APPLIED UNDERWRITERS LAUNCHES FINE ART BUSINESS WITH AIG HIRES

US-based specialty insurer Applied Underwriters is launching a fine art and collectibles insurance unit with three executives hired from AIG. Ronald Fiamma will serve as president of the new operation, Applied Fine Art and Collectibles, while Christopher Walsh will serve as senior vice-president of underwriting and Rand Silver will serve as senior vice-president of risk management. All three executives join from AIG’s Private Client Group, where Fiamma spent the last 13 years overseeing its private collections portfolio. “We have given them a blank canvas to create the leading organisation in the industry,” said Applied Underwriters chief executive Steve Menzies. The new operation is part of Applied Underwriters’ strategy to diversify beyond its initial focus on workers’ compensation insurance. In the past year, it has established a European financial lines unit, entered the US trucking insurance sector and signed a deal to acquire Axa XL’s Centauri Specialty Managers unit.