MGA club appoints first chief underwriting officer

Castel Underwriting Agencies has appointed James Nugent as its first chief underwriting officer (CUO).

Nugent joins the recently established managing general agency club from Amlin, where he was head of underwriting performance with responsibility for underwriting performance, governance and quality assurance. 

His insurance career spans more than 35 years, 25 with Amlin.

In his new role, Nugent will lead all underwriting-related activities at Castel, including the development of new teams, the review of underwriting strategy and the performance of its existing cells. He will join the Castel board, subject to regulatory approval.

Castel was launched in October 2013 to back underwriters with stable capacity and a fast-track route to setting up their own MGAs.

It has since launched aerospace and political risk cells Altitude Risk Partners and Newbridge. The club plans to launch additional cells during 2015.

Castel chief executive Mark Birrell (pictured) said: “Castel is growing quickly and our new business pipeline is very strong.  It is therefore important to strengthen our central management team to ensure our teams have the expert support they need. James’ appointment as CUO will help us to recruit the market’s best insurance entrepreneurs and ensure underwriting discipline is maintained as new cells launch and grow.”