Ascent expands W&I proposition with senior hire

Ascent Underwriting, the cyber and specialty lines MGA and a founding partner of Optio Group, has appointed Richard Moir as senior underwriter, warranty and indemnity (W&I).

Reporting to Alex Smith, head of W&I, Moir will support the development of the specialist niche line, which Optio launched in November to serve UK and European SMEs.

Moir joins Optio from CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP, where he served as a corporate associate, advising on M&A transactions across a variety of sectors. Building on its partnership with Luminance, Ascent has integrated its innovative machine learning technology to expose potential risks across the portfolio.

Smith said: “It gives me great pleasure to welcome Richard who will be a great addition to our expanding W&I proposition.”

Paul Western, group chief underwriting officer, added: “Richard’s M&A expertise will be valuable as we continue to build momentum within the W&I space. Whilst inevitably there’s a Covid-19-related hiatus, M&A in the SME sector remains underserved by insurers and we’re seeing a growing pipeline of interest.”