Market moves: Summer lullings

Traditionally, August is a fairly quiet month in terms of news, but that never seems to affect Market moves. It was as busy a month as ever, although regular readers will note the absence of several previous stalwarts of this section – Towergate and Lorica anyone? In terms of broker moves this month, Bluefin and Marsh were the most frequently spotted names – although one was bringing people in, while the other was losing them. Networks had a very quiet month compared to July – 1 Answer Brokerdrive added just one non-executive director to its ranks, compared with the quartet of new recruits it added the month before. However, the insurers made up for it, and seemed to have a bit of copycat action going on. Sterling and Midas Underwriting decided to boost their regional teams at a senior level. Similarly, Ace Group and Mitsui Sumitomo both decided to bulk up their professional indemnity offerings with the addition of some new expertise. And finally, SSP’s recruitment drive continued with a promotion and the creation of a new management role.

In what was a busy month for the broker, Bluefin appointed a new client services director in its Bristol office in the form of Andy Purnell. Purnell joins from Jelf and will report to Mike Livings, regional managing director. Bluefin went on to grab further headlines with the news that former CEO of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association, Eric Galbraith, had joined in a non-executive role (see box below).

Rounding things off nicely, the company even named former Marsh regional development