Plans to become Lloyd's accredited by the end of the year
London-based Tobell Insurance Services Group is planning to expand in the professional indemnity (PI) market after launching a new managing general agent (MGA).
James Packham will run the MGA, Tobell Underwriting Agency (TUA), which currently has six underwriters and plans for more.
Packham, who joined the company three months ago after stints at brokers CT Bowring, Miles Smith and Robert Fleming, is targeting a £6m gross written premium in the first year.
He said: “We are looking to build the company organically and by acquisition.
“We are looking for teams of underwriters that can complement the professional indemnity division by bringing business into the agency.”
The underwriters will be led by David Marriott, who owned a small underwriting company and has worked with other MGAs, including Bradstock Group and Target.
It is believed that he was also connected to Lloyd’s broker WSP Insurance Brokers, which went into administration on 14 July.
TUA will underwrite most professional classes of business – except solicitors and surveyors – including engineers, architects and IT consultants.
It will also offer liability and property insurance for restaurants, shops, fast-food outlets, pubs and other parts of the leisure industry.
Packham said the company, which has three unknown insurers on its panel, has the capacity to write between £8m and £9m GWP.
The group, which will move to new head offices in Leadenhall Street, also plans to become a Lloyd’s accredited broker by the end of the year.
“We do trade with a dedicated Lloyd’s broker but because the areas that we are going into are limited by markets that we can trade with … we are looking for new innovative products so, at the end of the day, it will probably pay us to be a Lloyd’s broker ourselves,” he said.
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