Price Forbes Re bolsters property and PVT fac with Howden and GC hires

Price Forbes Re, the reinsurance broking unit of Ardonagh Specialty, has strengthened its fac team with the appointments of Fred Few Brown and Jonathan Gerken.

Based in London, Few Brown will be responsible for property fac and report to head of facultative Nikki Melbourne. He joins from Howden Re, where he spent five years as associate director.

Commenting on the move, Melbourne said: “Fred’s appointment is a pivotal moment for fac at Price Forbes Re. We’ve worked hard to build a platform that great people want to be part of and I am delighted to see the reaction to Fred joining and how he is helping make property fac at Prices Forbes Re a standout offering.”

Gerken joins the team with a global focus on political violence and terrorism facultative reinsurance.

Also based in London, he reports to Richard Penrose, head of political violence and terrorism at Price Forbes Re. He previously spent almost five years at Guy Carpenter, latterly as vice president.

“Jonathan’s appointment demonstrates our commitment to building bench strength for these products,” Melbourne added.

“He is well known and respected in the terrorism market both in the UK and internationally and will be a huge asset as we begin to capitalise on facultative opportunities with clients who appreciate the fresh and ambitious approach that working with an independent brings.”

In May, Ardonagh Specialty rebranded Inver Re to Price Forbes Re. Inver Re was launched by London-headquartered consolidator Ardonagh in 2021 as part of its ambition to become a top-five global player in reinsurance broking following its $500mn acquisition of Corant Global.

The deal saw wholesale and specialty unit Ed Broking, Lloyd’s broker Besso and aviation specialist Piiq Risk Partners join Ardonagh, which also owns the Price Forbes and Bishopsgate brands.

Last year, Ardonagh Specialty said it had a three-brand strategy under the names of Price Forbes, Bishopsgate and Inver Re, with the latest rebrand described as “the final step to simplify our client proposition”.