Gallagher team joins start-up to lead binder growth
US broker Brown & Brown has founded its a London based broker, Decus Insurance Brokers (DIB). It is the company’s first operation outside the United States. It will open for business on 1 March.
In a statement that company said DIB’s goal was to act as a traditional UK-based insurance intermediary for the distribution of non-investment insurance contracts throughout North America.
Its four divisions will be Property Brokerage, Casualty Brokerage, Professional Liability Brokerage, and Binding Authority Programs.
Anthony T. Strianese has been appointed Chief Executive Officer with Amy C. Ranieri as Chief Operating Officer, and Melanie Y. Alexander as Managing Director.
Strianese and Ranieri are currently senior members of the North American team of Peachtree Special Risk LLC (PSR), while Alexander joins from AJ Gallagher. She brings four memebers of her team at Gallagher with her: Chris Hatt, Trevor Larwood, Richard Bowers and Catriona McKay.
PSR has annual net comission revenues of £10m, while Brown & Brown is the sixth largest broker in the US.
Strianese said: “We see this as an opportunity to add value for our shareholders. We view everything we do as a marathon rather than a sprint. Hard market or soft, it will work itself out in time. We will get operating and build a solid entity. We have no rapid or slow growth plans.”
Alexander added: "Following amicable discussions with David Ross, CEO of Arthur J Gallagher, the team is excited at the prospect of laying the foundations for a long and successful business for our clients with Decus Insurance Brokers Ltd here in London."
