Article img

The Insurer In Full: War for aviation broking talent battles on

Willis Towers Watson confirmed it has made 45 hires across its aviation team over the past 18 months, naming Paul Barker, Neil Black and David Boyle as recent additions (see table)...

This publication also recently revealed that Willis had added Marsh senior vice president Simon Toms to its London-based aviation business, with Toms set to join the rival intermediary once he has served out his notice in the garden.

Recent arrivals at WTW

The string of arrivals at WTW is the latest sign that the London aviation broking market remains in state of flux as established players battle ambitious new entrants – namely BGC Insurance Group’s Piiq and McGill and Partners – in vying for market share, key accounts and producing talent.

But the swathe of hires made by Willis only go some way to ebb the flow of departures from its aviation practice of late. The Insurer has tracked the recent people moves in the aviation broking sector, with over 20 individuals having left the soon-to-be Aon-owned business (see table).

Willis aviation team departures

While McGill and Partners and Piiq have been benefactors of the recent departures from Willis, it is not just start-ups intermediaries that are waging war over talent.

Hyperion and Capsicum Re have both hired London-based producers to effectively launch aviation divisions and carve out a portion of the circa $500mn international aerospace market.

In the summer, Hyperion owned RKH announced 14 hires to its aviation business, with the majority joining from Marsh (see table).

Recent London arrivals at RKH’s aviation business...

Marsh and Willis are thought to be the two largest aviation brokers with revenues estimated in the region of $150mn and $100mn respectively.

In a deal with EU regulators, Marsh sold JLT Aerospace to Gallagher ahead of getting its £4.3bn acquisition of JLT approved last year. 

Account wins

As well as the scramble to secure talent, aviation intermediaries are going head-to-head for key accounts.

Earlier this month, Piiq took over one of the largest aerospace accounts in the market – Rolls-Royce – from Marsh.

Elsewhere, this publication revealed that Gallagher’s aviation arm had swooped on WTW for a series of airline accounts, including the national carriers of Russia and Uzbekistan as well as a host of low cost carriers at the end of July.

Gallagher has also won flagship accounts Aeroflot Airlines (Russian Airlines) and Uzbekistan Airlines, as well as Mexico’s third largest airline Interjet. In addition, this publication understands that Gallagher has also taken over the accounts of Mexican chartered airline JetClub and Italian leisure airline Neos.

The raids on broking rivals come against a backdrop of rates spiking in the aviation insurance after the soft market of recent years, as well as capacity withdrawals from carriers including Aspen – which sold the renewal rights of its $60mn aviation book to CV Starr – as well as Brit, Hiscox, MS Amlin and WR Berkley.

The market has also witnessed significant losses of late. 

As revealed by The Insurer, carriers face sizeable losses for an Ethiopian Airlines 777 freighter which caught fire at Shanghai Pudong Airport in July.

In January, a Ukrainian International Airlines plane was mistakenly shot down by Iranian forces near Tehran, killing 176 people on board.

It adds to significant losses in 2018 involving the Boeing 737 Max fleet and, in particular, those arising from the Ethiopian Airlines and PT Lion Air crashes.

The recent reduction in air traffic prompted by the Covid-19 lock down measures has led to the sector’s premium income contracting in the first half of the year.

Aviation rate changes H1 2020

 

While it was initially expected airline business and global trade would pick in the autumn, updated measures now being rolled by governments globally to curb the spread of the virus are likely to impede the recovery of the market.

 

For continued access to market leading content click here to enquire about a subscription to The Insurer. 

 

 

See more
See less
Share fluctuations
Sompo
31.0
USD
-3.2%
Tokio Marine
30.2
USD
-3.1%
MS&AD
26.5
USD
-2.5%
Hannover Re
43.4
USD
-1.6%
IGI
12.5
USD
-1%
Ryan Specialty
54.0
USD
-0.7%
WTW
272.0
USD
-0.6%
Truist
37.2
USD
-0.6%
Brown & Brown
84.9
USD
-0.4%
AXA
36.5
USD
-0.4%
QBE
11.3
USD
-0.4%
RenaissanceRe
24.8
USD
0%
See more
See less
Upcoming events