AJ Gallagher

The growing fac unit now counts Ziad Seifeddine, Unnikrishnan Menon, Waseem Yoosaf and Alastair Climie among its ranks.

In his new role, Alex Ntelekos will be responsible for supporting the growth of Gallagher Re’s public-private initiatives across the region.

Hvidsten had worked at Willis Re since 1997, before it was bought by Gallagher, and will continue to serve as a consultant to the firm.

The agreements will see QBE provide capacity over the next three years for Pen’s RMP business in the UK, and its P&C proposition for the hazardous goods and environmental sector.

Mark Peacock has been made a partner in the broker’s construction practise within its UK speciality division.

Liz Kim is joining Gallagher Re’s 40-plus-strong cyber team from Hiscox, where she has spent more than 12 years.

The new recruit will join Julian Samengo-Turner’s Middle East and Africa team.

New markets have reset the balance between supply and demand in the market.

The market is becoming more of a buyers’ market as new capacity arrives.

Some airline accounts registered rate decreases as competition ramped up towards the end of 2021, according to the broker.

Property cat rate increases this January were double those of last year and the highest since 2014.

With most M&A activity from 2020 pushed into 2021, capacity for M&A insurance began to dry up in around October, resulting in hard market conditions.