What’s New: In Brief (August 12, 2008)

XL Insurance has launched an aviation insurance team for the Canadian market.
Tony Trost, Canadian aviation manager, who will report to Rod Mearing, XL Insurance’s international aviation manager, will lead the team.
Before joining XL Insurance, Trost served as senior vice president of the Canadian aviation practice with Marsh Canada Limited.
“With Tony’s team in Toronto, our clients now have an alternative to the London Market, which they previously relied on for their aviation coverages,” Peter Bilsby, chief aviation underwriter, said in a release. “Local underwriting capabilities also offer XL Insurance the opportunity to see our clients’ operations firsthand. This enables us to be more discerning and more efficient in the underwriting process which means we achieve a better understanding of our clients’ risks, and this benefits both our clients and XL Insurance.”
The new Canadian team also includes Jim Hyatt, assistant vice president and aviation class underwriter.

In a Cdn$3 million deal between Telus and Keal technology, Telus Internet Data Centres will manage data services for Keal clients.
This will provide increased security and efficiency for both Keal and the clients they serve, according to a joint release.
“Since 2003, Keal has created and maintained numerous hosted data environments at various locations to act as an Application Service Provider (ASP) for brokers throughout Canada,” the release notes. “With the demand for hosted solutions increasing, Keal chose to outsource and consolidate its hosting services through TELUS to achieve increased stability and redundancy for their clients.”