Hiscox has brought Neil Lipuma on board to take charge of underwriting efforts targeted at the financial services market. The New York, NY-based specialty insurer is particularly intent on expanding its book with private investment funds, which face a growing range of risks in an increasingly volatile and aggressively regulated global business environment.
Lipuma comes to Hiscox from Arch Insurance group, where he was Assistant National Manager for the private equity practice at Arch Insurance Group. Lipuma’s 17-year career also includes underwriting stints at Hartford Financial Services and AIG.
According to Lipuma, smaller fund managers generally — and start-up funds in particular — are under-served by the industry’s mainstream carriers. Lipuma believes Hiscox has a sustainable competitive advantage over these carriers because of its ability and willingness to craft specialized solutions based on their unique needs.
“Hiscox has taken a thoughtful approach to the development of product specifically for start-up and private investment funds,” he says. “It’s a flexible, targeted product that allows premium and self-insured retention levels to grow with the firm over time.”
Hiscox’s offering also features regulatory investigations coverage, which can be especially valuable to smaller firms that may rightly consider such investigations to pose an existential risk.
In addition to driving underwriting innovation, Lipuma will be responsible for driving Hiscox’s sales and marketing efforts in the private investment market. This will include online channels—which can be a key client experience differentiator in SMB markets.
“We are thrilled to have Neil onboard to work with our partner brokers and drive our financial services account forward," said Gary Head, chief underwriting officer at Hiscox. “Neil has a great track record working with financial services clients and creating innovative solutions to meet their insurance needs.”
Hiscox underwrites policies for a diverse range of risks including cybercrime, media liability, kidnap and ransom, and public officals liability.
