Allied World Assurance Company Holdings announced Allied WorldEurope has launched a new Marine insurance lineof business.

Bart Grefe has been appointed Vice President,Marine Underwriting Manager, to lead the team.

Mr. Grefe will be responsible for building the line of businessand developing a comprehensive Marine product suite. The teamwill initially focus on establishing a Marine Cargo offering,which will be underwritten through the company's Lloyd'sSyndicate 2232 on the 2014 year of account. Additional marineclasses such as Marine Liability and Fine Art & Speciewill be added in the future, pending regulatory approval.

Julian James, president of Allied World Europe, commented, “AtAllied World, we remain committed to meeting the evolvingneeds of our clients and trading partners. To that end, wehave been steadily expanding our primary capabilities across anumber of business lines in Europe. This strategic move intothe Marine market is the latest example of our European growthstrategy; offering a portfolio of products thatoffer state-of-the-art coverage and superior service.”

“I am confident that with Bart's reputation and technicalexpertise, we will provide a first class Marine offering tothe London market, throughout the United Kingdom and across Europe.I look forward to working with the team to build this book ofbusiness.”

Prior to joining Allied World, Mr. Grefe was most recentlyMarine Underwriting Manager at Alterra Group. He has over 25years of insurance industry experience. Throughout hiscareer, Mr. Grefe has held various underwriting and managementpositions at multinational insurance companies and also heldthe position of Associate Director at Sedgwick Energy &Marine Limited.