Hiscox forms Crisis Management Division

The new division will include kidnap and ransom (K&R), security incident response, terrorism, product recall and personal accident lines. Headed up by Mike Williams, the Crisis Management division brings together Hiscox teams in London, Guernsey and Miami, which were formerly part of Hiscox Special Risks. Charlie Hanbury, Head of Crisis Management Rest of World, will run the London K&R team and global Security Incident Response team; Liz Prior, Managing Director Guernsey, will manage the Guernsey K&R team and Napo Montes-Amaya,  Head of Crisis Management Miami, will be responsible for K&R and Hiscox MGA from Miami. Kevin Henry (the current CUO of Hiscox Special Risks) will become the Global Product Head for K&R.

Reflecting the distribution-led approach

Rich Halstead, David Burke and Jason Innes remain as line underwriters for terrorism, product recall and personal accident respectively, with all three reporting to Williams. The change also better reflects the distribution-led, geographic approach adopted by the wider Hiscox Group to serve clients, which means that US and European K&R business will now sit within the Hiscox USA and Hiscox Europe businesses respectively.

Commenting on the launch of the new division, Mike Williams, Divisional Director of Crisis Management at Hiscox London Market, said: “Crisis management has been a core part of Hiscox’s DNA for many years and it makes good sense to bring our market-leading expertise across K&R, terrorism, security incident response, product recall and personal accident into one division, supported by our partner Control Risks.”

Nobody is immune to security risks

He went on to say: “No business is immune to security incidents involving its employees, products and services, or wider operations and the potential for unexpected and damaging consequences. Whether it’s safeguarding employees from a terrorist threat, to advising on a local kidnap risk for an overseas subsidiary, or helping to protect a corporate reputation from a product contamination incident, this change will ensure that our world class crisis management capabilities continue to lead the way; providing our clients with the reassurance they need in an uncertain environment.”

Nick Allan, CEO at Specialist Global Risk Consultancy Control Risks, added: “Control Risks and Hiscox have a strong partnership going back decades. We welcome the formation of Hiscox’s new Crisis Management division and the continuation of our ongoing successful partnership as we work together to support clients in times of crisis.”

Travel risk management is key to boosting business traveller confidence during this difficult time for the industry; ITIJ wrote about how travel risk management programmes are changing in light of the latest developments facing travellers around the world.