Markel taps Marsh, Navigators marine underwriters for Asia expansion

Specialist insurer Markel International has hired Marsh and Navigators executives to strengthen its marine underwriting expertise in India and Hong Kong markets.

Nitin Marathe joins Markel India from Marsh India, where he was the vice president of its aviation and marine underwriting team. In addition, he also oversaw the risk management and strategic business development in the market.

Marathe has 20 years of experience in aviation and marine in the country, specialising in marine hull and machinery, as well as ports and terminals placements.

Danielle Yu joins Markel's Hong Kong office from Navigators Asia, where she was a senior marine underwriter. Prior to that, she was also at other Lloyd’s Syndicate platforms as a marine underwriter.

Yu has over ten years of experience in all lines of marine underwriting in the Hong Kong and East Asia market, including cargo, hull and liability.

Both executives will be working closely with Colin Fordham, director of Markel in Asia and leader of Markel’s marine presence in the region.

Christian Stobbs, managing director, Asia, said: “As part of Markel Asia’s long-term strategy of growing our portfolio in the region, we are excited to welcome Nitin and Danielle to the team. They bring with them strong local expertise from their respective markets, which will allow us to boost our presence and expand our support to clients. The new two hires underline our commitment to Asia, and we look forward to working closely with them.”