Mitch Blaser's next-gen specialty insurer Mosaic launches first product line

Mitch Blaser-led  global specialty insurance start-up Mosaic has launched its first product line with the hiring of four senior executives from Ironshore and Marsh. The company has started writing war, terrorism and political violence risks globally out of offices in London and New York.

Mosaic was launched in February 2021 and combines Lloyd’s Syndicate 1609 with a wholly-owned syndicated capital management agency and underwriting hubs in Bermuda, London, the US, and Asia. The company is focused on several complex lines of specialty business which are being launched throughout 2021.

Mosaic was founded by chief executive officer Blaser, who has 40 years of experience in the industry and was a founding executive of Bermuda-based Ironshore.

The company will offer tailored coverage for a full spectrum of commercial, industrial and residential property risks associated with acts of terror and sabotage, malicious damage, strikes, riots, civil commotion, war perils and related liability around the world.

Blaser said: “The area of political violence has more relevance today than ever, and Mosaic’s unique position makes us a trusted partner for clients requiring this type of coverage.”

Mosaic's new underwriting team in London and North America will be led by Quentin Prebble, Jamie Oliver, Heather Blaser and Michael Glover.

Prebble is chairman of war, terrorism and political violence (WTPV) and has more than 40 years of underwriting experience in the London market. He most recently served as global head of marine, including war and terrorism, at Ironshore’s Pembroke syndicate. Prior to that, he led the same business line for Liberty syndicates at Lloyd's.

Prebble, who was one of the first professionals to write the stand-alone terrorism risk after 9/11, noted that "global geopolitical risks are creating an increasingly volatile and uncertain landscape for governments, municipalities, utilities, and companies engaged in cross-border trade."

Oliver is senior vice president and senior underwriter for WTPV. He has 15 years of industry experience in the Lloyd’s and US insurance markets and previously worked at Marsh in New York as a senior client advisor. He also worked a senior underwriter at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, and spent six years as a marine underwriter at Pembroke, having started his career at Liberty syndicates.

[Heather] Blaser, also a senior vice president and senior underwriter for WTPV, has more than 10 years of industry experience and was formerly at Ironshore underwriting war and terrorism at Pembroke. She later returned to the US to manage a domestic book of business, successfully building a market-leading consortium.

Glover is a junior underwriter and joins the London team with prior experience in both professional indemnity and political violence.

Mosaic said it plans to continue building up the team over the next few months.

The company offers a broad range of stand-alone terrorism products in the portfolio that can be written as primary, excess or quota-share coverage to mitigate damage, business disruption costs, or lost sales revenues in the event of attacks or threats. Products include: terrorism and sabotage; third party liability; strikes; riots; civil commotion; full war and political violence; aviation and marine war; active shooter physical damage and business interruption; cyber; civil and military; and nuclear, chemical, biological and radiological (NCBR).

Mosaic will act as a lead market, with a maximum capacity of $50 million for any one risk. Through its US operation it will offer up to $250 million through syndicated capacity.

Policies do not require government certification of a terrorist attack or minimum loss requirements. US policies are separate to the federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (TRIPRA).

Did you get value from this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.