Hamilton makes US professional liability move with Secor hire

Hamilton Insurance Group has hired Jamie Secor from Kinsale as head of professional liability at its US MGA as it continues its expansion into the US E&S market.

The executive will report to Clay Rhoades, president of Hamilton Managing General Agency, who was also recruited from E&S specialist carrier Kinsale in January this year.

Bermudian (re)insurer Hamilton said Secor’s role is newly created and will give her oversight for developing the US errors and omissions (E&O) insurance book of business.

The book will be written on the AM Best A- rated paper of Hamilton Insurance DAC, the company’s platform supporting E&S business that was acquired from Liberty alongside Pembroke Managing Agency in 2019.

In a statement, Hamilton said that Secor is currently building out her E&O team, with a book that will target surplus lines accounts for small and mid-size entities that may be hard to place.

The focus will likely include E&O for architects, engineers, law firms, insurance agents and brokers, and other classes of business.

Commenting on the hire of a “respected market leader”, Rhoades said: “With strong client relationships and a history of writing and managing profitable books of business, she will be integral to our continued expansion into the US E&S market.”

Secor has 20 years of underwriting and senior management experience on her CV, and spent a decade at Kinsale, where she was first one of the founding members of the insurer’s professional liability team when the company launched.

She then moved into short-tail lines and was most recently leader of Kinsale’s commercial property division.

The executive began her underwriting career in 2000 at State Farm Insurance, moving into the E&S market with James River in 2004.