Tokio Marine’s GCube grows US footprint with raft of new hires

Specialist renewable energy insurer  GCube, a part of Tokio Marine HCC, has bolstered its underwriting ranks with a raft of new hires to expand its footprint in the US.

The insurer has opened a new office in Houston to be led by Sarah Bratton, a senior hire from Ascot Underwriting. With over 10 years’ experience in the energy and power generation underwriting business, Bratton underwrites property and casualty insurance coverage for renewable energy risks, with a particular focus on solar and wind.

Additionally, the company has recruited Kate White and Savannah Coull from Tokio Marine HCC’s Accelerate Programme to join its underwriting teams, reporting to Michael Galea in New York and Rosa Van Reyk in Newport Beach, respectively.

The new hires follows GCube’s expansion of its global claims team in June, as well as a series of senior appointments and internal promotions as it continues to invest in recruiting and developing renewable energy underwriting talent.

GCube noted that its expansion in Houston is “timely” as the US grapples with record temperatures and extreme weather, with solar power proving a key lifeline for Texas in easing pressure on the strained electricity grid.

“The situation in Texas is a picture-perfect example of the transforming risks for the entire energy landscape,” said Fraser McLachlan (pictured), CEO of GCube. “Dependence on solar power is paying dividends in supporting the state-wide distribution of power, but the extreme weather risk to solar must be managed effectively to preserve this.

“ GCube reported last year that wildfire damage to solar arrays throughout the 2010s resulted in millions of dollars in losses, and accounted for half of all extreme weather claims across the decade. Solar owners who don’t appropriately manage the evolving size and severity of wildfire risk in the US leave their assets vulnerable to considerably higher losses – and with the ongoing global supply squeeze for solar components, both costs and wait times for replacement technologies drives the price tag to unsustainable, and never-before-seen heights.”

McLachlan added: “Only human ingenuity has the capacity and ability to match pace with the rapid fluctuation of risks and challenges facing the market - and this is why investing in our people is so central to our ethos. In cultivating the best talent, whether developing from the ground up or recruiting the industry’s star performers, and deploying this talent where is it needed most, we ensure all our clients and customers can access the highest quality network of expertise to support them in managing asset risk and operability.”

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