Over the last five years, Markel has shown commitment to evolving its cyber team after making various senior appointments, including Ed Rawe, who joined Markel in 2021. He has since been promoted to senior cyber underwriter.
In light of the merger, David Sawyer, who joined Markel International in 2015, will be taking on an expanded role with responsibility for the combined divisions as divisional manager of PFR and cyber. Chris Burgess will be continuing as lead for the London-based cyber team, reporting to Sawyer, with a role focused on developing growth potential for the business line.
Furthermore, Lewis Bennett has joined Markel as senior cyber underwriter from Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) as well as Dan Fox as a senior underwriter, and Ollie Carroll as an assistant underwriter.
Commenting on the re-structure, Andrew McMellin, Markel International managing director of wholesale, has 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 merging the two divisions.”
McMellin continued that this restructuring means that Markel International’s cyber underwriters can now align themselves more closely with its PFR teams, which will allegedly allow them to plan and innovate collaboratively.
Commenting on the growth of Markel’s cyber team, David Sawyer said:
“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.”
