Munich Re Specialty Insurance hires Kelley from BHSI as E&S excess casualty head

Munich Re Specialty Insurance (MRSI) has named Megan Kelley as its new head of E&S excess casualty underwriting, with the executive joining from Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI).

Boston, Massachusetts-based Kelley was most recently a vice president at BHSI and had been with the Berkshire Hathaway specialty insurance arm since January 2016.

She was previously at AIG for six years, latterly as manager of E&S carrier Lexington’s transportation group, and has also held underwriting roles at Swiss Re and Gen Re.

MRSI’s E&S business is led by Jill Beggs as president, a long-time Munich Re executive who was appointed to the position in early 2019.

She was tasked with overseeing MRSI’s expansion into the segment under the umbrella of the newly formed specialty insurance unit led by former Zurich and Everest executive Mike Kerner.

The timing of the build-out has coincided with arguably the best E&S market conditions ever as submissions have flooded into the sector at record levels and pricing has rocketed.

Other high profile hires made by Beggs to MRSI’s E&S business include Marcia Blanco as head of professional liability from QBE last January, Jim Wallace as head of E&S property from Navigators in November 2019, Diane Link as head of E&S casualty from Swiss Re Corporate Solutions in April 2019, and Tyler Coleman as head of healthcare also from Swiss Re in December 2019.

According to its website, MRSI already offers excess casualty coverage, with $5mn in capacity on a supported and unsupported basis available. It will also write buffer layers within the first $5mn. Target classes include auto, product manufacturers and distributors, contractors, hospitality and real estate.

The carrier’s primary casualty offering targets a premium range of $20,000 to $500,000 with maximum revenue of $500mn and the ability to offer both occurrence and claims-made triggers.

Target classes are in line with excess, although MRSI doesn’t target auto as a primary writer.