Clearwater expands beyond marine with Upstream Energy hire from TMK. Richard Hooks joins after two decades at Tokio Marine Kiln to build Clearwater's Upstream Energy proposition from the ground up. Clearwater Underwriting has appointed Richard Hooks (pictured) as managing director, upstream energy, as the marine-focused specialty underwriter continues expanding its platform into new lines of business. Hooks will lead the establishment and growth of Clearwater's upstream energy offering, building a dedicated proposition for brokers and clients as part of the firm's strategy to diversify across a broader range of specialty and niche classes. Hooks joins from Tokio Marine Kiln, where he spent more than 20 years, most recently as departmental head of marine and energy. In that role he oversaw a energy portfolio spanning upstream and energy-transition risk with a maximum combined line size of $100 million, and led a series of senior hires into TMK's energy team, including bringing in Beazley's former head of energy in 2024. He brings deep technical underwriting expertise across energy and marine, along with established relationships across the international specialty market. Building a new line from the ground up. At Clearwater, Hooks will be responsible for developing the upstream energy portfolio with a focus on combining technical underwriting expertise with the agility of the MGA model, positioning the new offering as a specialist alternative for brokers in a highly technical class, backed by Clearwater's underwriting capability, technology and capacity partnerships. Hooks said upstream energy remains a highly technical market as the risks, technologies and capital behind it continue to evolve, making experience, underwriting judgement and a willingness to consider risk differently critical to a successful offering. He said what attracted him to Clearwater was the opportunity to build an underwriting proposition around those fundamentals while retaining the flexibility to respond quickly to brokers and clients, calling it a rare opportunity to build a business from the ground up within an ambitious underwriting platform. Richard Young, chief underwriting officer at Clearwater, said upstream energy is a market where technical expertise and underwriting judgement matter particularly given the complexity and scale of the risks involved. He said Hooks brings decades of experience across energy and marine along with a detailed understanding of how the market is changing, allowing Clearwater to enter the class with a clear focus on disciplined underwriting and long-term portfolio quality while giving brokers the responsiveness central to the Clearwater model. Part of a rapid build-out since Aquiline's investment. The hire continues a pattern of rapid diversification at Clearwater since private equity firm Aquiline Capital Partners took a majority stake in the business in November 2025. Founded in 2023 and beginning underwriting in 2024, Clearwater built its initial reputation in marine and subsea cable insurance, offering products including port risks, builders risks and war cover, underpinned by a data-driven underwriting model developed with its own Clearwater Dynamics software platform. Aquiline's investment was explicitly aimed at accelerating both organic and inorganic growth toward what the firm described as an institutionalised, technology-enabled platform spanning multiple specialty lines and geographies. That expansion has moved quickly. Clearwater entered crisis management earlier this year with the hire of a managing director focused on active assailant and terrorism and political violence cover from Aspen Insurance Group, and has now added upstream energy as a second new specialty class, both hires bringing in specialists with two decades or more of experience from established insurers rather than building capability through junior recruitment. Expanding its specialty market skills. Two new specialty lines launched within months of each other, each led by a hire with 15 to 20 years at a single major insurer, suggests Clearwater's post-investment strategy is less about incremental growth within marine and more about rapidly assembling a genuinely multi-line MGA while Aquiline's capital is fresh. For brokers, that means Clearwater is becoming a broader specialty market relationship rather than a marine specialist worth knowing for one class only, though the real test will be whether a platform built quickly across several technical, judgement-heavy classes can sustain the same underwriting discipline in each that made its original marine book credible.

