New head of underwriting at Markel International

Markel International has named Andrew Green as head of underwriting risk, with Emma Higgins taking over from Green as head of catastrophe management. Green will be responsible for managing and mitigating volatility in Markel’s portfolio, working alignment with the catastrophe management, actuarial, risk management, and underwriting teams.

Green will report to Nick Line, chief underwriting officer at Markel International. Green brings more than 15 years of insurance experience, having joined Markel in 2014 as head of catastrophe management. Prior to that, Green was at Tokio Marine Kiln for six years, latterly as the deputy head of exposure management. He started his career as a catastrophe modelling analyst at Catlin.

Green said: “The work the catastrophe management team produces at Markel continues to be a great source of identifying potential risk, and I hope to leverage the knowledge and expertise in that team, while collaborating with the other functions across the business. My aim in this role is to ensure we uphold our embedded risk culture, robust controls, and strong risk framework, which will not only result in good underwriting decisions but in turn, also help Markel achieve its growth ambitions.”

Higgins will lead the catastrophe management team focused on providing individual and portfolio risk insights across its products. She will report to Guenter Kryszon, global executive underwriting officer, property, at Markel.

Higgins has been with Markel for more than six years and started as a senior catastrophe analyst in 2016. She was promoted to catastrophe risk manager in 2019. Prior to joining Markel she was an assistant catastrophe risk analyst at Travelers Insurance.

Higgins said: “I’m grateful for the opportunities available at Markel and the ability to progress my career in an environment that values its employees. I am looking forward to leading and supporting the brilliant work that the catastrophe management team does while guiding the team to ensure we are aligned with the business’s growth strategy.”

Line added: “I’d like to congratulate Andrew and Emma on their well-deserved promotions. Andrew’s new position is designed to identify, manage, and mitigate sources of underwriting volatility in excess of Markel’s risk appetite, and will be imperative to the success of the business as we grow. Both Andrew and Emma’s well-rounded experience and advancement is a testament to the opportunities available at Markel and our commitment to nurturing and retaining great talent.”