Our Company
Ariel Re is the preferred destination for cedants, capital and talent in the reinsurance industry worldwide, we are recognised for our top-quartile underwriting performance and operational excellence.
We provide comprehensive underwriting services to very high-quality institutional capital providers, and traditional Lloyd’s names through Lloyd’s Syndicates 1910 and s6117 SPA (managed by Hampden Agencies).
Our innovative business model allows us to focus on delivering uncompromised underwriting and client services.
Our Story
Ariel Re has almost 20 years of history and a proud track record of supporting the insurance industry while bringing value to investors.
The business was originally founded in 2005 by Don Kramer in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina, Rita & Wilma, backed by a consortium of private equity sponsors. We have welcomed a variety of ownership over time while always maintaining our strong performance and ratings.
Most recently we were acquired by Pelican Ventures and J.C. Flowers on November 24, 2020, bringing to the table significant capital resources and a long track record of supporting successful, entrepreneurial businesses in the (re)insurance industry.
Owned by Pelican Ventures
Pelican Ventures is a private investment firm with a sole focus on the (re)insurance industry.
It was established by world-class insurance executives who have a proven track record of founding, growing, and operating some of the industry’s most enduring and successful franchises, including Renaissance Re.
Lloyd's 2023 Results: Top-Quartile Syndicates
Top-quartile Lloyd’s syndicates by 2023 combined ratio
| Syndicate Managing Agent |
Combined Ratio | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2022 | FY 2023 | YoY +/- | |
|
Nephila 2357 Nephila Syndicate Management Ltd |
58% | 26% | -32ppt |
|
Chaucer 1176 Chaucer Syndicates Ltd |
33% | 37% | +5ppt |
|
Ariel Re 1910 Ariel Re Managing Agency Ltd |
106% | 48% | -58ppt |
|
Medical Protection Society 1892 Asta Managing Agency Ltd |
60% | 71% | +11ppt |
|
RenRe 1458 Renaissance Re Syndicate Management Ltd |
95% | 74% | -21ppt |
|
Ive 2525 Asta Managing Agency Ltd |
83% | 75% | -8ppt |
|
Beaufort 318 Cincinnati Global Underwriting Agency Ltd |
87% | 76% | -11ppt |
|
Lancashire 2010 Lancashire Syndicates Ltd |
115% | 76% | -39ppt |
|
MAP 2791 Managing Agency Partners Ltd |
95% | 77% | -19ppt |
|
WR Berkley 1967 W R Berkley Syndicate Management Ltd |
91% | 78% | -13ppt |
The Best Performers Of The Last Decade At Lloyd's
Top 10 Lloyd’s syndicates ranked by underwriting performance between 2015 and 2024
Key: More volatile than median syndicate | Less volatile than median syndicate
| Syndicate | Combined Ratio | Standard Deviation |
|---|---|---|
| Aegis 1225 | 86.0% | 8% |
| MAP 2791 | 86.3% | 11% |
| Chubb 2488* | 86.9% | 10% |
| Lancs. 3010 | 87.0% | 7% |
| Newline 1218 | 89.2% | 3% |
| Ariel 1910* | 89.5% | 22% |
| Mun. Re 457 | 90.0% | 7% |
| Ark 4020* | 90.0% | 9% |
| Hiscox 33 | 90.2% | 13% |
| Beazley 2623 | 91.3% | 9% |
How we got here
Our Structure
Coverholders in Bermuda, London and Hong Kong
We write business through our proprietary coverholders based in Bermuda, London and Hong Kong. Accessing (re)insurance business through these local market relationships allows for close proximity to our client base.
All coverholders are approved Lloyd’s service companies and authorized in the jurisdiction within which they operate.
Oversight and direction of all coverholders is provided by Ariel Re Managing Agency Limited (ARMA), an approved Managing Agent at Lloyd’s of London.
Our Companies are:
Ariel Re Managing Agency Limited
Ariel Re Managing Agency Limited (company number 13511920), a managing agent at Lloyd’s, is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority in the United Kingdom
Ariel Re Bda Limited
Ariel Re Bda Limited (Bermuda company number 42706) is licensed and regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority ("BMA”) as an Insurance Agent.
Ariel Re UK Limited
Ariel Re UK Limited (UK company number 12808840) is an appointed representative of Ariel Re Managing Agency Limited which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority in the United Kingdom
Ariel Re Hong Kong Limited
Ariel Re Hong Kong Limited (HK company number 248024) is licensed and regulated by the Hong Kong Insurance Authority as an Insurance Agent to carry out General Business.
