M&A and financial lines specialist underwriting agency Fusion Specialty has promoted Samuel Shirley to the dual role of managing partner M&A UK, and global chief underwriting officer M&A. 

Mr Shirley joined as a senior partner from Aviva last year. 

"His underwriting philosophy and knowledge complement Fusion’s strategic ambitions and he is perfectly positioned to help grow our UK and international M&A insurance portfolio,” co-founder and executive partner David Rogers said. 

Established in 2018, Fusion Specialty provides tech-driven insurance solutions primarily to the small and medium-sized business market. It says it has underwritten more SME deals than any other insurer across Asia Pacific since 2019.  

It has offices in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, the UK, Germany, Spain and the US.  

In April, Auckland-based private equity fund Direct Capital took a minority stake in Pop Group Holdings, which owns Fusion, as well as insurtech io.insure. The investment "will further support our global expansion, organically and through selective acquisitions,” Mr Rogers said.