OnRe, a licensed mortgage reinsurer and on-chain asset manager, has appointed Ben Fortune as its new chief underwriting officer (CUO). Pending immigration approval, he is expected to join the company in Bermuda.
Most recently, Fortune served as Chief Operating Officer of Fidelis Partnership (TFP) in Bermuda, where she oversaw underwriting performance across multiple business areas.
In his new role, Fortune will develop and execute OnRe’s underwriting and insurance strategy, aligned with the reinsurer’s strategy of delivering consistent, premium-backed returns through its on-chain capital platform, which currently has $170 million under management.
In addition, he oversees underwriting governance, portfolio construction, pricing discipline and risk selection for all insurance and reinsurance activities.
The appointment reflects On Re’s continued investment in underwriting capabilities as it expands its role as a capital partner in the global reinsurance market.
Fortune has nearly two decades of experience in the reinsurance, underwriting and actuarial fields. He joined Fidelis in 2015 and held various senior positions during his nine years with the company.
Prior to that, Fortune held analytical roles at Leadenhall Capital Partners and brokers Aon and Lockton, where he laid the foundations of actuarial modeling and risk assessment and continues to employ these foundations in its underwriting approach.
On Re co-founder and CEO Dan Roberts commented: “Ben brings a wealth of underwriting experience that will be critical to our scale expansion. His track record in portfolio construction and disciplined risk selection enhances our ability to scale as a capital partner in Bermuda and deploy across global portfolios. This appointment is a key step in further institutionalizing our underwriting function.”
Fortune adds: “On Re introduces a new model for reinsurance capital formation. The (re)insurance industry has long been a source of uncorrelated returns for investors while providing an important home for social risk. As the industry modernizes and combines new technologies with established market infrastructure, connecting scalable on-chain capital with real-world risk and returns is an exciting and inevitable next step in the industry’s evolution.
“Developing a disciplined underwriting strategy and continuing to work with market leaders in the (re)insurance industry positions On Re to build a high-quality and resilient business around this emerging source of capital. I am excited to join the team and contribute to its next phase of growth.”
Bermuda is one of the world’s leading reinsurance centres, with over US$500 billion in reinsurance assets. This market supports a significant portion of global catastrophe and specialty risk transfer.
OnRe said it is confident it is uniquely positioned within the island’s ecosystem to provide long-term, consistent capital to the market’s best-performing players, connecting Bermuda’s world-class reinsurance industry with next-generation on-chain capital.