Hooks to oversee creation & growth of Clearwater's Upstream Energy division. Clearwater Underwriting, a specialty underwriting business focused on marine risks, has expanded into a new line of business with the hire of Richard Hooks, who has been appointed as Managing Director, Upstream Energy. In his new position, Hooks will oversee the creation and growth of Clearwater's Upstream Energy division, focusing on crafting a dedicated offering for clients and brokers while advancing the firm's strategic goal of diversification into broader niche and specialty markets. His responsibilities include expanding the Upstream Energy portfolio by combining technical underwriting expertise with the agility and responsiveness of the MGA model. The business will seek to provide brokers with a specialist alternative in a highly technical class, supported by Clearwater's underwriting capabilities, technology and strong capacity partnerships. Hooks joins Clearwater following a 20-year tenure at Tokio Marine Kiln, where he most recently served as Departmental Head of Marine & Energy. The executive brings extensive technical underwriting expertise across energy and marine, as well as deep relationships across the international specialty market. Hooks commented: "Upstream Energy remains a highly technical market, as the risks, technologies and capital behind it continue to evolve. That makes experience, underwriting judgement, and a willingness to consider risk differently critical to a successful energy insurance offering. "What attracted me to Clearwater was the opportunity to create an underwriting proposition with those fundamentals at its core, while having the flexibility to respond quickly to brokers and clients. It's a rare opportunity to build a business from the ground up within an ambitious underwriting platform, and I am delighted to be joining the team." Richard Young, Chief Underwriting Officer at Clearwater Underwriting added: "Upstream Energy is a market where technical expertise and underwriting judgement are particularly important, given the complexity and scale of the risks involved. Richard brings decades of experience across energy and marine, together with a detailed understanding of how this market is changing. His appointment allows us to enter Upstream Energy with a clear focus on disciplined underwriting and long-term portfolio quality, while giving brokers the responsiveness and flexibility that are central to the Clearwater model." The post Hooks to oversee creation & growth of Clearwater's Upstream Energy division appeared first on ReinsuranceNe.ws. Spread the love

People Moves: Miller Bermuda Taps Stubbings From McGill and Partners as chair; Tokio Marine Kiln hires Talbot AIG's Rennie as Head of Political Violence and Terrorism. June 9, 2026 This edition of International People Moves details appointments at the broker Miller Bermuda and Lloyd's insurer Tokio Marine Kiln (TMK). A summary of these new hires follows here. Miller Bermuda Taps Stubbings From McGill and Partners as Chairman Miller, the London-based independent specialist re/insurance broker, announced the appointment of Peter Stubbings as chairman of Miller Bermuda. With over four decades of reinsurance industry experience, Stubbings brings deep expertise across multiple lines of business and a wealth of client relationships across London, Bermuda, the Caribbean and the Nordics. He joins Miller from McGill and Partners, where he served as Bermuda CEO from 2023, and was previously UK&I CEO of Aon's Global Re Specialty (GRS) division. Before that, he spent 14 years at Guy Carpenter, serving first as CEO EMEA and then as CEO Bermuda. Stubbings started his new role on May 4 and will support the growth of Miller's reinsurance and retrocession proposition in the Bermuda market, as the business continues to bolster its presence on the island. Drawing on his long-standing relationships with reinsurance clients, Stubbings will also support new business generation by facilitating cross-selling opportunities between AHJ Miller, Miller's reinsurance division, and the wider Miller Bermuda business. "Peter's appointment is another significant milestone in the expansion of our Bermuda team and in the buildout of our rapidly growing reinsurance proposition," commented James Hands, group CEO at Miller. "His 40-plus years of industry experience, impressive track record of international leadership, and long-standing client relationships across multiple jurisdictions will prove hugely valuable to our growth in this critical destination for global re/insurance business. We're delighted to have Peter onboard," Hands added. ***. Tokio Marine Kiln Taps Talbot AIG's Rennie as Head of Political Violence and Terrorism Tokio Marine Kiln (TMK), the London-based international specialty insurer, announced the appointment of Georgina Rennie as head of Political Violence and Terrorism (PVT). She takes up her new role with immediate effect and will report to James Wilson, head of Special Risks. Rennie will be responsible for leading the strategic development and underwriting performance of TMK's PVT portfolio across London and Singapore. Rennie brings more than a decade of specialist PVT underwriting experience, with a strong track record of managing large, complex global portfolios and delivering profitable growth. She joins from Talbot AIG, where she served as deputy head of Terrorism and Political Violence, overseeing one of the largest portfolios in the market. In this role, she guided portfolio strategy, pricing and exposure management, and played a key role in enhancing exposure management and pricing models. Prior to this, she spent nearly five years at Chaucer Syndicates, where she helped build and expand its Latin American terrorism portfolio and supported the development of new underwriting tools and solutions. Rennie's appointment follows a period of significant growth for the Special Risks team, including recent hires James Wilson, head of Special Risks, and Iwan Jenkins, credit underwriter. Her appointment is part of TMK's broader investment in strengthening its PVT capabilities and building a market-leading capabilities. "We're delighted to welcome Georgie to TMK at an important time in the development of our Special Risks business," commented Wilson. "Against a backdrop of increasing geopolitical uncertainty and rising demand for sophisticated political violence solutions, bringing in market leaders is essential in supporting the next phase of our PVT development and enhancing our PVT offering to brokers and clients, particularly as they look to partner with insurers with a long history of providing consistency and support through periods of heightened volatility," he added. Tokio Marine Kiln is a leading specialist insurance underwriting business operating in the Lloyd's insurance market. With operations in the UK, US (Tokio Marine Highland) and Asia Pacific, TMK is part of Tokio Marine, one of the world's largest insurance groups. Was this article valuable? Interested in catastrophe? Get automatic alerts for this topic.