News & Insights

McGill and Partners builds on its technology expertise with new hire 

McGill and Partners has appointed Andre du Preez as Head of Emerging Technology. In his new role, Andre will play a key part in building on McGill and Partners’ digital first strategy.  

He will drive innovation by leveraging cutting-edge technologies and fostering a culture of creativity, to ensure McGill and Partners remains at the forefront of the industry. He has proven experience of developing and rolling out machine learning applications, which will further enhance McGill and Partners’ proposition for its clients.  

Andre joins McGill and Partners from Miller, where he was Head of Innovation and led the development and adoption of cutting-edge technological solutions, with a strong focus on artificial intelligence. Previously, he held roles developing digital products at Miller and also Vitality. Prior to this, he worked in business consultancy in both London and Johannesburg.  

Simon Bradbury, Chief Technology Officer at McGill and Partners said: “Andre is an extremely talented professional in the insurance market, with a proven ability to develop and harness emerging technologies and digital products. His extensive experience in pioneering advanced technology will be a tremendous asset as we drive innovation and explore new technical opportunities. We are excited to have him join our team and look forward to the impact he will have alongside our exceptional group of experts.”  

Andre du Preez, Head of Emerging Technology at McGill and Partners said: “Joining McGill and Partners is an incredible opportunity, as the firm has consistently been a trailblazer with its digital-first strategy and its freedom from outdated legacy systems. This forward-thinking approach unlocks endless possibilities, and I’m excited to contribute to it. By staying ahead of emerging trends, I’m eager to help develop innovative strategies and solutions that enhance client value, improve operational efficiency, and strengthen McGill and Partners’ competitive edge.” 

McGill and Partners selected for Warburg Pincus’s prestigious first ever multi-asset continuation fund 

McGill and Partners has been selected by Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm, to join its first ever multi-asset continuation fund. Warburg Pincus, which was a cornerstone backer of McGill and Partners in 2019, has created the new fund. 

It is composed of a diversified portfolio, all of which have demonstrated significant success to date and high growth potential. The $2.2 billion continuation fund will provide McGill and Partners, along with the other companies in the fund, the opportunity and resources to maximise value creation.  

This milestone is particularly significant for McGill and Partners as it: 

  • Highlights the investor appeal of McGill and Partners’ specialisation and focus, and its strategy to grow through the acquisition of talent rather than businesses  
  • Signals the maturity of the business and the significant value that has already been created, recognised and validated by the highly respected continuation fund investors 
  • Demonstrates the strength of the partnership with Warburg Pincus and its continued commitment to McGill and Partners 
  • Emphasises the company’s substantial growth prospects and opportunities 

Inclusion in the continuation fund marks an important milestone for McGill and Partners, following its significant growth since Warburg Pincus’s initial investment in May 2019. It now has 11 offices across three continents, with over 550 colleagues, each of whom has an equity stake in the business. Colleagues will retain their significant stake in the business following closing of the continuation fund. 

Steve McGill, founder and CEO of McGill and Partners commented: “This is a terrific endorsement of the progress our talented colleagues have made in growing our business from scratch in the last five years. As the fastest-growing global specialty firm in the industry, we are excited by the incredible prospects for further growth, which has been recognised by the high-quality investors in this prestigious continuation fund. We look forward to continuing to partner with Warburg Pincus as we go from strength-to-strength.” For more information on Warburg Pincus’ continuation fund please click here. 

McGill and Partners, Tokio Marine Kiln, and Convex, launch groundbreaking, AI-powered trade disruption facility 

McGill and Partners has launched a new trade disruption insurance facility in collaboration with Tokio Marine Kiln (TMK) and Convex, offering limits of $95M, led by TMK. This unique offering harnesses the power of AI enabled technology provided by Altana, to support the understanding and underwriting of trade disruption risk.  

This will enable substantial coverage and limits for clients navigating interruptions and fluctuations of trade between specified locations. Altana’s AI platform enhances the client and underwriter experience by improving service speed and accuracy, while streamlining the preparation and review of Trade Disruption Insurance (TDI) submissions. The increased visibility this gives underwriters, enables them to offer broader coverage and higher limits, across all sectors and geographies. It also provides clients and underwriters with a dynamic, comprehensive view of the world’s interconnected supply chains.  

Nicky Payne, Partner of Capital Solutions and Treaty Reinsurance at McGill and Partners said, “Given the current geopolitical climate, the launch of our groundbreaking trade disruption facility is exceptionally timely, as incidents of this nature are on the rise. From the start, McGill and Partners has been built on digital-first principles. We understand the importance of capitalising on this technology, which allows us to pioneer unique and innovative solutions for our clients. This product is a clear demonstration of those principles.  

