Markel expands global terrorism offering with senior North America leader

LONDON, Aug. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Markel, the insurance operation within Markel Group Inc. (NYSE: MKL), has appointed Andrew Umphress as the head of terrorism for North America. The appointment signals Markel's commitment to broadening the scope of its offering to clients across North America as geopolitical risks escalate worldwide.

Umphress will be based at Markel's New York office and report to Ed Winter, director of terrorism, in London. He joins a highly experienced global underwriting team and will be responsible for managing Markel's terrorism portfolio in the region, as well as continuing to grow the Active Assailant product. His substantial leadership experience and deep knowledge of the sector will help Markel's North American clients to assess and navigate risks in the evolving war, terrorism, and political violence landscape.

He is a skilled terrorism underwriter and manager with more than 13 years of experience in the US insurance market. He joins Markel from Munich Re Specialty, where he was vice president and senior public entity property underwriter. In his role, he assisted executive management in managing Munich Re's portfolio and developing client relationships. Previously, he was the head of US terrorism at Ambridge Group, where he helped to grow the client base from the ground up. He has also served as the associate vice president war and terrorism and head of wholesale at Validus, where he focused on building out the underwriting team in New York.

Winter commented: "Heightened geopolitical tensions and an increasingly unpredictable threat landscape have brought the need for terrorism and political violence coverage into sharper focus as our clients navigate the complex effects of global conflict. Andrew's arrival on our team will see him play a central role in enhancing our proposition to meet this challenge across geographies. His proven track record in building cutting edge solutions for clients, coupled with significant expertise in both terrorism risk and the US insurance market, will prove invaluable to our clients in North America. I'm delighted to have Andrew onboard and excited to see him take our offering from strength to strength."

About Markel
We are Markel, a leading global specialty insurer with a truly people-first approach. As the insurance operations within Markel Group Inc. (NYSE: MKL), we operate the Markel Specialty, Markel International, and Markel Global Reinsurance divisions, as well as State National, our portfolio protection and program services operations, and Nephila, our insurance-linked securities operations. Our broad array of capabilities and expertise allow us to create intelligent solutions for the most complex risk management needs. However, it is our people – and the deep, valued relationships they develop with colleagues, brokers, and clients – that differentiates us worldwide.

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