Nick Whitear is leaving the Thomas Miller managed mutual UK War Risks to join global insurer Canopius as war risks underwriter.

Whitear was with UK War Risks as underwriting director for seven years after moving across from the UK P&I Club, which is also in the Thomas Miller managed stable of insurers, where he headed the communications and marketing department.

Before that, he was an underwriter with the TT Club.

Canopius is ambitious to grow further in the marine market under the joint leadership of Charles Fernandez and Paul Hackett.

Fernandez said that Canopius wants to be one of the leading war risk providers. The sector has the reputation of being one of the more profitable sectors of marine insurance.

Heightened political tensions in the Middle East Gulf, added to the continued threat of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, has led to huge periodic hikes in war risks rates in recent years.

“Canopius is committed to developing a significant marine war risks book that will complement our existing marine offering and broaden the support we provide to brokers and shipowners worldwide,” Fernandez said.

Canopius head of marine Charles Fernandez wants to grow the insurer's war risk line.

Whitear said he wanted to develop a market leading facility for war risk insurance. “The skills and resources across the Canopius group creates the perfect platform for realising that ambition,” he said.

Whitear will run the Canopius war risk business from London.

UK War Risks said it had not yet decided on a replacement for Whitear.