About The Canopius Group
Canopius is a global specialty lines (re)insurer.
We believe that our people make us different. We challenge the prevailing wisdom, we ask the difficult questions and we are proud to offer an independent view of risk.
We were formed via a management buyout in December 2003, with £25m equity capital and achieved significant growth through a mix of organic expansion and acquisition. We are privately owned, backed by private equity funding.
Canopius Group Limited is domiciled in Jersey and operates in Australia, Bermuda, Singapore, the UK, the US, Malaysia (Labuan) and China (through Lloyd’s China). The group operates through the following underwriting platforms:
- Canopius Managing Agents Limited, which manages our Lloyd’s Syndicate 4444
- Canopius US Insurance, Inc., a US excess & surplus lines insurance company
- Canopius Reinsurance Limited, a Bermudan class 4 Reinsurance company
- Canopius Managing Agents Limited
- Canopius Underwriting Limited
- Canopius US Insurance, Inc.
- Canopius Reinsurance Limited
- Canopius Asia Pte Limited
- Canopius Underwriting Agency, Inc
- Canopius Underwriting Bermuda Ltd
- Canopius Insurance Services
- Vave MGA
Our name reflects our heritage
- In the 17th and 18th centuries, English coffeehouses were public and social places where people would meet for conversation and commerce, and where like-minded scholars congregated and debated with each other.
- The namesake of our company, Nathaniel Canopius is reputed to have brewed the first cup of coffee in England in 1637.
- Edward Lloyd’s coffeehouse by the river Thames became the centre of marine intelligence. By the 18th century, it is where merchants and financiers met and agreed financial protections for their vessels and cargo; the location thus became the heart of London’s maritime finance industry and where modern insurance was born.
Our Leadership & Governance
Our Leadership Team
Canopius has an organisational model comprising three distinct regional business units and four product groups, along with a Leadership Team.
Each of the regional units has established an Executive Committee. The resulting line-ups give Canopius its strongest ever management team, ready to build a resilient and sustainable organisation and deliver meaningful, profitable growth. From underwriting and claims to digital and people management, the business has invested heavily in attracting forward-thinking industry talent. A new generation of highly experienced leaders is now embedded, united by a clear growth strategy and committed to creating an entrepreneurial culture that attracts and supports top talent.
Our Leadership Team is responsible for the day-to-day running of the group.
Neil was appointed as Group CEO of Canopius in January 2022 having joined the business as Group Deputy CEO in in May 2021. Neil leads Canopius in setting and achieving its strategic ambitions, furthering its distinctive approach and delivering enhanced returns for our shareholders, all while creating a culture in which its employees can thrive.
Previously, Neil was CEO of Global Specialty AXA XL where he oversaw a multi-billion-dollar portfolio. He has more than 30 years of insurance experience and his previous roles include Chief Executive of Insurance Underwriting for XL Catlin and seven years as CEO of XL Group’s Lloyd’s Managing Agency.
Sam is the Group Chief Underwriting Officer for Canopius.
Sam started his distinctive 30-year insurance career at the Commercial Union in 1995, and moved to QBE Syndicate 1036 in 1998. By 2001, he had become Head of Offshore Energy for that syndicate, and then overall Head of Energy, four years later. In 2013, he was promoted to Managing Director International Markets and in 2017 to Managing Director for QBE European Operations, Insurance Division. In March 2021 he became Group Chief Underwriting Officer and a member of the QBE Executive Board.
Following his successful career at QBE, Sam moved to Canopius in October 2023 to lead and shape our diverse portfolio of business across three regional business units. Working as part of the Group Leadership Team and alongside senior underwriting leaders, Sam is spearheading Canopius’s ambitious underwriting plans, focusing on areas where Canopius has, or could have, distinction or a competitive advantage.
Nick joined Canopius in 2011 and has been Group Chief Actuary since 2018, leading Pricing, Reserving and Capital across the Group. Prior to joining Canopius he worked as an actuarial consultant for Lane Clarke & Peacock.
Nick has recently served as Chair of the Committee of Actuaries in the London Market and was voted General Insurance Actuary of the Year in 2018 by the Actuarial Post.
Mark joined Canopius in August 2016 as Chief Executive APAC & MENA, with responsibility for the Singapore, Australia and Lloyd’s China operations. He began his insurance career broking with Sedgwick in London, before moving to J&H as Senior Vice President in 1991.
After the company was acquired by Marsh, he became leader of their international property team, followed by various roles he held at Guy Carpenter – first as Head of Faculty Japan and then as Head of Faculty for Guy Carpenter Asia Pacific, before being appointed Chief Operating Officer & Head of Guy Carpenter Fac Asia Pacific in 2007.
In 2008 Mark moved to the carrier side, being appointed as CEO of Catlin Asia Pacific, based in Singapore. Prior to joining Canopius, Mark served as Head of Asia & Deputy CEO Asia Pacific XL Catlin, having helped both organisations through the integration post-merger.
