Pen Underwriting eyes geographic and niche sector expansion of D&O portfolio with key strategic hire

Published On : 26 May 2021

Pen Underwriting today announces that Neil Bowdrey has been appointed to the newly created role of Head of D&O as it looks to significantly expand its presence in the directors’ & officers’ liability insurance market by exploring and building out new niche industry segments both in the UK and overseas.

Neil joins Pen this week, will be based in the UK and report into Adrian Scott, Managing Director of International & Financial Lines at Pen Underwriting.

Highly respected internationally, Neil brings 35 years’ specialist experience and is recognised as a D&O expert as well as a successful builder and leader of broader financial lines underwriting portfolios both in London and Australia.

He joins from Liberty Specialty Markets, where he has been D&O Portfolio Manager for Asia Pacific since 2017, based in Perth, Western Australia. Prior to that, Neil was Financial Lines Manager for Western Australia at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, following a similar role at AIG, having relocated from London in 2005. During this time he built profitable professional risks portfolios from scratch in new territories, established and managed teams of specialist underwriters, and held responsibility for business development and production. Before moving to Australia, Neil held senior Professional & Financial Risks roles in London at both brokers and Lloyd’s syndicates.

Neil’s appointment forms part of Pen’s stated strategy of accelerated growth and its ambition to become a £1bn gross written premium underwriting & distribution business through investing in top industry talent and specialist expertise in new niche sector or product areas, alongside acquisitions and innovation.

Adrian Scott, Managing Director of International & Financial Lines at Pen Underwriting, said: “D&O is a dynamic market with considerable pricing momentum that is attracting new capacity to the marketplace. With Neil’s appointment and Pen’s strong distribution platform for insurer partners, we can provide excellent distribution for new and existing D&O capacity. Given the current market dynamics it’s the ideal time to invest in expanding and evolving Pen’s D&O offering to the forefront of our international & financial lines portfolio.

“Neil’s extensive experience in both the London and Australian markets will see him bring to Pen not only expert knowledge, strong leadership credentials and a great international reputation but the D&O firepower needed to ensure we expand out our capabilities and deliver on our ambitious plans in these new areas. We very much look forward to welcoming Neil to the team.”

Nick Wright, Chief Business Development Officer at Pen Underwriting, added: “Investing in top industry talent like Neil, to enable us to expand into new niche areas, write more diverse risks and in turn support our broker clients in growing their own businesses, is a core part of our strategic mix for accelerated growth. Alongside acquisitions and innovation, investing in strategic new hires is what will enable Pen to really move the dial.”