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About us
At Rokstone, our purpose is simple: to inspire confidence.
Whether it’s for our capacity providers, who want to know that their money is protected, or for our brokers, who want to know that they can easily place their risks, we understand the importance of always delivering. It’s why we deploy capacity quickly and efficiently across uncorrelated markets. It’s why we provide rapid access to developed portfolios in niche markets. It’s why we are highly diversified by both product line and distribution source. And it’s why all our portfolios are actuarially managed, with the embedded culture of an insurer and the agility of an MGA. Combine all this with our proprietary underwriting models, our deeply knowledgeable and experienced front-line underwriters and an unwavering commitment to digital transformation and data-driven underwriting, it’s no surprise that we are growing fast and already one of the biggest global (re)insurance MGAs.
Leadership team
Our leaders combine significant experience, deep knowledge and an unwavering commitment to continual innovation to set the direction of our business. Like every member of our team, they are focused on making insurance better for the brokers we work with across the globe and our capacity providers.
James Potter
Chief Executive Officer
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James Potter
James Potter is the chief executive officer and co-owner of Rokstone and a board director of Aventum Group.
James has over 23 years' experience within the London and global insurance markets, successfully developing and maintaining a valued network centralised on long term strategic partnerships.
He has had responsibility for establishing various trading divisions, teams and MGA's within the broking and underwriting environment, from start-ups and the restructuring of existing teams, to servicing global placements for multinational firms with global capacity providers and client networks.
James has facilitated the placing and underwriting of reinsurance and/or insurance products, schemes, and delegated authority arrangements, including online trading platforms, covering a variety of classes of business including terrorism, property, energy and casualty contractors all risks.
Ian Anson
Managing Director
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Ian Anson
Ian Anson is the portfolio manager for property, power and energy at Rokstone. Ian works in the direct and facultative property division and is responsible for business production and analysis, and facultative reinsurance buying strategy and execution.
He started his career in 2013 and spent the subsequent years at Alesco, working in onshore energy and power generation specialty lines. From there he developed a specialism in heavy industrial risks and managed a team of onshore energy brokers placing international energy accounts.
If Ian wasn’t working for Rokstone, he would probably be playing golf, having earned a golf scholarship to the University of Kansas.
“I wanted to join one of the most entrepreneurial businesses in the London insurance market. Rokstone seemed to be a very exciting business to join and that has certainly proved to be the case.”
Alex Curme
Group Finance Director
Alex Curme
Alex Curme is responsible for working on projects within the financial function that will help support the group as it continues to grow. He joined the Group in February 2022, having previously spent five years as a auditor at Deloitte, specialising in all types of insurance companies, followed by three years at MGA Ensurance, where he was Head of Finance.
Tony Lawrence
Chief Development Officer
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Tony Lawrence
Prior to transitioning to the Rokstone team in May, Tony was CEO of Imperium Insurance, one of the Rokstone businesses he co-founded with David Bearman , CEO of Aventum. Imperium was the first UK company to provide its customers with a suite of agriculture products that could be bought online under its IFarm Underwriting brand. With 25 years of experience in both underwriting and Broking, Tony is leveraged to ensure Rokstone Agriculture Risk Underwriters will have products designed around the customer that are built with agility and speed, are easy to use and the distribution is supported by experienced underwriters which adds value to our customers, insurer partners and shareholders.
John McGonigle
Chief Underwriting Officer, Rokstone Consumer
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John McGonigle
John McGonigle is the Chief Underwriting Officer, Rokstone Consumer. His main responsibilities include the profitable development and management of the warranty and consumer products portfolio underwritten on behalf of Novus’ capacity partners.
He has worked within the insurance industry since early 1991, mainly within the London market (both company and Lloyd’s). His focus since 1997 has been on the underwriting of warranty and associated consumer insurance products, both in the UK and on an international basis.
Outside of work he has undertaken a number of personal and team challenges for charity, including rowing the English Channel, riding the off-road London to Brighton route and climbing the three peaks.
