WR Berkley’s Nautilus names Joyce president as Kuzma steps up to chairman

WR Berkley’s excess and surplus (E&S) lines insurer Nautilus Insurance Group has announced Thomas Joyce will serve as its new president from the beginning of next year, succeeding the long-standing Thomas Kuzma who will be appointed chairman.

Joyce’s (pictured) promotion comes just over five years after he first joined the business in 2015 as senior vice president of claims. He was appointed chief underwriting officer in 2018, and then executive vice president earlier this year.

As WR Berkley outlined in a statement, Joyce has been in the insurance industry for over 35 years and has held a variety of technical and leadership roles with a particular focus on the E&S market.

Current president Kuzma first joined Nautilus in its inaugural year back in 1986. As the company continued on its growth path, Kuzma took on roles with greater responsibility. He was appointed CUO in 1994 and then president in 1997.

“Kuzma has been instrumental in the growth and success of Nautilus since its early days, as well as an invaluable leader within the broader Berkley organisation,” said Rob Berkley, WR Berkley’s president and CEO.

“We cannot thank him enough for his many years of dedication, service and friendship, and we are delighted that he will continue to be actively involved.”

Berkley said Joyce “is a dynamic leader with a strong track record of outstanding results”.

“He has worked diligently with the Nautilus team and its distribution partners in continually improving our service, product offerings, and value proposition. In their respective new roles, Tom Joyce and Tom Kuzma will continue to collaborate with the exceptional team at Nautilus to improve even further upon its success,” Berkley added.