Pen Underwriting makes raft of marine leadership appointments to gear specialist practice for growth
Published On : 27 Nov 2025
Pen Underwriting, the multi-class multi-territory managing general agent (MGA), has made a series of leadership appointments within its specialist Marine practice and announced structural changes to support strategic growth and future expansion.
All roles will be effective 1 January 2026 and report into Seb Simmonds, Managing Director of Pen Underwriting’s Public Sector & International division, within which the specialist Marine practice sits.
The structure retains Pen’s distinct marine underwriting specialisms, with dedicated leaders promoted from within the business to assume individual responsibility for portfolio management and performance, while introducing new pan-practice roles and responsibilities to drive operational excellence and underpin strategic growth.
- Tom Batterbury, as Managing Director, will head up and take responsibility for Pen’s marine war and marine professional indemnity and logistics businesses, which trade respectively as Vessel Protect and Freeboard, leading their teams of underwriters
- Jack Buchan, as Managing Director, will assume leadership of and responsibility for Pen’s brown water hull specialist, Fortify, and its team of underwriters
- James King, as Managing Director, will head up and hold responsibility for Pen’s specialist ports & terminals facility and its underwriters, which trade as BMM Ports & Terminals
- Stephen Loader, as Managing Director, will assume leadership of and take sole responsibility for Pen’s specialist marine trades business TMT, which provides tailored property and liability cover solutions for everything from boat builders, repairers and suppliers to equipment manufacturers, clubs and marinas.
Additionally, Munro Anderson (currently Director of Operations for Vessel Protect) has been promoted to Director of Strategy & Operations for Pen’s Marine practice. Munro’s new pan-practice role will see him tasked with executing on the strategic vision for growth and driving operational excellence and consistency across the different underwriting specialisms.
James Kent (currently senior marine underwriter) will also take on a new pan-practice role in the new structure to reflect the breadth of his marine experience across underwriting, claims and broking over the past 25 years in the sector. As Commercial Director he will support the development of new products and solutions, strategic distribution and carrier relationships across the breadth of Pen’s marine specialisms.
As part of these changes, Paul Hartley and Chris Goddard, currently Co-Managing Directors of Marine at Pen Underwriting, will be leaving the business on 1 January 2026.
Commenting on the promotions and new structure, Seb Simmonds, Managing Director of Public Sector & International at Pen Underwriting, said: “Since we entered the specialist marine market in 2023, we have continued to invest in and enhance our proposition – expanding underwriting appetite, raising cover limits and adding new specialist lines, such as yacht insurance. Our focus now is on ensuring the practice is best positioned for future growth and expansion into adjacent product specialisms as and when the time is right, while ensuring our existing marine specialisms continue to deliver quality service and solutions for brokers and clients.
“All those appointed today to take on pivotal practice roles have demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities since they became part of Pen. Being able to promote from within speaks to the talent and bench strength within our individual marine underwriting specialisms and having a single head of strategy and operations will ensure we are aligned in our capabilities, operationally fit and able to execute our shared vision.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Chris and Paul for their contribution to the business over the past two years, as we worked to embed the marine capabilities into our broader suite of underwriting specialisms, and wish them all the best in their future endeavours.”
