Body of Hiscox chairman recovered from yacht sinking

The deaths of Hiscox chair Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy in the luxury yacht sinking off Sicily  have been confirmed. 

The bodies of tech magnate Mike Lynch and Clifford Chance lawyer Christopher Morvillo and his wife Neda were also retrieved on Wednesday. 

Lynch's 18-year-old daughter Hannah is still unaccounted for following the sinking of the 56-metre-long Bayesian, which was owned by her family. Officials said it was possible she was swept out to sea, Reuters reported. 

Bermuda-based Hiscox said last night: "It is with profound sadness that the board of Hiscox Ltd confirms that its chair, Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife Judy died in the tragic sinking of the Bayesian off the coast of Sicily on Monday 19 August.

Aki Hussain, Hiscox chief executive officer, said: "We are deeply shocked and saddened by Jonathan and Judy's tragic deaths. Our deepest sympathies go out to their family and friends at this devastating time.

"It was a privilege to have known Jonathan and to have benefitted from his generosity and wisdom over the last year in his role as chair of Hiscox. His deep experience across our industry and in the broader business arena, combined with his personal values, made him both an excellent chair and a person I was proud to know and work with. 

"His advice and support were immensely valuable to me, and he will be dearly missed."

Bloomer joined the board of Hiscox last year and succeed Robert Childs as chair. He is a former CEO of Prudential Plc and was also chair of Morgan Stanley International. 

Hiscox also announced that senior independent director Colin Keogh had been named as interim chair of the company. 

The British-flagged Bayesian, which was carrying 22 passengers and crew, was anchored off the port of Porticello, near Palermo, when it sank in minutes after bad weather struck early on Monday.  It so believed she was hit by a waterspout. 

Fifteen people survived, including Lynch's wife Angela Bacares, who is the owner of the yacht. 

The body of the onboard chef, Canadian-Antiguan Recaldo Thomas, was recovered near the wreck on Monday. 

An investigation has been launched into how the yacht sank so quickly. 

Reuters reported that specialist yacht insurer OMAC was the carrier on the hull for Bayesian. 

Quoting two sources with knowledge of the matter, the news agency said the syndicates providing insurance included Bermuda-based Convex, Travelers companies and Navium Marine. British Marine is the protection and indemnity (P&I) insurance provider. 

Convex declined to comment, while OMAC, Navium, Travelers and British Marine did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment. 

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