Rokstone, the international speciality re/insurance MGA part of Aventum Group, has announced the launch of a new $18 million Global Facultative General Marine Cargo facility.
The facility uniquely includes $5 million for niche selective cargo treaties and new reinsurance capacity solutions, and additional direct wholesale capacity is planned in the coming months.
Rokstone has hired Robert Birchard to join the MGA as a Cargo Underwriter to lead and grow the Marine division.
He has 43 years’ experience in Lloyd’s, having started his career in 1978 at the Sturge Syndicates in Lloyd’s before spending time as a Lloyd’s broker.
He then spent 12 years as a Cargo Underwriter on the XL syndicate before taking the position as Senior Cargo and Specie Underwriter for Sirius International.
Latterly he spent time writing Cargo and Specie at Starstone, Argenta and the MGA K2 International.
“I’m thrilled and excited to be joining the Aventum family,” said Birchard. “It is a Group that has achieved incredible growth over the last few years and appears to have unfathomable ambition and I’m genuinely excited to be a part of that roadmap.”
“Marine Cargo is a sustainable class that has seen incredible rate rises and adjustment to terms during this hard market,” he went on. “Compared to any previous hard markets, even post 9/11, I’ve not seen rate rises like this before. Now is certainly the best time in 20 years to write Cargo business.”
Rokstone is a specialist MGA that serves international re/insurance brokers in specialty lines business, and maintains offices in the UK, Europe, USA, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
It currently underwrites $500 million GWP in several specialty lines including Marine, Terrorism & Political Violence, Direct & Facultative Property, Treaty Property, Construction & Engineering and Liability.
