IUMI for 3 years and prior to that was Chairman of the Technical Cargo Committee for 6 years. Mr. Davies, who has worked in Singapore for many years, has been actively involved in shaping this year’s conference, which will focus on the opportunities and risks specific to Asian markets and the region’s fast growing maritime sector. Commenting, Mr.

XL Group strengthened its Insurance Marine team with the appointment of Mike Davies as Chief Underwriting Officer, Marine, Asia Pacific and Ian Picton as Senior Upstream Underwriter. Understanding the local industry and what is impacting it, is a key recruitment driver for XL Group. Explaining, Lee Meyrick, Chief Underwriting Officer, Global Marine and Offshore Energy, said: “Asia is an important market for our global clients and it plays a huge part in supply chain logistics for companies operating around the world. Mr. Meyrick added: “Mike has 35 years’ experience in the insurance industry and an in-depth understanding of the marine market across Asia. Mr.

‘No man is an island.’ Today, the interconnectivity of business can drive opportunity, but those same interactions can significantly affect us and our businesses. Today’s marine businesses have to manage and prepare for the actions of “the other guy” as much as they have to manage their own operations. While businesses often ask their customers, tenants and subcontractors to carry insurance, they often do not carefully delve into insurance specifics to assure that gaps in insurance coverage don’t exist, that limits are adequate, or that they have the right coverage for their operations. To explain some unforeseen liability issues that may occur…

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently cited a shipyard for 61 alleged violations of workplace safety and health standards. Faced with $293,450 in proposed fines, the shipyard’s alleged violations include electrical hazards, such as failure to guard lights from damage, failure to provide effective electrical grounding for equipment, failure to provide covers on electrical box openings, and failure to ensure wiring was protected from abrasion and strain.

XL Group added marine underwriting expertise with the addition of John E. Ellis as Regional Vice President in its North America Marine business in New York. In his new role at XL Group, John will be responsible for managing and building XL Group’s Marine Cargo, Primary and Excess Marine Liability, Inland Marine, and Blue Water and Brown Water Hull business throughout the Northeast. John joins XL Group from International Marine Underwriters/One Beacon where he held the position of regional vice president and was responsible for building a profitable book of business in the Atlantic Region. John’s 25-year marine underwriting career also included positions with Royal & Sun Alliance and Global Special Risks, Inc. www.xlgroup.com

XL Group plc’s (NYSE: XL) North American Marine business expands its blue water hull risk management capabilities in New York with the addition of Siobhan Coen and Jeff Loechner as senior underwriters and Eileen Fellin as a senior claims consultant. According to Rich DeSimone, President of XL Group’s North America Marine business, “Siobhan, Jeff and Eileen collectively add nearly six decades of hull underwriting, particularly in blue water hull coverages, and claims experience. Ms. Coen joins XL as a Senior Underwriter. She brings more than 19 years underwriting experience with her from the American Hull Insurance Syndicate. She is a graduate of Manhattan College with a B.S. in Business Administration. Ms.

XL Group plc’s North American Marine business has boosted its underwriting expertise with the addition of Chris Cooke who has joined as Vice President, Hull and Liabilities. According to Richard DeSimone, President of XL Group’s North American Marine business, “We are very pleased to have Chris join our team as we look to expand our Brown Water Hull, P&I and Primary Marine Liability capabilities. “Over the last year, we’ve expanded our underwriting team to trading hubs in Cleveland, Baltimore, Richmond and Atlanta along with existing operations in New York putting us in closer proximity to our clients. Part of that expansion is developing additional coverages that will allow us to address even more of our clients’ risk management needs,” explained Mr. DeSimone.

Kevin O’Brien, President & CEO, of the Inland Marine Underwriters Association (IMUA), announced that the Board of Directors, at its recent meeting, has voted Peter Opinante to assume the Chairmanship of the Board.  Mr. Opinante, who served as Deputy Chair, fills the seat vacated by Sophia Philips who recently tendered her resignation for personal reasons. Opinante, who was scheduled to assume the Chairmanship at the IMUA’s upcoming Annual meeting this May in San Diego, CA, will now serve for an additional four months. The Board also voted that Michelle Hoehn, Travelers Group, to serve as Deputy Chairperson and Bill Rosa, XL Group, to serve as Vice Chairman.

To put its marine insurance experience closer to their clients, agents and brokers, the Marine insurance unit at XL Group plc (NYSE: XL) announced additional underwriting appointments further establishing its inland marine field operation. XL’s new Inland Marine Field team includes Michael Perrotti, Senior Vice President, Marine Field Operations based in Cleveland, Ken Mueller, Regional Vice President in Atlanta, and Ryan Faris, Marine Underwriter in New York. According to Richard DeSimone, President of XL’s US Ocean and Inland Marine unit, “New York, Cleveland and Atlanta are key trading hubs. With these appointments, we’re putting our inland marine underwriting expertise out in our key markets and in closer proximity to our clients.

XL Insurance, the insurance underwriting operations of XL Group (NYSE: XL), appointed Richard DeSimone as President of its US Ocean and Inland Marine unit. DeSimone will be based in New York and reports to Neil Robertson, Chief Executive, Global Specialty in London. ”This is a clear statement of our intent to become a more significant market for both Inland and Ocean Marine business in the United States” said Mr. Robertson. “For XL Insurance, we are fortunate to enlist Richard’s 35 years of industry experience and solid reputation to lead this initiative. DeSimone will join  XL Insurance in a newly created position as President of the  US Ocean and Inland Marine underwriting teams and will work closely with Colin Sprott…