Pen looks to Canopius to bolster delegated solutions leadership

London-based managing general agent (MGA) Pen Underwriting has bolstered its delegated solutions division with new leadership and underwriting talent from Canopius.

The new hires will spearhead the ongoing expansion of its commercial and household businesses where underwriting authority is delegated on to specialist coverholders.

Michael King will join Pen from Canopius on January 1, 2021 as head of delegated commercial, succeeding Seb Simmonds who has been named Pen’s new managing director of risk managed commercial.

King is currently head of commercial underwriting at Canopius. He has more than 25 years’ underwriting experience gained at UK composite insurers, Lloyd’s syndicates and global specialty (re)insurers.

Pen has also hired Fred Florry as senior underwriter of delegated commercial. Most recently commercial UK underwriter at Canopius, Florry has amassed his decade of underwriting experience through his five years at Canopius and previous roles at QBE Europe and Brit Insurance.

Lastly, the company has announced the internal promotion of Leo Downes to head of delegated household. Downes has been with Pen and its predecessor businesses since 2012 and succeeds Andrew Booth, who was appointed MD of the overall division earlier this year – when Pen brought together its dedicated, coverholder-focused household and commercial businesses into one cohesive delegated solutions division to enhance operational efficiency and increase opportunities for cross-selling and support.

Booth said: “We are absolutely delighted that market-leading underwriters of the calibre of Michael and Fred have chosen to join Pen at this exciting juncture, having unveiled our ambitious agenda for growth. Both are highly experienced and well respected and we look forward to welcoming them into the team to drive forward our delegated commercial products and proposition. On the delegated household side, it’s fantastic to have Leo stepping up to take the helm and I know he will do an excellent job in taking the business from its existing £125m GWP to the next level.

“I’d also like to say a massive thank you to Seb for his absolutely stellar support in helping me amalgamate our different delegated teams to form one cohesive division, and his transformation of our delegated commercial portfolio over the past five years. Under his leadership, the business has gone from strength-to-strength and it’s great that the wider Pen business will now benefit from his expertise and experience.”