UK P&I Club elects new chair and syndicate manager EMEA

The  UK P&I Club, a mutual insurer of third-party liabilities for ocean-going merchant ships, has elected a new chair at its recent board meeting in Tokyo, and a syndicate manager for EMEA.

Jan Valkier has been named new chair succeeding Nicholas Inglessis on completion of his five-year tenure.

Inglessis has led the Club through a period of global economic and financial turbulence caused by the Covid pandemic, volatile investment markets and an abnormal frequency of large losses impacting all International Group P&I Clubs. He hands over the Club in a position of strong financial stability, management said.

The Club has also appointed Angie Hatziefstratiou as syndicate manager for the EMEA 2 region, which covers the UK, Southern Europe, the Middle East.

Hatziefstratiou has over 20 years' experience in the shipping industry working in a range of roles in both the UK and Greece including at a law firm, a pool operator and various shipowners. She brings an extensive knowledge of international marine operations, trade and insurance and was most recently an insurance and claims manager for an international ship management company.

In her new role at the Club, Hatziefstratiou will lead the EMEA 2 Syndicate which provides P&I and defence claims and advisory services to Members based across that region.

Commenting on Valkier's appointment, Inglessis said: “It has been my pleasure to Chair the UK P&I Club. These five years have been marked by global and market challenges, but I am delighted that the Club has risen to each of these, remaining financially robust, and continuing to deliver best-in-class service to our members. I know that Jan Valkier will be an excellent Chair and it gives me great comfort to pass the reins into his safe hands.”

Valkier commented: “I am honoured to take over the Chair of the UK P&I Club, and I am very excited about our future. We are ideally positioned to support our members as they tackle the challenges of decarbonisation, technological development, and the evolving risks of cargoes carried. Through our Safety Risk Management culture we provide market leading support and technical advice to help make ships and seafarers safer.”

Andrew Taylor, CEO UK P&I Club, added: “It’s been a pleasure to work with Nicholas, who has been a source of wise counsel as we’ve navigated the past five years together.

"The board has set a strong three-year course for the Club, and I’m confident that with Jan’s support as our new Chair, we can deliver on those results for the benefit of all our members, I’m looking forward to working with him to maintain the Club’s leading position in the market.”

Commenting on Hatziefstratiou's appointment, Alan Mackinnon, chief claims officer for the UK P&I Club, said: “We have established a reputation for the strong, responsive claims service we deliver to our members, and are proud to be able to deliver fast, on-the-ground support, claims and loss prevention advice to shipowners anywhere in the world.

“Angie has exceptional experience in marine insurance and is used to handling complex maritime claims. Her knowledge and skills will be a great asset to UK P&I Club members.”

During its meeting, the board also agreed the Club’s General Increase for 2024 and announced an inflationary increase in deductibles.

In reaching its decision to apply a 7.5% General Increase, it said, the board took into consideration a number of factors including the expected impact of underlying inflation on future performance. The Club has seen an average inflationary increase of 7.6% on historical attritional losses over a 10-year period. Until recently this has been offset by a reduction in attritional loss frequency, it noted. The Club has also seen a significant impact on larger losses driven mainly by the increasing cost of litigation.

In order to further limit the impact of inflation on future attritional losses the board has mandated a 10% increase in basic deductibles (up to $50,000) with a minimum increase of $1,000.

It is expected that the combination of General Increase and deductible uplift will allow the Club to continue to deliver financial results in line with its three-year financial plan agreed by the board.

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