Global insurance intermediary group Howden has made a serious of major moves – introducing a new chief placement officer in the UK & Ireland, and announcing a key acquisition in France.
Paul Hasib is the firm’s new chief placement officer for the corporate & commercial pillar within Howden UK & Ireland.
Warren Dickinson, CEO of corporate & commercia at Howden, welcomed Hasib to the team and expressed delight at his appointment.
“I’m delighted that Paul is stepping into this newly created role to lead placement activity within the market, delivering maximum value to Howden, our commercial and corporate clients, and our insurer partners,” said Dickinson.
Hasib has been in the industry for more than two decades and had served in multiple roles such as development underwriter, broker development manager, sales manager, and regional manager at multinational personal and commercial insurer RSA as well as being Aston Lark’s head of insurer management. After Howden acquired Aston Lark, Hasib took on the role of head of UK retail carrier management within the Howden Markets team.
In his new role, Hasib will have accountability on placement activities across all of the divisions of the firm’s UK corporate & commercial pillar.
He and his team will aim to improve the firm’s first line of defence as well as achieve good client outcomes through placement support and issue resolution. He will also be responsible for delivering commercial success for the firm though an improvement in efficiency.
Howden has also announced its acquisition of independent brokerage group OFRACAR as it expands its offerings in northwest France.
Following the acquisition, Howden France will now have 380 employees in 13 offices. Recently, the firm acquired financial lines specialist CRF Conseils, motor fleet broker Théorème, maritime specialist Seasecure/Guian, and hospitality broker GTCA – CFC Consultants.
“This expansion stands as a testament to our patient and strategic commitment to the country. We have become a scale operator in every major insurance market in Europe, and we continue to deliver our long-stated ambition to build the leading European broker for both clients and talent by partnering with the very best businesses,” said Howden Europe CEO Luigi Sturani.
Meanwhile, OFRACAR CEO Stéphane Lecomte noted his delight at continuing the firm’s 60-year legacy.
“Our unified teams are now perfectly positioned to assist SMEs and mid-sized companies across the Normandy region, throughout France, and across Europe,” he said.
OFRACAR specializes in property & casualty, employee benefit, motor fleet and transport. It serves 2,000 clients across Normandy and France.
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