Palmer & Cay Forms Reinsurance Operations

Palmer & Cay, Inc., a privately-held insurance brokerage and benefits consulting firm based in Savannah, Ga., announced its entry into the reinsurance market with the formation of two new entities, Palmer & Cay Reinsurance Brokers and Savannah Reinsurance Underwriting Management LLC.

Joining Palmer & Cay as presidents of the two new operations are reinsurance executives John W. Threlfall and J. Kevin Brawley.

Threlfall, formerly a senior executive with Guy Carpenter Inc., will serve as president of Palmer & Cay Reinsurance Brokers, a property facultative brokerage operation working directly with reinsurance buyers. The new operation will be based in Hartford, Conn.

Threlfall joined Guy Carpenter in 1974 and was promoted to manager of its U.S. property facultative reinsurance operations in 1985. In 1992, Threlfall was appointed managing director and division leader.

Brawley will serve as president of Savannah Re, a managing underwriting service operating primarily through reinsurance intermediaries. Savannah Re will be located in Stamford, Conn.

A 25-year veteran of the reinsurance industry, Brawley has spent the majority of his career building and managing reinsurance underwriting operations. Brawley played a key role in the formation and success of USF Reinsurance, a California-based reinsurer that was acquired by FolksAmerica Re in 1998. He joined USF Re in 1987 and served as vice president and manager of property facultative and program operations until 1996.

In 1996 Brawley established and managed the property operation for Facultative ReSources, a W. R. Berkley subsidiary and now one of the largest broker-market facultative reinsurers in the United States. Brawley joined Guy Carpenter, Inc. in 2002 as president of its reinsurance subsidiary, Triad Reinsurance, before joining Palmer & Cay earlier this year.