HWI International Group, a London-based independent broker, has launched NuVu Underwriting Hong Kong Ltd, a managing general agent (MGA) in Hong Kong which will begin operations on July 01.
The new firm will initially focus on property, marine, specie, fine art, personal accident, and terrorism lines of business in Asia, and will be headed by Jeremy Austen as principal officer and CEO.
Austen is a veteran of over 30 years in the insurance industry and has significant knowledge of start-up management. He began his career as a company underwriter for F.R. White, now Liberty Syndicate Management Ltd, before relocating to Asia in 1995. He established Arthur J Gallagher’s Asia operation in 1999 before helping set up Talbot Syndicate in Singapore in 2007, and Nexus Underwriting Asia in Hong Kong in 2015.
The opening of the Hong Kong MGA is NuVu’s first foray into Asia and is part of its expansion plans, both in Hong Kong and worldwide. NuVu also has an office in Madrid, Spain.
“There has been significant growth and success in the MGA space globally, and this is set to continue as more and more underwriters look to MGAs to control their own destiny,” Austen commented. “Being in Hong Kong will broaden the scope and reach of NuVu Underwriting’s distribution partnerships as well as create diversity to our existing portfolio.”
“Hong Kong’s position as a major insurance hub in the Asia-Pacific region makes it the ideal location to launch NuVu Underwriting as part of the next phase of our growth strategy,” added HWI International Group director Steven Rudduck.
