Helix Underwriting Partners appoints Chief Financial Officer

HAMILTON, Bermuda, 22 April, 2025 – Helix Underwriting Partners Ltd (“Helix”), the multiline independent Managing General Agent (MGA) based in Bermuda, has appointed Kevin Copeland to the newly-created role of Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective April 1, 2025.

Mr. Copeland, who has over twenty-five years of experience in the reinsurance, insurance, and investment industries, will be joining the executive management team.

“Kevin has an accomplished financial background with considerable experience in the Bermuda multiline re/insurance industry, as well as in the investment sector,” said Claude Lefebvre, Managing Partner of Helix. “He also has a strong track record of leading successful change while a company is in growth mode – he will be an invaluable asset to Helix as we execute on our short-term priorities and longer-term strategic objectives. I am delighted to welcome Kevin to Helix and look forward to working with him.”

Mr. Copeland was most recently CFO of Our Kettle Inc, a technology-enabled property insurer, where he will remain a Senior Advisor and also a Director of its Bermuda entities. Prior to that, Mr. Copeland was SVP Finance and Chief Investment Officer of James River Group Holdings, Ltd, a publicly traded insurance and reinsurance group, as well as CFO and Chief Operating Officer at various Bermuda re/insurance entities owned by James River, Tokio Marine, and Argo Group. He also worked as an investment analyst for multi strategy hedge fund Tewksbury Capital Management (formerly Trout Trading Management Company) and began his career as an auditor with KPMG in Halifax, Canada. Kevin is a member of Chartered Professional Accountants Canada and Bermuda, and the CFA Institute.

“Helix has built a solid foundation for its business that is well-positioned for continued growth and success,” said Mr. Copeland. “I am delighted to be joining the Company at such an exciting time and look forward to working closely with the team as we continue to drive the company’s strategic vision forward.”

Nigel Mortimer, Managing Partner of Helix, added: “I’ve had the opportunity to work with Kevin on several occasions over my career and am very excited that we will now get the benefit of his deep knowledge and expertise at Helix, particularly as we are growing organically and geographically. We are looking to expand our operations in the US and in the UK, and we need to ensure that we have the right people onboard to help facilitate our future growth ambitions.”

Helix Underwriting Partners expands MGA offering with the launch of a Professional Lines program

HAMILTON, Bermuda, 09 April, 2025 – Helix Underwriting Partners Ltd (“Helix”), the Bermudian multiline independent Managing General Agent (MGA), has expanded its specialist offering with the launch of a new Professional Lines program.

The new Bermuda-based program is backed by Somers Re and offers a maximum line limit of $10 million. The new platform will write a portfolio of Professional Liability products and will be led by Matt Irvine, who joins Helix as Chief Underwriting Officer – Professional Lines.

The Professional Lines offering includes: Directors’ & Officers’ Liability, Errors & Omissions, Employment Practices Liability, Wage & Hour, Transactional Liability, and Cyber covers.

Mr. Irvine joins Helix from AXA XL and has over 30 years of underwriting experience in both London and Bermuda. At AXA XL, Mr. Irvine spent 13 years leading the insurer’s Bermuda Professional Lines business, expanding the product portfolio and growing the book of business.

This new offering complements the company’s middle-market Property Insurance and Excess and Casualty programs.

“We are delighted to make this announcement as Professional Lines has always been on our radar,” said Nigel Mortimer, Managing Partner at Helix. “The Bermuda insurance market has three pillars; Excess Property, Excess Casualty, and Excess Professional Lines. The launch of our new Professional Lines portfolio is the third critical pillar needed for Helix to better serve its clients and brokers comprehensively.”

“Attracting someone of Matt’s caliber to lead the Professional Lines program is a great win for Helix,” Mr. Mortimer added. “After three decades in the industry, Matt has cultivated extensive broker relationships across the Bermuda wholesale market, the broader US retail market, and in London. Matt has spent more than 20 years in Bermuda and has built a strong reputation and deep connections with clients, risk managers, partners, and senior executives, reinforcing his position as a trusted leader in the market.”

“Joining Helix at this stage in the company’s evolution is going to be an exciting adventure,” said Mr. Irvine. “Helix has ambitious plans for growth, and I am keen to start building bench strength and expertise in the company’s dedicated Professional Lines team – a key part of Helix’s overall portfolio. This is an exciting opportunity to support our clients, and my focus will be to work strategically with brokers across Bermuda, the US, and the UK.”

Helix was launched in Bermuda in 2020 by leading underwriting executives Claude Lefebvre, Nik Lucking, and Neville Weston. The MGA has enjoyed significant growth since Mortimer and Hadler arrived in 2021. Its existing portfolio includes a Property and Facultative book run by Nik Lucking in Bermuda and an Excess Casualty program led by Tim Hadler, who are now both Managing Partners at the company.

In December 2024, Helix launched a US platform writing a portfolio of Property business and the company has ambitions to expand into the London market.

Arch takes minority investment in MGA Helix

Bermuda-based agency, Helix Underwriting Partners Ltd. has entered into an equity investment agreement under which global insurer Arch Capital Holdings Ltd. has become a minority shareholder.

According to the announcement, this transaction further solidifies the strong trading relationship between Helix and Somers Re Ltd., a global specialty property and casualty re/insurance company in which Arch holds a minority investment.

This relationship began in April 2021 with the launch of the Excess Casualty program and expanded in January 2022 with the Middle Market Property Insurance program.

“Helix stands to benefit from the expanded strategic relationship with Arch and the insurance capacity provided by Somers. Helix is better positioned to continue pursuing strategic growth opportunities and broaden the insurance products offered through its agency platform,” the agency stated.

Helix was established in December 2018 as Bermuda’s first independent multi-line Managing General Agent (MGA).

It is currently led by the senior management team of Tim Hadler, Claude Lefebvre, Nicholas Lucking, and Nigel Mortimer, Helix counts with 11 employees.

The company has worked with multiple insurance carrier partners and blue-chip reinsurers, writing close to $200m in gross premium and generating industry-leading underwriting results.

The Helix independent agency model builds distribution channels by combining underwriting talent, product knowledge, and technology into a delivery platform, generating superior risk-adjusted returns for strategic partners.