Mark currently also chairs the Asia Pacific & MENA Market Group (AMG), a market-elected position, representing all Lloyd’s Managing Agencies with a physical presence in APAC & MENA, and is a member of the Canopius Leadership Team.
Lisa joined Canopius as President and Chief Underwriting Officer in September 2020 to build on the strengths of the US operation and Lloyd’s syndicate to create a multi-platform approach to serving the US specialty insurance market. She became CEO, US & Bermuda, in February 2022.
Lisa has more than 25 years of experience and joined from Sompo America Insurance Services, where she served as Executive Vice President and President of Asian Risk Solutions at Sompo International since 2016. She also worked at Zurich Insurance for 14 years, most recently as Regional Industry Leader – Construction.
Our Board & Governance - Canopius Group Ltd Board
The Board is responsible for promoting the long-term sustainability of the Group in a manner that seeks to generate value for shareholders while taking account of the interests of its stakeholders, the impact on the environment, and its contribution to the wider society.
Paul Ceurvorst has served on the Board of Canopius Group Limited as an Independent Non-Executive Director since 2016 and brings more than four decades of experience to the role.
Prior to joining Canopius, Paul was Chief Executive Officer of Gen Re’s London market operations, Faraday Reinsurance Co. Limited and Faraday Managing Agents.
With qualifications as a barrister and in corporate finance, Miriam spent more than 30 years working for a number of leading investment banks and other financial institutions. In previous roles, she served as a Non-Executive Director of the UK energy regulator OFGEM and on the Board of a number of publicly quoted companies and was also a founding partner of SPARK Advisory Partners, an independent corporate advisory business.
Miriam is currently the Chair of SMS plc and Aquila Energy Efficiency Trust, Non-Executive Director of Gulf International Bank UK, Encyclis Holdco Limited and Eclipse Shipping Limited, and an Adviser to the Mayor of London’s Energy Efficiency Fund. A Deputy Lieutenant of the City of Edinburgh, Miriam was awarded an OBE for services to corporate finance in 2000.
Peter brings a wealth of asset management and insurance sector expertise to Canopius. Following an extensive career at PwC, where he was latterly the firm’s Managing Partner in the UK, Peter held a suite of Non-Executive Directorships, including for Brit Insurance and AXA in the UK and Ireland. Peter also formerly served as Non-Executive Director to Smith & Williamson and UK Coal, Chairman of Argent Group and was a member of the Competition Commission and the Natural Environment Research Council.
In addition to Canopius, Peter is currently Non-Executive Director at Architas Group and Chairman of AMMEL, a fund management company. Peter holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Greenwich.
Paul serves as Chair of the Canopius Managing Agents (CMA) Board. He is an independent Director of investment companies, insurers and investment funds. Until 2012 he was Head of Portfolio Management at Canaccord Genuity and, prior to this, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Corazon Capital and Managing Director of Rothschild private banking. He has more than 35 years’ experience in financial markets in London, Dublin and Guernsey, holding senior positions in investment management and trading.
Paul is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investments, a past Commissioner of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission and past Chairman of the Guernsey International Business Association.
Ian serves as Independent Non-Executive Director on the CMA Board, the Canopius Group Limited (CGL) Board and is Chair of AllClear Group.
Ian formerly chaired Kingsbridge, A-Plan, 7im, Guardian Financial Services and Partnership Assurance. His previous Board roles include Seven Investment Management, Resolution Life Companies, Unum Ltd, Liverpool Victoria, Endsleigh and AA Insurance.
Prior to his non-executive appointments, Ian’s 25-year career comprised senior, executive roles at blue-chip firms across the insurance industry, including Zurich Financial Services, BAT Financial Services and Eagle Star.
Our Board & Governance - Canopius Managing Agents Board
Alois was appointed as Canopius UK Chief Underwriting Officer and Active Underwriter in 2022. He joined the business as Head of Underwriting and Strategy, as part of the merger with AmTrust in 2019. Alois was previously the Deputy Active Underwriter of Syndicate 1861.
He began his insurance career at Beazley as Pricing Actuary for their Cyber and Casualty Lines. Alois also leads the Follow Risk class, which is positioned alongside the business for partners to work with experts in non-core Canopius products. Alois is a qualified Actuary and holds a Master’s in Computer Science.
James joined Canopius in late 2022, from Direct Line Group where, as Director of Group Financial Planning and Analysis, he successfully led the group’s Actuarial and Finance transformation project and the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 17.
He has nearly 20 years of insurance and financial services experience having originally trained and worked for PwC in Sydney and London working across both the Assurance and Advisory practices. He has extensive financial reporting experience, including Public Company reporting, and recent industry roles in leading large-scale Actuarial & Finance Transformation and overseeing all Finance Business Reporting and Group Financial Planning & Analysis.
