RSA launches Superyacht practice

Authored by RSA

RSA Insurance has announced that it is to expand its market-leading marine offering and launch a new Superyacht practice.

The new practice will provide comprehensive cover for owners of superyachts, focusing on the larger end of the market, which is traditionally professionally skippered and crewed, and will be led by Emily Grew, who will join as a Senior Yacht Underwriter in July. Mrs Grew will report to Calvin Gray, London Market Marine Director.

Superyacht ownership has grown significantly in recent years, with purchases of luxury vessels (longer than 30m) increasing by more than 8 per cent in the first nine months of 2021, compared with the same period in 2019, according to industry publication The Superyacht Group.

Although data from superyacht market intelligence, BOATPro found a 20 per cent decrease in the total value of superyachts sold in 2022, this still represented an exceptional year for the market, which was up by 50 per cent in comparison to 2019 and nearly 80 per cent on 2020 figures.

Mrs Grew has more than 15 years’ experience in insurance, the majority of this as a yacht specialist. She started her career in insurance broking and has worked for AIG, Miller Insurance Services, JLT Specialty and CRS Yachts. She moved to Chubb in 2019 as a Yacht Underwriter and is currently a Senior Yacht Underwriter. During her time with Chubb, she was responsible for establishing and building out the company’s London Yacht Practice.

Calvin Gray, London Market Marine Director said:

“We continue to look for opportunities in the market where we can build pockets of lead or niche expertise, which can deliver a longer-term return for us as a business. The Superyacht market has been through significant remediation over the past four years, and this represents a good opportunity for us to enter the market.

“Through our market and competitor analysis, we believe that with our global capability there is an opportunity to bring a lead offering to the market and build a unique proposition with technical capability and expertise at its core.

“I’m really pleased Emily has joined us to lead the new practice. Once we decided this was an area we were going to expand into, there was only one person we wanted to build our offering. Her expertise in this area is unrivalled and she has a great reputation in the market.”