International speciality lines brokerage RKH Specialty has boosted its marine capabilities with several hires in the Asian region, alongside the rebranding of its Hong Kong-based marine insurance specialist FP Marine.
In a statement, the Hyperion Group also announced that FP Marine will now do business under the RKH Specialty brand.
Julian Franzman is slated to join RKH Specialty as head of marine and cargo for Asia-Pacific around November 2019, after he has fulfilled his contractual obligations. Franzman, who will join from JLT Re Asia-Pacific, will lead a division in Singapore that includes new hires of divisional directors Ricky Miller and Nick King, broker Jaquelin See, and account handler Flora Goh, all of whom are joining from JLT Re in Singapore.
These new hires have deep expertise in both insurance and reinsurance, working across the full spectrum of marine risks including, but not limited to, cargo, stock throughput, hull, ports, terminals, logistics, builders’ risk, and P&I.
In Hong Kong, Tia Poole has joined the newly rebranded RKH Specialty Hong Kong as divisional director and will be focusing on ports, terminals and logistics, and hull lines. Prior to this, she worked at Willis Towers Watson.
Meanwhile, Lee Vanderson has joined as regional technical advisor. Based in Manila, Vanderson was previously the chief underwriter and principal officer at Ascot Asia Pte Ltd in Singapore.
According to Hyperion, whilst London remains the world’s largest marine insurance market, Asia dominates the marine industry, with 15 of the world’s 20 largest container ports in the region and two-thirds of container traffic now passing through Chinese ports alone. This means that today, trade is more likely than ever to flow through the South China Sea.
“For RKH, strengthening our resources in marine and cargo in Asia, reflect the growth of our client base here, as well as its fast-evolving insurance markets,” said Richard Walker, chairman at rebranded RKH Specialty Hong Kong. “But most of all, these moves reflect our belief that delivering the best of global markets to clients in Asia and the world over, demands a global, integrated, cross market approach. That is fundamentally what we deliver now.”