Working with TMK and Convex, both recognised leaders in the market for trade disruption risk, was an obvious choice. I am proud that, together, we have brought this facility to the market for our clients.” 

Ed Parker, Head of Special Risks at TMK said, “Tokio Marine Kiln has been at the forefront of innovation in this class since we launched the world’s first trade disruption cover over thirty years ago. Driving and supporting new solutions which can address the challenges which our clients are facing is core to our offering and central to TMK’s business philosophy. Supply chains, globally, have become increasingly complex and their fragility has been underscored by a series of geopolitical shocks in recent years. AI offers the potential for us to better understand our clients, to track the movement of goods and the aggregation of exposures in real time. These new tools can enhance our offering, allow us to broaden our terms due to a greater insight into our clients’ businesses and enable us to further extend our support across supply chains. We are pleased to lead this new facility and look forward to working with our partners to continue to enhance the service we offer to the global trade sector.”  

Evan Smith, co-founder and CEO of Altana said, “Managing supply chain disruptions is a key priority for risk managers. This TDI (trade disruption insurance) facility represents an important step toward the delivery of AI-powered insurance solutions. We’re excited to join forces with McGill and Partners, TMK and Convex, to support businesses in managing through increasing global supply chain dislocations.” 

McGill and Partners expands into the Nordics with opening of Swedish office  

McGill and Partners announces that it will be expanding into the Nordics with the opening of a new branch office in Sweden subject to applicable approvals.  

This expansion into the Nordics will strengthen McGill and Partners’ extensive broking expertise across its key specialties and further enable the firm to deliver cutting-edge solutions to their global clients and trading partners. The new branch will be part of the firm’s European entity. Initial hires to the Swedish branch will include Jon Petursson and Wilhelm Westerstad. 

 Jon and Wilhelm will each join from WTW, where they have spent over two decades, and have been instrumental in developing a diverse portfolio of specialty- focussed business in the Nordics and beyond. They will join McGill and Partners once their existing contractual obligations are fulfilled. 

 Stephen Cross, CEO of McGill and Partners Europe, said: “We are laser-focused on attracting incredible talent in markets where there is untapped potential, and we’re excited to be expanding our presence and capabilities in Europe with the opening of a Swedish office. With Jon and Wilhelm joining the team we will be able to draw on their deep expertise to provide market-leading solutions for our clients and trading partners in the region, whilst we continue to attract like-minded individuals to our rapidly expanding firm.”

McGill and Partners appoints Nick Williams-Walker as Group Chief Operating Officer

McGill and Partners is delighted to announce the appointment of Nick Williams-Walker as Group Chief Operating Officer, with effect from 23 September 2024.  

Nick joins McGill and Partners from Gallagher where he has been COO of Alesco and Gallagher Specialty for five years. Prior to this Nick was at JLT for almost eight years as COO of JLT Specialty and was formerly at Aon for over 13 years in a series of senior operationally focussed leadership roles including an extended period in India overseeing the establishment of the Aon operations in the country. Nick also serves as the Chair of the Technical Group of the London Market Group’s Data Council.  

Nick will succeed Stephen Cross in this role, who has been the firm’s acting Group COO since January 2022. Stephen Cross, one of the co-founders of McGill and Partners, will continue his role of Head of Strategy and Innovation, focussing on strategy, innovation, talent acquisition, and brand and marketing. He will also continue to maintain responsibility for Europe. 

Nick has a long history in the specialty intermediary space and his experience of optimising client service, innovation and leveraging gains and efficiencies from technology over many years will be a huge asset to a digital-first business such as McGill and Partners, which takes a cutting-edge approach to technology.  

Steve McGill, CEO and founder of McGill and Partners, said: “As we continue to pursue exceptional talent, we are delighted to welcome Nick as Group Chief Operating Officer of McGill and Partners. Nick brings extensive experience to an already strong and talented team, and we look forward to Nick joining the firm later this month.” 

Your airmic guide

The aim of these guides, produced by McGill and Partners in association with AIRMIC,  is to provide a set of toolkits to assist directors in understanding and keeping pace with a range of increasingly complex and fast-changing topics which create both risks and opportunities for the companies they serve. They take the form of 12 questions asked and answered, designed to break each topic down into a manageable set of issues. Whilst the answers to each question will vary depending on the size, maturity, and nature of each company’s business, the responses are designed to be relevant and practical.

