Pool Re strengthens risk analysis and research capability with appointment of Andrew Donaldson
Pool Re today announced the appointment of Andrew Sean Donaldson as Deputy Head of Risk Analysis. He takes up his role with immediate effect and will report to Ed Butler, Head of Risk Analysis. Andrew will be responsible for the management of threat reporting and commissioning of analytical products to help Pool Re Members and partners understand the modern terrorist threat. He will also assist with project management in support of Pool Re’s wider work in the terrorism (re)insurance market
Andrew joins Pool Re after a distinguished career with the police, during which he spent most of his service in counter-terrorism. Andrew then supported the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with capacity building overseas, notably in India after the Mumbai attacks in 2008, before an attachment to the Association of Chief Police Officers (Terrorism and Allied Matters) supporting the Extremism Task Force in 2013. He subsequently undertook several roles with the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) and Ministry of Defence, during a time which saw the rise of Daesh and persistent terrorist threats throughout mainland Europe.
Ed Butler said, “Our risk analysis capability has gone from strength to strength in the last year. Andrew’s appointment will help us maintain that momentum. He brings an exceptional level of understanding and first-hand experience of the terrorism landscape and I am certain he will be a key asset in our goal of providing our Members and stakeholders with an unapparelled level of insight into this evolving threat. I am very pleased to welcome him to the team.”
Contact
Haggie Partners LLP
Peter Rigby/ Brian Norris
peter.rigby@haggie.co.uk/ brian.norris@haggie.co.uk
+44 (0)20 7562 4444
About Pool Re
The Pool Re scheme was set up in 1993 by the insurance industry in cooperation with the UK Government in the wake of the IRA bombing campaign on the UK Mainland with the goal of protecting the economy. Pool Re is a mutual reinsurer whose Members comprise the vast majority of insurers and Lloyd’s Syndicates which offer commercial property insurance in the Great Britain, with membership of the scheme affording them a guarantee which ensures that they can provide cover for losses resulting from acts of terrorism, regardless of the scale of the claims.
The scheme, which is recognised as a leading example of public/private partnership, is owned by its Members but is underpinned by a HM Treasury commitment to support Pool Re if ever it has insufficient funds to pay a legitimate claim. Pool Re pays a fee to Government for this guarantee and would repay the money over time if it ever used this facility.
However, in the event of a loss resulting from an act of terrorism, each Member must first pay losses up to a threshold, which is determined individually for that insurer. When losses exceed that threshold, the insurer can claim upon Pool Re’s reserves, which now stand at approximately £6.2billion. These reserves have been accumulated by the Members of Pool Re since its inception. It is only in the event that these reserves and the company’s commercial reinsurance are exhausted, that Pool Re would require Government support.
The Pool Re fund has paid out following 13 separate terrorism incidents covering losses of over £600m.
Since March 2015, the Pool Re Scheme’s resilience has been augmented by an external reinsurance placement. This re-engages the global market in aggregated UK terrorism for the first time since 1993, and additionally provides protection to both Scheme assets and the UK taxpayer.
Pool Re is also a founding member of the International Forum of Terrorism Risk (Re)Insurance Pools (IFTRIP). Established in 2016, IFTRIP is aimed at fostering closer ties and allowing for greater collaboration between the world’s terrorism (re)insurance entities. IFTRIP is comprised of national terrorism reinsurance pools from twelve countries.