The new London-based broker will be led by Marcel Chad, who joins from JLT Aerospace where he was a partner

BGC Insurance Group (BGCI), the parent company of Ed Broking and Besso Insurance, is planning to launch a new specialist global aviation (re)insurance broker.

The new broker will be led by Marcel Chad as president, who joins from being a partner at JLT aerospace. It expands BGCI, a division of BGC Partners, formed in 2017 with the acquisition of Besso.

In February the group completed the deal to buy Ed. Ed’s chief executive Steve Hearn subsequently became head of BGCI.

Chad joins BGC Insurance with immediate effect and is working on establishing the new broker. His appointment is subject to regulatory approval. Initially headquartered in London, Chad will build a team of experts in key aviation insurance hubs across the world.

Disruptive

Andrew Wallin, chief commercial officer at BGCI, said: “The current market is stacked against aviation clients, with three brokers dominating this line of business because of their scale.

“For a significant independent player like us with a client-focused approach, vision and technical prowess, the gap in the market offers huge disruptive potential.

“Our proposition will be compelling: a truly bespoke aviation offering from a concentration of the industry’s top talent and tailored to clients, as opposed to the one-size fits all offered by many of our competitors.”

Before he was a partner at JLT Aerospace Chad was chief executive and deputy global chairman at Marsh Aviation Practice.

Commenting on his new role, Chad said: “I wanted to do something new, creating an exciting alternative for clients, driven by leading talent and technology, that could truly invigorate the aviation industry and put customers at the centre of the proposition.

“BGCI was the only organisation that could match my ambition for the new platform, with the resources to make its success a reality.”