UnderwriteMe announces organisational changes

February 14, 2020

UnderwriteMe announces organisational changes

UnderwriteMe was set up to transform how protection is sold and is now the largest supplier of Underwriting Rules Engines in the UK & Ireland and Australia and is now rapidly growing in Asia. In the UK, the Protection Platform provides intermediaries with a unique single process to compare multiple insurer underwritten terms and benefits and buy immediately without leaving the platform. In 2019 the Protection Platform sales doubled and it has just completed a record January 2020.

Having founded UnderwriteMe in 2012 with Pacific Life Re backing, Martin Werth will be stepping down as CEO at the end March.  Martin will become a Non-Executive Director and will continue to be closely involved in the business.
James Tait will take over as UnderwriteMe CEO. In his current role, as Head of Protection at Pacific Life Re Europe and a Non-Executive Director of UnderwriteMe, James has been directly involved with UnderwriteMe from the outset and is well known to many of UnderwriteMe’s partners.

Martin Werth commented “This has been a really hard decision.  Setting up and growing the business is a full-on venture that can’t be sustained forever.  The best time to step down is following a record-breaking year.  We have built a great management team and James is an excellent person to lead the business in its next growth phase.  As a Non-Executive Director, I will continue to stay close to the business.”

James Tait commented, “UnderwriteMe has experienced phenomenal growth since it launched in 2014. The business is now a leading provider of underwriting technology in many markets around the world and the Protection Platform in the UK is helping intermediaries transform the way Protection is sold. I am looking forward to leading the team and the business through its next phase of growth and building on the strong foundations that Martin Werth has put in place. I would like to thank Martin for his vision and commitment to UnderwriteMe.”

Pippa Keefe, Head of Sales & Marketing for UnderwriteMe has also made the decision to seek a new challenge and will be leaving the business at the end of March. Pippa joined in mid-2018 and has been key in growing the business and building an effective Sales & Marketing team. Over this period the run rate on the Protection Platform has increased to over 1,000 underwritten sales per day.

Pippa Keefe says “I am proud of what the business has achieved during my time at UnderwriteMe. I leave behind some very talented people who I know will flourish.”

Nilesh Patel will be seconded from Pacific Life Re into the Head of Sales and Marketing role. Nilesh is currently Head of Underwriting and Claims Development at Pacific Life Re.