XL Catlin's Specialty Insurance division is pleased to confirm the appointments of its regional insurance product leads - including Accident & Health, Aviation, Crisis Management, Equine & Livestock, Fine Art & Specie, Marine and Political Risk & Trade Credit -- in its newly created Americas region. 
"The recent integration of two leading specialty markets like XL and Catlin has created a formidable specialty insurer, not only in size and distribution, but in expertise as well," said Neil Robertson, Chief Executive of XL Catlin's Global Specialty insurance business. "This leadership team is eager to take advantage of our new capacity, product offerings and extended reach as they bolster our top-market positions in these specialty insurance lines."
"Throughout the Americas, our brokers and clients will be impressed with this team's industry expertise, sharp underwriting skills, and their willingness to collaborate with them to design optimal risk management solutions for their very specialized risks," said Joe Tocco, Chief Executive of XL Catlin's Americas region which includes North America and Latin America.
XL Catlin's Specialty Product Leads in the Americas include:
• Jason Denechaud - Accident & Health: Mr. Denechaud will continue to manage XL Catlin's Accident & Health underwriting team which provides tailored group accident insurance solutions for a wide range of programs and groups including associations, affinity groups, student travel groups, unions and others.
• Eric Donofrio - Aviation: Mr. Donofrio will oversee aviation insurance underwriting teams in New York, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco in the US, Toronto and Calgary in Canada, providing aviation hull & liability, aircraft products liability, non-owned aircraft liability among other coverages.
• Denise Balan - Crisis Management: Ms. Balan will lead XL Catlin's Crisis Management underwriting teams in New York, Atlanta and Boston, as well as managing relationships with global risk management consultants, to provide corporate clients with Product Recall, War, Terrorism and Political Violence, Kidnap, Ransom, and Extortion insurance and risk consultancy services.
• Sheila Gott - Equine & Livestock: Ms. Gott will manage XL Catlin's Lexington, Kentucky and New York-based equine teams which underwrite various classes of equine business, including Mortality, Named Perils, Theft, Prospective Foal, Barrenness, Stallion First Season Infertility, along with Livestock insurance which includes such coverages as Livestock Mortality, Specified Perils, Transit Motor Truck Cargo and Care, Custody & Control Liability.
• Jennifer Schipf - Fine Art & Specie: Ms. Schipf continues to oversee fine art, jewelers block and general specie insurance business, while serving as Head of US Specialty Distribution & Network (D&N) and is responsible for creating a more cohesive approach to Specialty distribution and new business development efforts.
• Richard DeSimone - Marine: Mr. DeSimone continues to lead XL Catlin's ocean and inland marine business in the Americas, providing marine cargo, primary and excess marine liability, inland marine, blue water and brown water hull, as well as recreational marine coverages.
• Rafael Docavo-Malvezzi - Political Risk & Trade Credit: Mr. Docavo-Malvezzi assumes the role of Americas Regional Product Lead for Political Risk and Trade Credit (PRTC) in addition to his role as Head of Global PRTC Risk Management. His team provides insurance coverages to protect clients against confiscation, expropriation, nationalization, political violence, contract frustration among other risks.