The AMU committee
The committee are responsible for the management and administration of the association.
Calvin Cole (RGA Re) - Chairperson
Dave Nicholas (Gen Re) - Vice Chairperson
Karen Proctor (Swiss Re) - Honorary Secretary
Graham Austin (SCOR Global Life) - Honorary Treasurer
Debbie Smith - Committee Officer
Cathy Toomey (Kiln) - Committee Officer
Mike Benton (Medicals Direct) - Committee Officer
Stuart Halliwell (Legal & General) - Committee Officer
John Downes (XL Re) - Committee Officer
Calvin Cole
Calvin has almost 30 years reinsurance experience with wide ranging skills in life and health business. He joined RGA in 2003 as chief underwriter with overall responsibility for underwriting and claims.
Calvin started his career in underwriting and claims with M&G Re and moved on to become business development manager for the middle-east region at Swiss Re. He also has experience working as a reassurance broker for Guy Carpenter, responsible for developing life and health business around the world.
Away from work Calvin is a keen cricketer, a retired footballer and a failed golfer. He enjoys travelling, eating out and socialising.
Dave has worked in the Life and Health industry for over 20 years having started his career at Cornhill Insurance (now Allianz) in Guildford. He joined Gen Re in 1997 and is now Underwriting Manager. Dave's current role spans a wide range of responsibilities including product development, account management, training and auditing.
Outside of work Dave is kept busy by his 3 children but still manages to find time for the occasional game of football or golf.
Karen began her career at Norwich Union in Norwich and a change of location to London brought her first to Transinternational Life (now Aegon) and then joined GE Insurance Solutions (Victory as was) in 1985. Karen has had many roles within the underwriting team and became Underwriting Manager responsible for UK and Middle East in 2000.
In 2006 Karen joined Swiss Re, following the acquisition of GE, and is now Underwriting Operations Manager for UK and Ireland.
Karen lives in London, has two teenage children and finds little time for anything else. Having said that a good book and a glass of chilled wine will always go down a treat!
Graham Austin has been underwriting for 38 years. His history shows an equal split of employers between direct and reinsurance companies. On the direct side he worked for Equity & Law, Canterbury Life and Aetna. His reinsurance background covers Victory, Swiss Re, Munich Re and his current employer SCOR Global Life, where he is the underwriting manager. Graham enjoys training of new underwriters and has been known to have a passion for public speaking.
In the words of Graham Austin "Debbie has been around a bit"! Starting her career at TSB Trust Co in 1985 and moving on to Old Mutual led to her first role as Chief Underwriter and the development of preferred lives underwriting there. In 1996 she jumped ship to narrowly avoid redundancy and spent a pleasant year working both for GE in Denmark and L & G in Hove. Her next move was to join Sun Life of Canada where she flitted merrily between underwriting, claims management & sales support. By 2001 all her hard work had paid off and the company closed, so she went to work for Munich Re and spent a happy 4 years there working on all aspects of underwriting and product development. Her involvement with the development of Progress from Royal Liver led to a becoming Chief Underwriter there.
In 2006 Debbie went back to college to study medicine. In her spare time (!) she is a Reserve Officer in the RAF, requiring the occasional trip to somewhere hot and unfriendly! She has two hooligan kittens, one husband and several goldfish.
Cathy began her career in 1988 with Friends' Provident Life Office in Salisbury, and moved to M&G Re in 1994 where, as a senior Life & Disability Underwriter, she became involved in all aspects of life & health reinsurance. In 1997 she joined the Lloyd's managing agency R J Kiln & Co. Limited, and she was appointed Active Underwriter of Kiln Life Syndicate in 2003. She has a particular interest in medically substandard and other unusual or hard-to-place risks.
Mike Benton has worked in the life and health insurance industry for over 25 years. He has been chief executive officer at Medicals Direct Group since 1997, prior to which he was sales & marketing director of IGI Insurance Company and previously managing director of the Permanent Health Company Limited. From 1989 to 1992 he was sales & marketing director of Prosperity Life Insurance Company.
In addition to his extensive knowledge of the life and health insurance markets, Mike also has a wealth of experience in the non-life general insurance sector. He has, probably uniquely, held senior posts in all aspects of the business, covering sales, marketing, administration and underwriting functions. Mike is a regular speaker at industry seminars and is an authority on medical outsourcing for both the insurance and legal industries.
Stuart has been involved in underwriting since 1988 starting at Prolific in the lake district, moving to Scottish Provident in Edinburgh, followed by Swiss Re in London and since 2001 at Legal & General as the underwriting propositions and marketing manager.
Throughout that time Stuart has covered a diverse range of areas from setting underwriting philosophy, developing and running training courses for underwriters and advisors, assessing claims, systems projects, audits, underwriting niche products (long term care, elderly lives etc), department management, promotion of underwriting philosophy and services, and developing large case underwriting at Legal & General.
John has been chief underwriter at XL Re since 2003, with responsibility for underwriting and claims and the management of client relationships in these areas. Prior to joining the XL Re Life team, John worked in Johannesburg as new business operations manager for a major South African life office and has had a variety of underwriting and business development roles in the UK with various reinsurers and direct offices.
John has a History degree and an MBA and is also an Associate of the Insurance Institute of South Africa.
