Kettle, the reinsurance MGA start-up that uses advanced deep learning to better protect people from the growing risks associated with climate change, has appointed Brian Espie as chief underwriting officer.

Co-founder and CEO Andrew Engler said Mr Espie brings extensive breadth and depth of experience in insurance/reinsurance underwriting.

He said: “Brian’s exceptional combination of analytical expertise and strategic vision will serve us well as we continue to grow our business.”

Mr Espie has more than 15 years of experience in the industry, most recently as group head of North American Reinsurance at Fidelis.

Prior to joining Fidelis, he served in various underwriting and analytical roles for the Tokio Marine Group, including Tokio Millennium Re in Bermuda.

Mr Espie said Kettle is well-positioned to address the growing challenges facing the industry.

He said: “Climate change has demonstrated the need for innovative products that provide immediate solutions to both insurers and reinsurers.

“The deeply talented team at Kettle have built a platform that will help bring these solutions to the market with flexibility and efficiency.”

Co-founder and chief operating officer Nathaniel Manning said: “We are very excited to have someone with Brian’s experience and stellar track record join the Kettle team.

“He brings a great deal of strategic insight and industry knowledge to Kettle which will prove invaluable as we scale our new commercial parametric wildfire insurance and GRIL (Grid Rated Industry Loss) reinsurance products and expand into new perils in the future.”

Kettle said it recently added underwriting bench strength in the US by hiring Mike Ratelle from TigerRisk and Taimur Chaudhri from American Ag Insurance.

The company has also promoted Amit Shah to president of Kettle Limited, subject to the approval of the Bermuda Immigration Department.

Mr Shah said: “Kettle has had an exceptional 2022 year with developing new products and building capacity both in the insurance and reinsurance space.

“We have been very fortunate in attracting the best talent in Brian, Mike and Taimur to the underwriting team, and this will allow us to accelerate growth into 2023.”

Kettle said it aims to better price and understand risk using machine learning, and in doing so bring new products and more highly-defined views of risk to the reinsurance industry.

The company’s first products focus on wildfire coverage for California spanning reinsurance, commercial parametric insurance, and primary homeowner coverage, and Kettle plans to move on to other perils in 2023.