According to Mr. Menzies, Messrs. Ronald Fiamma, Rand Silver and Christopher Walsh have joined the Company to create the preeminent global provider of coverage and risk management solutions for fine art, jewelry, collectibles, and collector automobiles: “To have Ron Fiamma, Rand Silver and Christopher Walsh join us not only signifies both an extraordinary opportunity for brokers, agents and their clients to collaborate with highly knowledgeable, experienced professionals, but also the growing attractiveness of our business approach.” Mr. Menzies continued, “We have given them a blank canvas to create the leading organization in the industry. With the full breadth of Applied’s resources, they will focus on multiple segments providing solutions for clients and partners in insurance, reinsurance and program opportunities for personal, institutional and commercial risks.”
Ron Fiamma will serve as President of Applied Fine Art & Collectibles, with Christopher Walsh serving as Senior Vice President of Underwriting, and Rand Silver as Senior Vice President of Risk Management. The executive team comes to Applied from high-net worth insurer AIG Private Client Group, where they built one of the largest and most desirable collections insurance portfolios in the personal lines industry.
Fiamma spent the last thirteen years overseeing the Private Collections portfolio at AIG Private Client Group following five years as an underwriting manager of professional liability for hedge funds and security broker/dealers at AIG’s Financial Institutions division. Walsh is a 25-year industry veteran holding key leadership underwriting roles at high-net-worth insurance carriers, and a further decade on the brokerage side. Prior to his 15 years as global director of the fine art loss prevention program at AIG, Silver spent a decade at Christie’s New York, most recently as a Vice President and Department Head.
Fiamma added, “We are thrilled to be able to take advantage of Applied’s strength and expertise to create something exciting in this specialized space. Applied’s unique structure allows us to meet the diverse and expansive needs of the most complex risks in this growing segment.” He continued, “We also feel privileged to be able to provide these solutions; while art and collectibles are insurable asset classes like any others, we understand that the objects we protect can be cultural patrimony and the product of a lifetime of passionate collecting.”
Applied Fine Art & Collectibles will be headquartered in New York.