Liberty Specialty Markets taps rival XL Catlin to beef up German casualty team

Liberty Speciality Markets, part of Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., headquarters is located in London's famous "Walki Talkie" building./ IR Stone | Shutterstock.com

Liberty Specialty Markets has appointed a four-strong casualty team in its Cologne, Germany, office, including three former XL Catlin staff.

Liberty Speciality Markets, part of Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., said Monday in a statement that it had appointed Detlef Offenhau, previously head of long-tail business at XL Catlin in Europe, to lead the team.

He will be joined by senior underwriter Rainer Rieger, formerly a senior underwriter at XL Catlin, and underwriter Sebastian Schare, formerly a casualty underwriter at XL Catlin.

A fourth member of the team, an underwriting assistant, will join in February, Liberty Specialty Markets said in the statement.

The team will write a book of primary and excess casualty business and report to Wolfgang Weis, Liberty Specialty Markets' Northern European regional manager and Cologne branch manager for insurance.

“With our focus on international distribution hubs, Liberty has been developing plans to strengthen our casualty presence in Germany,” John McCammon, Liberty Specialty Markets' head of international network offices, said in the statement. “The arrival of Detlef and his team has shortened that process for us, allowing us to hit the ground running.”