“The opportunity for me to join Novus came at a perfect time - despite the product lines written delivering consistent underwriting returns, appetite in the London market is limited and these past few years has become scarcer with carriers pushing more capacity away and into trying to improve results from more traditional lines of business. Brokers and clients need to be confident that their underwriting partner is committed to supporting their business over the long term, and for me it was clear that Novus delivers.”
Nadine Kearney
Chief Underwriting Officer, Specialty
Nadine Kearney
Nadine joined Rokstone in 2022 as Chief Underwriting Officer, Specialty. With over 14 years of experience in the insurance industry, Nadine brings technical expertise across a diverse range of disciplines, including Portfolio Management, Underwriting, Risk Management and Claims.
Gavin Dollings
Chief Underwriting Officer, Rokstone Commercial
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Gavin Dollings
Gavin Dollings is the Chief Underwriting Officer, Rokstone Commercial at Aventum Group, responsible for the management, performance and governance of the underwriting of the Group’s digitally traded classes of business within Rokstone.
He joined the Group in March 2022, having previously been Covea Insurance’s commercial underwriting director for five years. Before that he had also spent 10 years at Allianz heading up their casualty and construction lines, and as a management consultant for Accenture.
Outside of work, Gavin enjoys taking part in a number of sports, especially windsurfing and skiing when time and weather conditions allow. He also likes running, mountain biking, fitness classes, and travelling.
“I wanted to work for a dynamic, entrepreneurial and aspirational organisation shaking up the insurance market; somewhere that I can use my skills and experience to make a tangible difference. And I wanted to work with people that I trust and respect whose values are aligned to my own. Aventum Group squarely fitted all of these requirements!”
ROKSTONE'S TIMELINE
Parent company (now known as Aventum Group) formed as a new startup specialist broker - Direct Insurance Agency - occupying a small rented office in Chadwell Heath
Having grown a book of Waste & Recycling business we launched a wholesale scheme catering for material damage and business interruption into the UK broker market
Opened London Office
Our first venture into online quote and bind business saw the launch of iSure Underwriting, Ireland's leading SME MGA
- Launch of Rokstone Underwriting in Marine Liability, Property D&F, and Terrorism
- Launch of Aura Underwriting, London's largest Caribbean cat facility
- Launch of iFarm Underwriting, the a major UK and Ireland agricultural underwriter
Launch of Novus Underwriting, a leading global warranty and GAP underwriter
- Launch of Rokstone Construction Risk Underwriters in the US
- Rokstone Underwriting expands into Property Treaty
- Rokstone Underwriting breaks $100m GWP in Property D&F, and launches international construction
- Rokstone Construction Risk Underwriters enters US General Liability market with HDI Global Specialty S.E.
- Rokstone Underwriting launches Middle East hub and expands into International Aviation
- Rokstone Underwriting opens Africa hub in Mauritius to access regional distribution
- iSure receives Central Bank of Ireland direct authorisation
- Novus opens Brussels office to access European markets following Brexit
Rokstone Underwriting expands into Marine Cargo
Launched US Farm, Surety & Credit Treaty, Contingency and PA, Sport and Prize Indemnity
Launched D&O and PI
Rokstone is an Aventum Group company, a global specialty (re)insurance group that operates across both the underwriting and broking sectors. We make, nurture and grow relationships. We design, develop and launch unparalleled specialist schemes and facilities. And we never accept the standard ways of doing things.
Controlling $1.8bn GWP annually and with 15 global offices, Aventum is the coming together of a group of serious niche (re)insurance businesses under one brand, where success is the only option. We are infectiously entrepreneurial. We strive for greatness and never stop exploring how to do things better.
For us, culture isn’t just something we talk about now and again. It’s a vital part of how we work; it makes us what we are. We’re bold, pro-active and we’re never afraid to challenge the status quo. And we work hard to ensure that our people love being a part of the Aventum family. Because if our people love what they do, and are free to be everything they can be, they deliver better outcomes for our clients and our partners time and time again.