Bermuda-based insurer Endurance has beefed up its excess casualty division with the appointment of two new underwriters.

The company announced yesterday that Shannon Totten and Cotina Forth-Albuoy were joining the company with track records that made them a good fit with the company's approach.

Endurance was one of a wave of insurance and reinsurance companies to set up in Bermuda after a void in capacity after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The company told The Royal Gazette in May of this year that it had just about reached the staff numbers it needed but the appointment of Ms Totten and Ms Forth-Albuoy could be in line with what the company said would be incremental increases over time.

In that interview, Endurance CEO Kenneth LeStrange said the company had established a strategy of maintaining low-fixed costs such as salaries and rent. Mr. LeStrange said: "We will add to staff incrementally in Bermuda, but our `ramp up' is more or less complete."The company reported that it had staffed up to about 100 employees around the world, with 56 of those being Bermudian. Endurance began writing business in Bermuda from offices at Crown House on Par-la-Ville Road but it is understood that its staff numbers have meant it has now outgrown that space and is moving to new corporate headquarters, overlooking Hamilton Harbour, at the Zurich building on Pitts Bay Road. Meanwhile, Ms Totten and Ms Forth-Albuoy will report to executive vice president David Cabral, head of the excess casualty which the company said provided third-party liability coverage for all industry groups and could provide either direct insurance or reinsurance to single-parent captives.

Mr. Cabral said: "I am delighted to welcome Shannon and Cotina to Endurance. Their track records and commitment to structured underwriting fit very well with Endurance's overall approach."

Prior to joining Endurance, Ms Totten, who has been appointed vice president, Excess Casualty, spent five years in the excess casualty division of Starr Excess Bermuda. There she reportedly underwrote high layer, large limit excess programs for predominantly global and national clients across a wide variety of industries.

Before relocating to Bermuda with Starr, Ms Totten marketed and underwrote lead umbrella business on behalf of American Home Assurance Company in New York. She holds a BBA in Risk Management and Insurance from the University of Georgia and currently serves as an instructor of CPCU classes at the Bermuda Insurance Institute.

Ms Forth-Albuoy, named to the position of assistant vice president, Excess Casualty, joined the company from Allied World Assurance Company Ltd. where she was assistant vice president in their Excess Casualty Division underwriting pharmaceutical and medical product accounts predominantly for Fortune 500 companies.

She joins Endurance with over 13 years of insurance experience including eight years with the excess casualty department of XL Insurance (Bermuda) Ltd. and early career career experience within the marine insurance department of Heddington Insurance Company Ltd., formerly Texaco Inc. Captive.