Beazley beefs up US executive risk team with Aon, Zurich talent

Specialist insurer Beazley has boosted the experience in its  newly created executive risk team in the US by hiring underwriting and claims talent from Chubb, Aon, CNA and Zurich Insurance Group.

The new team, led by Jeremie Saada, seeks to tackle demand for insurance solutions for board-level risks facing businesses and their executives.

Elizabeth Cassarino joins Beazley’s Boston team as an underwriter. Most recently, she served as an executive risk underwriter at Chubb. She previously spent six years at Ace where she held several management and underwriting positions in the professional risk division.

Jeffrey Carney also joins in Boston as an underwriter. He was previously at Aon Risk Solutions where he was senior vice president. Prior to Aon, he held various management and underwriting roles at Travelers, CNA and The Hartford.

Allison Keenan joins the executive risk underwriting team in San Francisco. She joins from Chubb where she was a senior underwriter and for the past six years worked in the public company management liability team.

Mia Hennessey joins the New York-based underwriting team. She most recently worked at Zurich North America as assistant vice president in the management solutions group. Previously, she held similar positions in professional risk at Aon and Ace across the US.

Also in New York, Greg Staron joins the executive risk underwriting team, having first joined Beazley in 2011 as an employment practices liability claims manager. He switched to underwriting in 2014 and has been focusing primarily on healthcare management liability risks.

Lastly, Melanie Saponara joins Beazley’s New York executive risk claims team and will primarily handle public company directors and officers (D&O) claims. She most recently served as a claims consultant at CNA responsible for D&O liability, employment practices liability, and representations and warranties. A member of the New York bar, Melanie previously worked at law firm Mendes & Mount, specialising in insurance and reinsurance law.

Saada said: “In an environment of rapidly evolving corporate risks, businesses are now also faced with managing the impact of a global pandemic, social movements, diversity and inclusion together with recessionary fears, which has ushered in new ways of working, employment practices, business operations and regulations. This requires insurance solutions that provide flexible 360 degree protection for when businesses need it most and to help reduce the risk of claims occurring.

“As we focus on building out our offering, continuing to attract and develop talent is critical to our success. Our Executive Risk practice has built considerable momentum over the past several years and we are delighted to welcome Jeff, Elizabeth, Mia, Allison, Greg and Melanie to our growing team.”