Who we are
Our Executive Committee members have over a century of highly-profitable trading in this nuanced segment of risk management. We go beyond conventional problem solving by bringing expertise, intelligence, and careful examination of risk-applied world events and likely market trends to each project and client.
Applied Credit Underwriters is a balance sheet subsidiary of Applied Underwriters, Inc., with its underwriting reporting direct to the Global Chief Underwriting Officer of the Applied Underwriters insurance companies. Unlike in many other corporate insurance structures, Applied Credit Underwriters’ Executive Committee members devote their full time to risk assessment, risk management, and underwriting their clients’ portfolio of business.
Bernie de Haldevang
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Over four decades of experience in the insurance industry, focusing on specialty, financial & professional, and international casualty lines; key areas include credit & political risk, war, terrorism, political violence, and kidnap for ransom and piracy insurance
Held senior leadership roles including Group CEO, board member, and executive committee roles at Berry Palmer & Lyle, Wellington Underwriting, Atrium Underwriters, African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI), and Canopius Managing Agents at Lloyd’s
Set up six successful credit and political risk underwriting teams and restarted a seventh
Known for innovation and profitability in underwriting, including being the first Lloyd’s underwriter to hire credit analysts from banks and bankers as credit underwriters in 2008, as well as using external geopolitical risk analysis in 1998
First underwriter to establish a formal political risk partnership through sovereign treaty with a Bretton Woods institution in 1998, and again in 2000 with the World Bank and ATI, Africa's first multilateral Export Credit Agency
Appointed founding CEO of ATI in 2001 and served as Head of Diplomatic Mission
Christophe Meurier
HEAD OF CREDIT
HEAD OF CREDIT
Headed the largest bank user of credit and political risk insurance in the market's history at BNP Paribas CIB
Established GreenStars BNP Paribas, BNP Paribas CIB's insurance subsidiary, becoming a major cedant with a pro rata treaty that, at its peak, placed $8 billion of insurable assets into the market every year with an extraordinary record of profitability
Led the specialty global broking division at Willis Towers Watson, including credit and political risk, with some 300 people reporting to him globally
Crispin Hodges
HEAD OF POLITICAL RISK
HEAD OF POLITICAL RISK
Began career in the Lloyd's market in 1996, working for two years in the Financial Institutions sector, with roles as a broker at Willis and as an underwriter at Chubb
Specialised in political risk and trade credit starting at JLT Group in 1998 as a broker, and later at Glencairn Ltd as head of the Political Risk, Trade Credit, Terrorism, and Marine Cargo broking division
Joined Beazley in 2008 to establish a Political, Credit & Terrorism (PCG) team in Singapore, serving for four years before relocating to Beazley Paris to build the PCG team for the European market
Relocated to Dubai in 2014 to set up Beazley’s office in the Dubai International Financial Centre; left in 2017 to work as an International Business Producer for Beazley, based in London
Led the Trade Political Risk team at Canopius from 2019 to 2024, collaborating with Bernie de Haldevang, before joining Bernie de Haldevang at Applied Credit Underwriters in September 2024
Sean Redden
GENERAL COUNSEL & HEAD OF CLAIMS
GENERAL COUNSEL & HEAD OF CLAIMS
Has 23 years of legal experience and has specialised in political risk and credit insurance claims and policy wordings for the past 18 years
Worked in private practice for 12 years, including five years with the market-leading political risk and credit insurance team at Clyde & Co
Has helped to lead the London insurance market in complex, syndicated political risk and credit claims and restructurings over the past 11 years, as a lead and/or steering committee member during in-house roles at Aspen and Canopius and as global political risk and credit claims manager at Chubb
Is also an experienced policy wording specialist and, in addition to negotiating policy wordings for standard financial products such as syndicated loans, has expertise in reviewing and developing new policy wordings for complex financial instruments such as receivables purchasing agreements, derivatives, sovereign and commercial bonds, T-bills and SRTs
What we offer
Learn more about our Structured Credit, Contract Frustration, and Political Risk programs.