Rokstone taps ‘rising star’ from Nexus to establish and lead D&O line

Speciality re/insurance MGA  Rokstone, part of the Aventum Group, has hired Nexus’ managing director of management liability to establish and lead its directors and officers (D&O) business across the UK and Europe.

The MGA has appointed Jimmy Heaton (pictured) as head of D&O, following the recent launch of its PI binder as it broadens its speciality re/insurance portfolio.

Rokstone said it is focussing on complex SME and mid-market D&O risks that fall between simple SME/automated products and large/coinsurance placements – an area of the market which remains underserviced across the UK and EEA.

Heaton will lead the D&O team when he joins Rokstone after serving his notice at Nexus Underwriting where he was latterly managing director of management liability. Once tipped as a “rising star” in the industry, he has more than a decade of D&O underwriting experience, beginning his career at AXA before moving to WRB in 2016 and then Nexus Underwriting in 2019.

Ian Anson, managing director of Rokstone, said: “We’re delighted Jimmy has chosen to join Rokstone to establish and lead our D&O team. Complex SME and Mid-Market D&O remains relatively underserviced across the UK and EEA, and is often an area of frustration amongst placing brokers; these risks essentially fall through the gap between online systems and London Market corporate/subscription placements. It is challenging areas of niche specialty lines like these that are Rokstone’s sweet spot – it is what we excel at. We will give brokers a reliable and consistent underwriting partner and be their “go to” contact for these tricky but profitable D&O risks.”

He added: “Jimmy is highly focussed and driven and has a proven track record of successfully establishing and sustaining a profitable D&O portfolio. We’re delighted that Rokstone was his first choice and to have him on board.”

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