Descartes hires Coface's Martin in latest move into credit risk insurance

By Henry Gale

July 10 - (The Insurer) - Descartes Underwriting has hired Coface's Hélène Martin, a source close to the company told Parametric Insurer, in the latest indication that the parametric specialist is preparing to enter the credit risk insurance market.

Descartes announced in September last year that it had hired Benjamin Lambert from Coface as senior underwriting manager for credit and political risks, as it looked to explore new classes of business.

Now, the company has added Martin, most recently Coface's head of single risk, credit and political risk for France. Her past experience includes credit and political risk underwriting roles at Zurich and Liberty.

This comes after its full-stack insurer Descartes Insurance was authorised by France's insurance regulator last month to underwrite credit insurance for the first time.

Descartes Underwriting was founded in 2018 as an MGA with a focus on underwriting natural catastrophe and weather risks for corporate clients. In 2023, the firm launched its first cyber product, underwritten through Descartes Insurance, as it looked to extend corporate parametric solutions to other risk classes.

Descartes Insurance underwrites risks in the European Economic Area and wrote 16.6 million euros ($18.9 million) of gross premiums in 2024. Descartes said in February that the group, including the insurer and its MGA arm, wrote more than $200 million last year.