Cyber MGA Resilience enters UK market with HDI Global capacity

US cyber risk managing general agent (MGA)  Resilience has launched a new operation in London to serve the UK market having secured capacity from HDI Global Specialty SE in a deal brokered by Lockton Re.

The company has expanded its global offering following a period of growth and a swathe of senior hires drawn from the UK-based insurance, intelligence, and cybersecurity organisations.

Resilience has made multiple key strategic hires throughout the second and third quarters of 2022, including newly appointed head of international distribution and strategy Jack Jenner, (formerly of global financial institutions Allianz and Zurich), as well as other senior underwriting professionals with experience drawn from Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, Chubb, and Tokio Marine Kiln. Providing key UK cybersecurity expertise and insights is former UK armed forces veteran turned security professional Simon West and other industry professionals from cybersecurity companies.

The MGA is led by CEO & co-founder Vishaal Hariprasad, supported by Mario Vitale as president of Resilience’s Insurance Group. From Willis Towers Watson to Zurich Financial Services, Vitale has more than 40 years of experience in various senior leadership positions across the insurance industry.

Joining Vitale in leading the company's global expansion is Kyle Bryant as international chief underwriting officer. Prior to joining Resilience in 2021, Bryant was responsible for Chubb’s Overseas General Insurance where he oversaw the strategy, development, and financial performance of the cyber and technology lines of business in international markets, based out of London.

Hariprasad said: "The last couple of years made it clear: you can’t separate your cyber insurance from your cybersecurity if you want to manage your cyber risk correctly. We've instead got to break the silos and look at cyber risk holistically. Our goal is cyber resilience: continuously improving companies' risk profiles by connecting their coverage with their cybersecurity plan to reinforce great cyber hygiene. What we propose is dynamic: reduce the risk, reduce the risk transfer cost, reduce the severity of a breach, reduce the risk to partners, and improve your business's agility and competitiveness. That's Resilience's mission."

Vitale added: "To rewrite the rules of how companies manage their cyber risk, you need innovative thinking and a new approach to it. That's why we're so excited by our recent UK leadership hires, who integrate UK and European cyber underwriting expertise with British national cybersecurity experience. Every company's cyber risks are interestingly both now unique and local, as well as universal and global. Our combination of expertise gives us the unrivalled ability to work with truly holistic thinking around a company's cyber risk posture. And most of all, we are proud to always be broker-first - we roll up our sleeves and work with our broker partners to find the right solution for clients."

James Franklin, cyber lead of HDI Global Specialty SE, UK commented: “We’ve been impressed by Resilience’s client focus and the leadership and underwriting teams they’ve assembled. This offering represents a commendable example of where well-established socio-technical security and insurance-based risk management techniques can come together. ”

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