RKH strengthens its marine offering in Asia

RKH Specialty has reinforced its global marine offering with a number of hires in Singapore and Hong Kong, while rebranding its Hong Kong-based marine insurance specialist, FP Marine, so it now trades as RKH Specialty.

Julian Franzman is set to join RKH Specialty by November as head of marine and cargo for Asia Pacific. Also joining as part of his team are divisional directors Ricky Miller and Nick King, broker Jaquelin See and account handler Flora Goh.

All of these recruits join from JLT Re and have experience in re/insurance across the full spectrum of marine risks, including cargo, stock throughput, hull, ports, terminals, logistics, builders’ risk and P&I.

In Hong Kong, Tia Poole has joined the newly rebranded RKH Specialty as divisional director, focusing on ports, terminals and logistics, and hull lines. Poole joins from Willis Towers Watson.

And in Manilla, Lee Vanderson joins as regional technical advisor from Ascot Asia in Singapore, where he was chief underwriter and principal officer.

RKH noted Asia’s dominance of the marine industry, with 15 of the world’s 20 largest container ports in the region and two-thirds of container traffic now passing through Chinese ports alone. With this in mind it is betting that Asia will increase its share of the marine insurance market.

Dan Whiteside, head of marine at RKH Specialty, said: “It is key that our teams have a local presence and ability to work together as a single unit to develop solutions for clients that encompass the best placement strategies from markets in London, Europe, USA, Middle East and Asia.”

Jonathan Eaton, head of cargo and stock throughput at RKH Specialty, added: “It’s our job to work across international insurance markets to bring together the best solutions for clients. Now it’s not at all unusual for a Singapore-based insurer to provide the most suitable solution for a German client exporting to Latin America, for example.’’

Richard Walker, chairman at rebranded RKH Specialty Hong Kong, noted that 90 percent of the world’s trade is facilitated by maritime shipping, wth Asia at its heart. “For RKH, strengthening our resources in marine and cargo in Asia reflects the growth of our client base here, as well as its fast-evolving insurance markets. But most of all, these moves reflect our belief that delivering the best of global markets to clients in Asia and the world over, demands a global, integrated, cross market approach. That is fundamentally what we deliver now.”