Pen Underwriting adds to specialist marine expertise with hire of leading London market underwriter

Published On : 24 Jul 2023

Pen Underwriting has continued investment in its new marine specialism – following its acquisition of five specialist London-based marine managing general agents (MGAs) in April, and the acquisition of specialist Norwegian MGA Fender Marine earlier this month – with the appointment of Neil Bridge as Senior Underwriter at BMM Ports & Terminals (BMM P&T), with effect from Monday 24 July.

Neil joins the growing Pen marine team from Travelers Syndicate Management where he was Senior Underwriter and spent the past 17 years, having specialised in underwriting the ports and terminals class for well over a decade. Bringing extensive experience and expertise in ports and terminals, as well as the wider UK marine market, Neil will work with the established team of specialist underwriters to further grow the portfolio, while ensuring sustainable profitability.

Established in 2018, BMM P&T specialises in ports and terminals’ liability, tailoring insurance solutions to reflect the evolving risks and exposures of clients’ diversifying activity. BMM P&T joined Pen in April alongside Vessel Protect, Trafalgar Marine Trades, Freeboard Maritime and Fortify Marine to bring new internationally focused underwriting capabilities across marine trades’ liability, ports & terminals liability, marine war risks, kidnap & ransom, brown water and hull & machinery.

Chris Goddard, Co-Managing Director of Marine at Pen Underwriting, said: “We’re excited to welcome Neil to our expanding team of specialist underwriters, all dedicated to niche areas of the marine industry which require bespoke risk solutions. A leading presence in the London market, Neil brings considerable expertise and a real breadth and depth of experience to our BMM team that will ensure we continue to grow our ports and terminals portfolio with sustainable profitability.

“As we said on joining Pen, earlier this year, and becoming part of a larger organisation, we will keep investing in talented, entrepreneurial underwriters who will help maintain our strong growth trajectory and build out our diversified marine offering, while delivering great outcomes for our clients and capacity providers.”

Neil Bridge said: “After launching five years ago, BMM’s experienced and enterprising underwriters quickly established themselves as a key market for ports and terminals risks, with a reputation for responsiveness, service and customised solutions for clients. I’m really looking forward to joining the team to help grow the portfolio further while continuing to meet the evolving and complex needs of owners and operators, wherever they are in the world.”

Neil’s appointment to BMM P&T and becoming part of Pen’s fast-growing marine team follows recent announcements about other experienced and specialist hires. These include Munro Anderson joining marine war risk specialist Vessel Protect to add maritime risk intelligence and security expertise, while Chris Curran joined Freeboard Maritime as a specialist in marine professional indemnity and cargo liability.