About Lloyd’s
Lloyd’s of London (Lloyd’s) is the world’s leading insurance and reinsurance marketplace.
Through the collective intelligence and risk-sharing expertise of the market’s underwriters and brokers, Lloyd’s helps to create a braver world.
About Lloyd's
Lloyd’s of London (“Lloyd’s”) is the world’s leading insurance and reinsurance marketplace. Through the collective intelligence and risk-sharing expertise of the market’s underwriters and brokers, Lloyd’s helps to create a braver world.
The Lloyd’s market provides the leadership and insight to anticipate and understand risk, and the knowledge to develop relevant, new, and innovative forms of insurance for customers globally.
It offers the efficiencies of shared resources and services in a marketplace that covers and shares risks from more than 200 territories, in any industry, at any scale.
It promises a trusted, enduring partnership built on the confidence that Lloyd’s protects what matters most: helping people, businesses, and communities to recover in times of need.
Lloyd’s began with a few courageous entrepreneurs in a coffeeshop. Three centuries later, the Lloyd’s market continues that proud tradition, sharing risk in order to protect, build resilience and inspire courage everywhere.
For more information about Lloyd’s please click here https://www.lloyds.com/about-lloyds.
Bermuda Leadership Team
Ariel Re’s greatest strength is our people, we are a learning organisation where the best in the industry work and engage.
Ryan Mather
Chief Executive Officer
Mike Cornish
Head of Property
David Hosier
Head of Governance
Lindsay Hyland
Head of Human Resources
Ihab Khalil
Chief Information Officer
Steve O’Flynn
Head of Non-Property Underwriting
Rohan Pai
Chief Financial Officer
Katie Partington Howarth
Chief Capital Officer
Matthew Twilley
Chief Analytics Officer
Ryan Mather
Chief Executive Officer
Ryan is the current CEO of Ariel Re. Ryan was a founding member of Ariel Re in 2005 and previously held a variety of roles including Group Chief Underwriting Officer. Previously, he was the Global Head of Reinsurance for Argo Group and has also held underwriting roles at Lloyd's, Gerling Global Re, and Chartwell Re. Ryan is an associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute and is a Genetics graduate from the University of London.
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Mike Cornish
Head of Property
Mike is based in Bermuda and manages the Property portfolio at Ariel. He began his career at the Kiln syndicate in London in 1998 and 10 years later moved to Bermuda where he helped form and build Argo Re. He has held his post at Ariel Re since 2018. He is an associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute and holds a degree in Economics and Sociology.
+1 441-300-3710 mike.cornish@arielre.com
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David Hosier
Head of Governance
David is a Chartered Accountant with wide experience in governance, risk and compliance matters for Bermuda reinsurance companies including Lloyd’s syndicates.
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Lindsay Hyland
Head of Human Resources
Lindsay brings a broad and deep human resources skill set to Ariel Re’s people function. Her career which has almost exclusively been in the financial services sector, spans nearly three decades in Bermuda.
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Ihab Khalil
Chief Information Officer
Ihab is the head of Portfolio Management. He joined Ariel Re at inception and has almost twenty years of experience building reinsurance pricing and portfolio systems. Prior to joining Ariel Re, he spent four years with Axis Specialty.
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Steve O’Flynn
Head of Non-Property Underwriting
+1 441-338-3010 stephen.o’flynn@arielre.com
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Rohan Pai
Chief Financial Officer
Rohan joined Ariel Re as Chief Financial Officer in April 2025. Previously, he was the Chief Financial Officer of Velocity Risk and also held Treasury, investor relations and corporate finance roles at Selective Insurance and RenaissanceRe. Rohan began his insurance career as an equity research analyst at Wall Street firms including Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, and Deutsche Bank.
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Katie Partington Howarth
Chief Capital Officer
Insurance and Reinsurance professional with almost 25 years experience across portfolio management and capital strategy. Current role encompasses raising external capital and managing Ariel Re’s capital strategy to ensure the company’s continued growth and success in the reinsurance market. Named one the 50 Most Influential Women in Re/insurance by the Intelligent Insurer.
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Matthew Twilley
Chief Analytics Officer
Matthew has over 20 years of reinsurance industry experience in London and Bermuda, having started as a broker before joining Ariel Re in 2013 first as an underwriter and then as Head of Ceded. He is an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute and has a Classics MA (Cantab.).
