Beazley taps underwriting veteran to lead US property in ‘challenging time’

Specialist insurer  Beazley has tapped a senior underwriter to head up its North America commercial property team in what it described as a “challenging time” for property insurance in the US with rising inflation and increasing natural catastrophes.

Matt Westhoff (pictured) will take on the new role that will bring together the firm’s US property teams under his leadership. He will be responsible for grow Beazley’s property portfolios across all of its target market segments.

Westhoff has over 19-years’ experience underwriting US property risks, and he joined Beazley in 2019 as Focus Group Leader of the US large commercial property team. Prior to joining the firm, he held leadership roles with Berkshire Hathaway and AIG/Lex and worked at a number of other leading carriers in the US.

Richard Montminy, global head of property risks at Beazley said: “I am excited that Matt has agreed to take on this new role to head up our North America Commercial Property team. This is a challenging time for property insurance in the US, with rising inflation combined with increasing natural catastrophe events. But, these unprecedented conditions create an opportunity for specialist insurers like Beazley, willing to step up to the plate to find solutions and deliver underwriting excellence.

“Matt’s depth of property underwriting knowledge and experience will be invaluable to us as we seek to build out our US team and grow our property portfolios across all of our target market segments.”

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