News in brief

Amlin apppointment

Amlin has hired Iain Henstridge as leading class underwriter to head up the Marine Hull account previously led by Simon Beale who will now focus on his responsibilities as underwriting director. Henstridge joins from Catlin where he was a senior class underwriter for its Marine Hull and War Risk business.

Commander joins Brit

Brit Insurance Holdings has appointed Keith Commander as business development manager for its North West region. He joins from Axa, where he was area manager.

APC HAs property package

Commercial underwriter APC has started a package scheme for estate and letting agents in a tie-up with Staffordshire-based JSW Insurance Services. Landlordsure, a trading name of JSW, will administer the scheme together with APC. The product combines property, liability, legal expenses and professional indemnity cover.

Seminar on Gibraltar

A seminar in London on 17 June will look at opportunities in Gibraltar’s international financial services centre, focusing on the growing insurance and reinsurance sectors. The seminar, hosted by the government of Gibraltar in partnership with the financial services industry, will examine issues such as its regulatory framework for insurance and reinsurance companies.

Deloitte expands tax team

Deloitte has appointed Anne Hamilton to lead the insurance tax team. She joins from PWC where she had been a tax partner since 1991.

Towergate installs new IT

Towergate has streamlined its claims handing process with Guidewide ClaimCenter, a new software system that it says should improve data collection and help compliance with FSA requirements. Chief operations officer Max Carruthers said: “We needed to simplify and standardise our claims handling processes and platform.” He said the single platform for claims handling helped the company to incorporate best practice and provide consistent, fair service to its customers.

New name for Heritage

Heritage Managing Agency has been renamed Argo Managing Agency. It will conduct business under the brand name Argo International. This follows the integration of the London operation, which was acquired by Argo Group in June last year, and the appointment of Julian Enoizi as chief executive officer of Argo International. He started his new job on Monday. Mark E Watson III, Argo Group president and chief executive officer, said the rebranding and the appointment heralded a new stage in the development of its London-based international business.