Canopius in the UK

The UK is our largest and most mature region, underwriting through our Lloyd’s Syndicate 4444 since 2010. The UK region specialises in a range of insurance and reinsurance product classes, closely connected to the Lloyd’s London market.

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Meet the UK Executive Team

Mark Newman - Canopius staff
Chief Executive Officer, UK

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.

Alois Ruffiac - Canopius staff
Chief Underwriting Officer, UK

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 Pearson - Canopius staff
Chief Financial Officer, UK
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.
Matthew Crane - Canopius staff
Chief Distribution Officer, UK
Matthew Crane is Chief Distribution Officer – UK (a newly created role in 2024) and is a member of the UK ExCo. Matthew brings nearly three decades of senior market experience to Canopius. He joined most recently from PIB Group where he was CEO of Q Underwriting and a member of the Group ExCo. He notably spent 24 years at QBE taking on several executive roles across the company such as Managing Director Commercial Motor, Managing Director UK and Ireland and Executive Director of Sales and Distribution. He also served as CEO of AMWINS Global Risks where he oversaw the London and Lloyd’s market, Europe, Asia and LatAm operations.
William Monelle Canopius staff
Chief Risk Officer, UK

Will joined Canopius in May 2014 and has more than 20 years’ experience working in financial services.

He graduated from Exeter University with a degree in Mathematical Statistics with Operational Research. Will previously worked at Skandia (now part of Old Mutual) and Sterling Insurance Group (now part of Covéa Insurance) before moving to Mazars to help develop their Risk and Capital advisory consultancy practice.

As UK Chief Risk Officer, Will is responsible for the UK business unit’s enterprise risk management and compliance frameworks. He leads a team of risk and governance experts who work collaboratively with the business to help ensure risks are identified, understood, and managed effectively to support the delivery of our strategic objectives.

Jennifer Smith - Canopius staff
Head of Claims, UK

Jennifer joined Canopius in 2019 and now heads up the UK Claims Team. She is a qualified solicitor and prior to joining Canopius, practiced at a leading (re)insurance law firm, as well as working in the specialty claims team at Markel.

Jennifer and her team pride themselves on their technical expertise and ability to proactively manage a broad range of complex claims to successful resolution. Jennifer strives for excellent customer service by working collaboratively with customers, to understand their needs and find commercial solutions to claims.

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July 15, 2026

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July 14, 2026

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Chicago, 14 July 2026 – Canopius Group, a leading global Specialty and P&C (re)insurer, today announces the appointment of Nadine Moore as Chief Executive Officer...
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June 2, 2026

Canopius Appoints Steve Parry as Group Chief Claims Officer

London, 2 June 2026 — Canopius Group, a leading global Specialty and P&C (re)insurer, today announces the appointment of Steve Parry as Group Chief Claims...
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April 13, 2026

Canopius Opens New ‘Centre of Operational Excellence’ in Manchester

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March 10, 2026

Canopius Delivers 27% Premium Growth, and a Third Consecutive Year of Record Profits

London, 10 March 2026 – Canopius Group, a leading international Specialty and P&C (re)insurer, today announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2025....
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