"Lloyd's has long had the brains-that is to say the underwriting expertise-to write large and complex construction risks," said Colin Rose, Head of Construction & Engineering at Beazley. "Through the consortium, we now have the brawn-that is to say the underwriting capacity-to lead the largest projects."

Simon Challinor, Head of Construction & Engineering at Canopius, said: "The consortium offers flexibility, security and a supportive claims service as well as a broad set of expertise. The experience contained within the respective teams will bring meaningful benefit to clients and Lloyd's brokers alike, and will reinforce Lloyd's prominent position for this class of business."

Steve Cross, Senior Construction Underwriter at Hardy, added: "When it comes to the largest projects, clients have had a restricted choice of lead insurers, with fewer than half a dozen markets able to offer the capacity required. Through the consortium, Lloyd's is expanding choice for risk managers and brokers."

David Turner, Construction Global Practice Leader at Talbot, said the consortium can only be accessed by Lloyd's brokers and will play an important role in attracting more construction business to Lloyd's.

"For our clients substantial additional capacity from insurers that really understand their needs will undoubtedly be welcome," he added.

ACE to offer surety solutions in Italy

ACE has expanded its surety business to Italy and appointed Edoardo Sacchi as Surety Underwriting Manager for the country. The insurer said the move continues the development of its surety capabilities in continental Europe.

Supported by its global network, ACE will offer a range of surety products for Italian clients. These will include contract bid, performance and advance payment bonds, vat and customs bonds as well as bonds to secure both payment and legal/regulatory obligations and appeal adverse tax-related and civil judgements.

Mr Sacchi will lead the operation. He has over 25 years of experience in surety and joins ACE from Zurich.

Luc Reuter, Senior Vice President and Head of Surety, Europe at ACE said: "With continuing pressure on financial institutions throughout continental Europe, we see particular opportunities in the surety market and the expansion of our offering has been welcomed by brokers and reinsurance partners. Our move in to Italy is a natural extension of the successful strategy we began last year. ACE's AA- rating, worldwide presence and underwriting expertise gives us a strong platform to grow our offering and also provides the security that is of real benefit to our clients."

Orazio Rossi, Country President, Italy, said: "The addition of surety to our portfolio underlines our commitment to providing a broad proposition for our Italian clients. As one of the most experienced surety underwriters in this marketplace, Edoardo is well-equipped to help us provide superior cover to Italian companies operating in both domestic and international markets."

Q-Re announces new management team

Q-Re, a subsidiary of Qatar Insurance Company (QIC), headquartered in Doha, Qatar, has announced a new management team as it bids to develop into a global multi-line reinsurer with a focus on specialty lines. The new team will based in Doha, Zurich, London and Bermuda.

Willi Schuerch, who brings more than 30 years of experience from the non-life reinsurance sector, has been appointed as Chief Underwriting Officer.

Mr Schuerch started his career at Swiss Re and joined PartnerRe in 1993 where he served as Chief Underwriter Catastrophe until 2008. In 2009 he was instrumental in establishing the reinsurance startup, Novae Re.

Mark Cockroft will work for Q-Re as Chief Actuary. Mr Cockroft has almost 20 years of experience in general insurance actuarial work, primarily gathered at London market and international reinsurance operations such as GE Frankona and Endurance.

Peter Frei is named Head of Underwriting Risk and has more than 20 years of experience in leadership positions in the insurance and reinsurance industry. His areas of expertise are underwriting, enterprise exposure management, major event loss reserving, retrocession and model development.

Also appointed are Peter Bitterlin as Head of Energy, Alain Chiolero as Head of Property Catastrophe, Patrick Cove as Branch Manager (Zurich) and Head of Aviation & Marine, Manfred Dennler as Head of Property Risk, Johannes Goebel as Head of Engineering, Stefano Lorenzini as Head of Credit & Surety, Luke Roden as Underwriting Manager North America and Branch Manager, Bermuda, Karl Schneider as Head of Agriculture, Alan Tomlinson as Head of the company's London Representative Office and Rob Lee Womack as Underwriting Manager North America.

Gunther Saacke, Chief Executive Officer, Q-Re, said of the appointments: "On behalf of the board of directors, I am pleased to announce the members and responsibilities of our management team. By appointing the Chief Underwriting Officer, the Chief Risk Officer, the Chief Actuary and the line of business and regional executives, we have successfully put in place the core team which will be instrumental in establishing Q-Re as a truly global reinsurance franchise based on superior technical expertise."

Q-Re is regulated by the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) and is backed by an unconditional parental guarantee from QIC, which is capitalised at $1.3bn, as well as a direct quota share agreement.

Q-Re is rated 'A/Stable' by Standard & Poor's and 'A/Excellent' by AM Best. The company recently opened a branch office in Zurich, which is awaiting regulatory approval, and has also filed an application to open a new branch in Bermuda. It has a representative office in London.

QIC is a listed composite insurer with an operating history of almost 50 years and an underwriting footprint across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Marsh appoints Neil Irwin to develop offering in MENA region

Marsh has appointed Neil Irwin to lead the firm's business development across its Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. In his new role, Mr Irwin will work closely with Marsh's business leaders to deliver the firm's global capabilities to clients across the region.

Mr Irwin will be based in Dubai and joins the region's executive committee, reporting to Robert Makhoul, Chief Executive Officer, Marsh MENA.

Mr Irwin joined Marsh in 1991 and has held a variety of strategic business development, consulting and senior management positions covering a broad range of client segments, most recently as managing director responsible for Marsh's business development across Europe.

In his new role he will focus on delivering the firm's expertise in insurance, risk management and employee benefits while widening Marsh's offering to an extended portfolio of clients, industries, and territories.

Mr Makhoul commented: "Marsh is committed to offering the full spectrum of specialist risk management, employee benefit and insurance solutions that our clients in this dynamic region require. Neil is familiar with our region and this, combined with his extensive global experience, will prove a very powerful force in supporting the delivery of Marsh's promise to its clients across MENA."

AGCS appoints Technology Risk Underwriter

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty has appointed James Tuplin as a Technology Risks Underwriter within its Financial Lines team. He is based in the company's London office and reports to David Cable, Head of UK Commercial Professional Indemnity in the UK.

Mr Tuplin is the first dedicated UK Technology Professional Indemnity Underwriter to be appointed by AGCS. He is responsible for product development and growth within this area, complementary to the AGCS Commercial PI portfolio.

James entered the insurance industry 10 years ago and has built his expertise within Financial Lines. He has held several roles most recently as senior underwriter specialising in the technology and media arena.

Mr Cable commented: "Technology-related insurances are hot topics for our customers and brokers and continue to grow on the corporate agenda. James has been tasked with ensuring that we can offer the highest quality technology products and services to the market. We look forward to seeing him drive AGCS' Financial Lines development still further."

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