Specialty MGA Appoints 2 Senior Underwriters for Africa & Middle East
Specialty MGA Africa & Middle East, part of MNK Group and a sister company of Specialty MGA UK, announced the appointment of two new senior underwriters as it strengthens its team in Casablanca.
Laila El Bahtouri has been appointed as the new treaty senior underwriter, while Mohamed Bader Bouanani has been named as senior underwriter for Specialty Lines. Both will be in charge of the Africa and Middle East regions. Based in the MGA’s Casablanca office, El Bahtouri is an Actuary Fellow of the French Institute of Actuaries with 19 years of experience, including 14 years in the reinsurance business.
She will drive Specialty MGA Africa & Middle East’s growth in property/casualty reinsurance markets, developing a balanced portfolio of specialist lines as she prioritises meeting client objectives.
Most recently, she worked at Moroccan National reinsurer SCR, spending five years as executive head of Domestic and African P&C Treaties. In this role she developed a deep understanding of the Moroccan and African markets. Before that, she worked more than eight years at SCOR Paris, where she held many positions, including pricing manager for the Middle East.
Mohamed Bader Bouanani will be responsible for driving Specialty MGA’s growth in specialty lines of business, and expanding its market presence in Africa and the Middle East. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Texas Tech University in the U.S., and is an experienced underwriting professional, with a proven track record of more than 15 years in the reinsurance industry. He has held various leadership roles, most recently as head of Specialty Lines at the Moroccan reinsurer SCR.
Specialty MGA Africa & Middle East was launched by CEO Youssef Fassi Fihri in September last year. Headquartered in London, it acts as a bridge between local markets and the London market, offering specific solutions for the African and Middle Eastern markets.
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DUAL Europe Expands Marine Business with New Team in Hamburg, Germany
DUAL Europe is expanding its marine business with a new team in Hamburg, Germany – forming the third marine hub operated by the managing general agent in less than two years.
Marine hubs in Rotterdam and Genoa were established in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
The Hamburg team is led by Klaus Weber, who joins as head of Marine, DUAL Deutschland. With over 30 years of experience in marine insurance and 25 years at the GDV in the Hull Insurance Working Group, Weber brings extensive industry expertise to DUAL. He also contributed to the IVR, a pan-European specialist group for inland shipping, for 10 years, including two years as president.
Weber will be joined by underwriters Steffen Thormann and Tereza Alisch.