View on LinkedInLondon Leadership Team
Darren Lednor
Managing Director
Anouchka Gokhool
Syndicate Chief Financial Officer
Rebecca Knowles
Chief Risk Officer
Jon Poole
Chief Actuary
Mark Pickett
Active Underwriter
Darren Lednor
Managing Director
Darren has been working in the insurance industry for 20 years across both the London and Bermuda markets and his experience encompasses underwriting, broking, risk and actuarial.
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Anouchka Gokhool
Syndicate Chief Financial Officer
Anouchka began her career in public accounting in 2000 and today has over eighteen years’ experience in the insurance market, which she has gained as a subject matter expert in financial reporting. Through her roles at Catlin and Tokio Marine Kiln she successfully put together a track record of adapting to continuous regulatory changes in the insurance market. Most recently, Anouchka was Director of Syndicate Finance for Hiscox Limited leading the finance team through a challenging transition period whilst continuing to deliver on all aspects of Syndicate reporting.
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Rebecca Knowles
Chief Risk Officer
Becky began her career in capital modelling, joining EMB/Towers Watson in 2005 and working in a specialized capital modelling consultancy team supporting a global client base. She then moved to Catlin as Capital Manager in 2013 before being promoted to Head of Risk Capital. As a result, she has 15 years’ experience of capital modelling, building and using internal models, coupled with a broad perspective on wider risk management. . Most recently, she acted as Deputy Chief Risk Officer of Asta Capital, supporting the Chief Risk Officer and helping to develop and enhance Asta’s internal risk framework.
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Jon Poole
Chief Actuary
As an Ariel Re alumnus, Jon brings 19 years of actuarial experience to the role of Chief Actuary. He started his career with a brief sojourn in banking in 2001, before quickly transitioning to insurance. Qualifying as an FIA in 2006, Jon managed the reserving function for Catlin and was the syndicate actuary for Montpelier Re and Ariel Re UK before his most recent role as Chief Actuary for Blenheim Underwriting Ltd. Jon is a highly articulate and persuasive team builder and we are pleased to bring him back to build our actuarial function.
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Mark Pickett
Active Underwriter
Mark, who has 15+ years’ experience in financial services, has previously held roles with J.P. Morgan, Lloyd’s and Argo Group.
View on LinkedInOur Culture
Ariel Re’s corporate culture comprises the attitudes, experiences and beliefs of our organization. It is the specific collection of values and norms that we share that influence the way we work together and with our business partners.
We are proud of the culture we have developed over time which has developed organically over our 20-year history, and we believe our culture is a large factor in making us different and special so that we stand out from our peers.
We continue to cultivate Ariel Re’s culture with dedicated employee focus groups and carry out regular staff surveys to ensure that employee engagement remains high.
We separate culture into three separate, but very much linked elements – Mission, Vision and Values all of which drive our daily thinking and behaviours.
Our Mission
What is our purpose, why do we exist?
We focus on providing investors and clients with thoughtful and innovative solutions that provide security and create opportunity.
We strive for Ariel Re to be a fulfilling place to work and make a meaningful contribution to the wider communities in which we operate.
Our Vision
What does our future hold?
Our vision is to be the Premier Manager of Reinsurance Risk. We will be the preferred destination for cedants, capital and talent in the reinsurance industry worldwide.
Our success will be evidenced by our top-quartile underwriting performance and low expenses. We will be known for embracing technology and being a learning organisation where the best in the industry work and engage.
Ariel Re has amazing mentors who offer invaluable guidance, support and instil core values that inspire and empower others to do the same.”
Megan Zimmerer Underwriting AssistantTeamwork
Ariel Re owes its success to loyalty and partnership, when we work together we are most successful. We are dedicated to equal opportunity; diversity is critical to our hiring and development practices. We welcome open communication and believe that all opinions should be encouraged and listened to, only by respecting and including different perspectives will we achieve the best results.
Innovation
Thinking differently leads to progress. We always want to seek new business opportunities, find better solutions for our clients or improve our processes. We never stop learning and do not accept “the way things are” if there could be a better approach.
Fun
Fun is part of everything we do, we have fun while being the best and we make sure we fully celebrate our successes. We have an inclusive and happy work environment which people like to be a part of, we feel a special connection with each other and to Ariel Re.
Ambition
To be the Premier Manager of Reinsurance Risk we must individually and collectively have a winning aspiration, demand high standards, and be determined. We never become complacent as we know there is always more to learn and achieve, we readily accept the challenge of new tasks and responsibilities we are given.
Passion
We believe in what we are doing and the future of our company, passion is the fuel that drives us forward with engagement, purpose and a sense of urgency. We have integrity and always seek to do the right thing for Ariel Re.