Ironshore International is expanding into the agricultural market, appointing Catherine Besselman as divisional director, global head of agriculture.
Besselman, who joins from Novae’s agricultural unit, will be responsible for business development, underwriting specialty coverages, and exploring sector diversification opportunities within Ironshore’s global group platform. She will be based in the Los Angeles regional office, reporting to Tim Glover, chief underwriting officer of Ironshore International.
He said: “Agriculture risk management is facing escalating climate, weather and commodity price challenges that heighten the need for industry entities to minimize volatility in managing event outcomes.
"Agriculture insurance coverages are a complementary extension of Ironshore’s existing property lines, and Catherine’s leadership in launching this specialty sector will be invaluable.”
Ironshore’s agriculture program will be comprised primarily of subsidized products that correlate to standard property lines. Ironshore’s product coverages initially will focus on a diversified balance of temporal, spatial and peril-specific elements within North America, such as drought, hail and excess moisture exposure.
Capacity limits of up to US$10m will be available for Ironshore’s scope of multi-peril livestock and crop risk exposures.
Due to the variables present in underwriting structural agriculture and farm-related risks, Ironshore’s agricultural portfolio will be modelled and monitored through quantitative and systematic technical analysis.
