Meet The Team
The AXIS Marine Cargo team is dedicated to protecting your clients against the unknown. With years of experience and an open-for-business attitude, they are there for your clients every step of the way. Every member of the team can handle any of the risks within the portfolio, but each one has their own particular specialties.
Helen Steadman
Helen is the Head of Cargo at AXIS. She began her career in Cargo insurance in 1997 as a graduate trainee with Willis Faber & Dumas. After ten years on the broking side, she switched to underwriting in 2007. She joined Novae Underwriting as Head of Cargo in 2016, which was then bought by AXIS in 2017.
Specialties include:
- Satellite and pre-launch risks
- Project Cargo
David Axtell
David joined Novae (which was bought by Axis in 2017) in 2007, starting in Outwards Reinsurance before moving into Marine Underwriting in 2012. There he gained experience across the Marine portfolio, before specializing in Cargo from 2016 onward.
Specialties include:
- Working with brokers to achieve bespoke excess of loss solutions for corporate clients
- Writing vehicle accounts.
Rachel Waker
Rachel is a Senior Cargo Underwriter at AXIS. She began her career in Cargo insurance in 2007, as an underwriting assistant for Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance working alongside Helen Steadman. Rachel joined the AXIS team in 2018, handling any of the risks within the Cargo portfolio.
Specialties include:
- Food and beverage sector
Ryan Godfrey
Ryan is a Senior Underwriter on the Marine Cargo Team at AXIS. He began his career in Cargo insurance in 1996 as a graduate trainee with Eagle Star. He has remained an underwriter, previously working at Allianz, Catlin and Markel. He joined AXIS in 2019, further strengthening the Cargo team.
Specialties include:
- Commodity traders
- Petrochemical risks
- Risk emanating from Africa
A diverse risk portfolio
From everyday Cargo transportation to more specialized risks, our skilled team has the capabilities to effectively handle a wide range of situations.
Covering a distributor’s supply chain*
Handling complex risk from factory to launch pad*
*Case study examples may be based on actual cases, composites of actual cases or hypothetical scenarios and are provided for illustrative purposes only. Facts have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the parties. Cover provided depends on the facts and circumstances of the risk, the terms and conditions of the policy as issued and applicable law.
Considerations for your client
Each industry faces their own unique risks and, as such, needs their own specific coverage areas. Outlined here are some of the key considerations for each industry.
Considerations include:
- Guaranteed outturn for shipments
- Pipeline movements
- Cavern storage
Considerations include:
- Sanction/compliance screening
- Assembly, integration and testing in relation to satellite pre-launch
- Multi-year policy period
Considerations include:
- Delay in start-up/consequential loss
- Provision of risk management
- Multi-year policy period
Considerations include:
- Stockpiles at both mine site and port
- Theft
- Transit by barge
Considerations include:
- Selling price vs cost price basis of valuation
- Brands clause and its impact in the event of a loss
- Possible theft attractiveness
Considerations include:
- Seasonal merchantability
- Matched pairs and sets
- Selling price vs cost price basis of valuation
Considerations include:
- Susceptibility to spontaneous combustion and wet damage
- Robust and documented housekeeping procedures
- Transits by barge
Considerations include:
- Port accumulation
- Natural catastrophe given outside storage
- Control of damage in relation to damaged vehicles (repair vs replace)
Considerations include:
- Possible temperature sensitive nature
- Contamination
- Fear of loss
- High value conveyances
Considerations include:
- Possible temperature sensitive nature
- Contamination
- Fear of loss
- High value conveyances
Considerations include:
- Misappropriation coverage
- Standard operating procedures/due diligence in relation to storage locations utilised
- Sanctions/compliance screening