2025

Captives and insurance

2024

AI and insurance

Political risk and insurance

2023

Cyber risk and insurance

D&O liability insurance

M&A and insurance

2022

Supply Chains and insurance

Gender pay gap report 2023

This report sets out our 2023 Gender Pay Gap reporting information for McGill and Partners UK.  2023 marked our fourth full year of trading and we have continued to build the business at pace, in accordance with our core principles of the Contract of Trust and being intentionally inclusive.

We are mindful of our Gender Pay Gap and that we need to continually work towards having greater female presence in senior roles within our firm. As mentioned in our report we will do this through recruitment, career progression and development.

You can read our full report here: McGill and Partners Gender Pay Gap Report 2023.

M2 Recovery launches world’s first cryptocurrency legal expenses insurance policy 

Crypto crime hit a new all-time high in 2023, accounting for a record-setting $20.6 billion worth of blockchain transactions last year, with the number of blockchain transactions affected by criminal activity doubling compared to 2022.  

But for victims of crypto asset investment fraud, the cost of trying to recover stolen assets can quickly escalate. It can cost upwards of £250,000 to investigate and recover lost crypto assets, and if it is possible to find a litigation funder willing to act purely on a contingency basis, they will likely require a significant cut of the value of any recovery.  

To combat this, M2 Recovery has launched its pioneering crypto legal expenses policy – the world’s first insurance policy for recovery of crypto assets valued at more than £250,000, addressing the pressing need for protection against the rising tide of crypto fraud. M2  

Recovery founder Neil Holloway says: “Our insurance policy is the first of its type globally, which provides policyholders with legal expenses following crypto fraud. We can insure legal expenses relating to crypto assets collectively worth tens of millions for investors, neobanks and in-play betting companies. “This includes digital assets invested through the metaverse, utility tokens such as Freeway Tokens, and crypto assets appropriated through man-in-the-middle attacks. And with more investment scams in play than ever before, reducing your exposure to risk on large crypto investments has never been more important.” Crypto investors buying a policy have access to M2 Recovery’s market leading in-house legal team to recover the lost assets. The costs of recovery are also covered by the policy. It’s the only insurance product in the marketplace that covers up to £250,000 of legal expenses and disbursements associated with recovering assets lost as a result of any type of theft or fraud.  

McGill and Partners, the global boutique specialist (re)insurance broker, has assisted M2 Recovery in the design and placement of the policy with Lloyd’s of London insurers to allow M2 Recovery to launch this product. 

Paul Morgan, Partner in the Financial Lines team at McGill and Partners said: “The issue of fraud and loss of assets is a growing problem in the crypto world, and we’re delighted to be working with M2 Recovery on this pioneering solution, offering pre-incident crypto legal expenses insurance. That we’ve been able to work in partnership to develop a solution that responds to a pressing need, emphasises the agility we have as a business to respond quickly and in a way that meets the pressing needs of the marketplace more widely.” 

M2 Recovery’s director of legal services Louise Abbott said: “The threat to crypto assets has never been greater, with cyber criminals becoming increasingly sophisticated in how they act. We have built a team of cyber intelligence specialists, recovery agents, forensic investigators and expert lawyers, all working under one roof with our proprietary technology to combat this fraud. “In what is an incredibly complicated market, we are incredibly proud to have a 100% success rate, and this new policy means more victims will be able to use our exceptional skill set to recover their crypto assets” 

Is Ireland the new hotspot for rights of light claims?

Introduction

The impact of rights of light claims on development projects has been a concern for UK developers for several years now, but, until relatively recently, Ireland had managed to buck the trend.

However, as Ireland enjoys a period of heightened development, rights of light issues have become an increased topic of debate. Urban development is on the rise fuelled by a lack of housing in cities such as Dublin and Cork. The effects of Brexit are also being felt with a number of international companies relocating to Ireland as their European headquarters, increasing the demand for both office space and housing. Cities such as Dublin have proposed increasing their building height restriction to potentially 25 stories, to deal with this demand, which will only lead to further discussions around
rights of light.

So what is a right to light?

A right to light is an easement that gives a property owner the right to receive light through defined apertures in their building. Disputes can therefore arise when new developments threaten to obstruct this right.

A right to light in Ireland was initially established by the 1858 Prescription Act, the same act that is in effect in the UK today. However, this law was repealed by the 2009 Law Reform Act, which reduced the period of use and enjoyment needed to acquire a right through prescription from 20 to 12 years.

