Beazley Group has further strengthened its Architects & Engineers (A&E) professional liability team with the addition of three highly experienced claims managers.

Robert Honig, formerly a partner at New York construction law firm Zetlin & DeChiara, joins as head of global A&E claims and will be based at the insurer's New York office.

Lawrence Borda, who was partner of the Philadelphia-based law firm Powell Trachtman, will head up Beazley's US A&E claims in Philadelphia, while Jason Welch joins Beazley's Connecticut headquarters from the Construction Industry Practice Group of McCarter & English.

Beazley said the appointments would reinforce the company's presence within the US market while recognising the critical importance of an effective claims service to clients in this sector.

Jerry Sullivan, Beazley's A&E global product leader, said: “We had an excellent year in 2006 and continue to add many quality architectural and engineering firms to our book of business. We know that our clients and brokers value swift and skilled claims service very highly. With the addition of Robert, Larry and Jason to what was already a strong team, we believe we are well positioned to meet their highest expectations.”