Bermudian-based Somerset Reinsurance Ltd, a provider of reinsurance solutions to the US life insurance and annuity market, has appointed Thomas Porter as chief underwriting officer.

Mr Porter will be based on-island, reporting to Jeff Burt, chairman and chief executive officer of Somerset, and responsible for overseeing the firm’s underwriting and pricing activities with respect to all new reinsurance business acquisition activities and retrocessions.

He joins Somerset from Hannover Re where he was head of Financial Reporting & Valuation at the company’s office in Orlando, Florida since 2020.

Mr Porter had previously held various roles with Hannover Re since 2005, including lead pricing and structuring actuary for Hannover Re’s financial solutions structured reinsurance, captive and derivative transactions.

“Building on our approach of being a liability-driven organisation, we are delighted to add Thomas’s deep reinsurance experience as the lead of our underwriting team,” said Mr Burt.

“As we continue our track record of stable and consistent growth, his combination of finance and valuation experience together with demonstrated client-facing successes will help accelerate our expansion across the market.”

Mr Porter added: “As a client of Somerset over the past nine years, I had the opportunity and pleasure to work with much of the team across a number of transactions.

“It was clear that the Somerset Re team’s capabilities, vision, and execution was unparalleled, and joining them to help fulfil their long-term and client-focused strategy was an easy decision.”