There have already been large losses for developers as a result of rights of light claims in Ireland. One of the most notable rights of light cases relates to the re-development of City Quay, Dublin where in 2018 the Immaculate Heart of Mary church adjoining the development was paid €3.5 million in compensation for their loss of light after objecting to the neighbouring development. The settlement included compensation and also an obligation to undertake improvement works on the exterior of the church.

High profile claims such as this with large losses for the developer has resulted in increasing awareness of rights of light in Ireland, something any developer operating in Ireland should be mindful of

How insurance can help

Rights of light insurance is taken out by the developer to mitigate the financial risk of a third party coming forward attempting to enforce their right to light.
Some of the typical losses covered by a policy include:

  • Settlement costs to injured third parties, over and above any excess that might be in place.
  • Legal and professional fees incurred defending a claim.
  • Abortive costs and the cost of demolishing, altering or reconfiguring part or all of the property if required by a court order or settlement agreement, as well as any loss in market value.
  • Delay costs and loss of rent (can also be included under the policy for an additional premium).

A rights of light insurance strategy consists of three different options of cover, which are outlined below. Generally,a strategy is made up of a combination of these three approaches depending on the level of injury caused by the development and the third parties involved.

  • Wait and see – No contact is allowed with the injured properties and in the event an injured third party comes forward any settlement costs and professional fees will be borne by the insurer up to the limit of indemnity.
  • Reactive agreed conduct – In the event an injured third party comes forward you can negotiate a settlement with this party within the excess defined in the policy. Legal and other professional fees will not reduce the excess, and these
  • must be borne by the insured. You must not contact these parties with regards to rights of light.
  • Proactive agreed conduct – The insured is expected to proactively negotiate a settlement with these third parties, within the policy excess. If the settlement exceeds the excess or there is an injunction the policy will then respond. Legal and other professional fees will not reduce the excess, and these must be borne by the insured.

Insurance is a solution that mitigates financial loss in the event of a claim, however, the only thing that can truly mitigate the risk including the time and stress involved; is releasing the issue with the third party. This is where the agreed conduct style of policy has become increasingly popular in the right to light market, especially where there are high levels of injuries to third party properties and it would not fit within good developer conduct to ignore the injured party. It is also used where there are good relationships between the third party and the developer or a mutual release is being sought. In these scenarios rights of light insurance provides “catastrophe” cover in the event that relations sour and a reasonable settlement cannot be agreed or injunction proceedings are commenced by the injured party.

Information Required

In order to look to obtain insurance the following will be required:

  • A copy of the right to light report
  • Copies of the title register and plans to the property
  • Details of the development and confirmation of the planning status
  • Details of any material objections or contact by third parties
  • Details of any neighbourly matters that might be required – i.e. party wall agreements, crane over sail licences
  • The GDV of the development
  • The anticipated profit of the development – if known
  • Details of any legal DD carried out of any of the neighbouring properties – if available

Rights of light insurance is a valuable tool for developers in Ireland, offering financial protection and legal support in the face of potential disputes arising from new developments. As urban landscapes evolve, understanding the impact of a right to light becomes increasingly important. Developers should carefully consider their options and consult with surveyors, legal and insurance professionals to ensure comprehensive coverage and protection of their development.


The McGill and Partners Legal Indemnity team have completed thousands of deals and have experience in the most complex of situations, creating new solutions in conjunction with developers and insurers.

McGill and Partners expands ports and terminals offering with key hire 

McGill and Partners has expanded its ports and terminals offering with the appointment of Julien Horn as a Partner. Julien joins the team headed up by Julien Hubbard, adding expertise in logistics and transportation. Julien joins McGill and Partners from TT Club, an independent provider of mutual insurance to the international transport and logistics industry.  

He worked at TT Club since 2006 and spent the last four years as a Senior Underwriter in the marine division. At TT Club his work focussed on the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Mediterranean and Turkey. Prior to that Julien spent six years as Business Development Director in Dubai for TT Club, with responsibilities for the Middle East, India and Africa. Over the past decade, Julien has cultivated significant relationships across the Middle East and the broader MENA region.  

This, combined with his abilities to solve issues for large clients, means that Julien is well-placed to take on this role at McGill and Partners. As ports and terminals operators pivot their business models into logistics, Julien brings a wealth of knowledge to support both existing and new clients in this increasingly complex area of transportation business. 

 Julien Hubbard, Partner and Head of Ports and Terminals at McGill and Partners said: “It is fantastic to welcome someone of Julien’s calibre to the team. His business development skills, whether it be nurturing current relationships or exploring new opportunities, will be a tremendous asset to the firm. However, Julien will also bring a new dynamic to the team and his skillset will undoubtedly enhance our ports and terminals offering.”