Brit picks Allan as CEO of Lloyd’s syndicate Ki; launches search for new group CFO

Specialty re/insurer Brit has appointed Mark Allan as CEO of Ki, its first fully digital and  algorithmically-driven Lloyd’s of London syndicate.

Allan has been Brit Group CFO and Brit Limited Group executive director since 2015, following roles as CRO and director of strategy since he joined Brit in 2010. The company said it has commenced a search for a new group CFO to succeed Allan.

Ki, which is launching in 2021, is formed in collaboration with Google Cloud, and aims to "redefine the commercial insurance market" by significantly reducing the amount of time taken for brokers to place their follow capacity.

Allan has led the development of Ki over the last 18 months alongside Matthew Wilson and will now take on the leadership role to build its Lloyd’s syndicate Ki. He will retain his role as group executive director, Brit Limited and will continue to play a central role in driving Brit’s strategy, including leading the group’s third-party capital vehicles (Syndicate 2988 and Sussex Capital).

Meanwhile, Ki has also appointed James Birch as development director and Alan Tua as portfolio director, both reporting to Allan. Birch will continue with his current role of head of innovation at Brit in addition to his leadership role with Ki. Tua joins from Direct Line Group where he was head of analytics and data science and will be responsible for developing Ki’s underwriting algorithm.

This follows the recent appointment of Dan Hearsum who joins Ki as managing director from his role as the head of placement in London at Marsh.

Matthew Wilson, CEO of Brit, said: “Ki has established Brit at the forefront of innovation and has the potential to transform the Lloyd’s market and the wider insurance industry. Mark has played a fundamental role in the development of this vision since day one. We’re therefore delighted that he will be moving into the role of CEO, leading the business and enabling Ki to realise its ambition to redefine commercial insurance.”

Allan commented: “Ki’s launch marks a pivotal point in the digital transformation of our industry, and I’m delighted to be appointed as CEO. We have assembled a world-class team within Ki and in our partnerships with Google Cloud and UCL, and we have the full support of Brit and Lloyd’s behind the initiative.

"We have built Ki with the latest technology and a vision of providing a seamless follow capacity to our broker partners. The benefits of this transformative business model are dramatic and will enable follow business to be placed with ease. This is a true step-change for Lloyd’s.”