Corporate Development Director

Christopher Taylor

Christopher joined Westcor International in July 2020 from Titlesolv, one of the most well-known title insurance providers in the UK and Ireland. He is a leading expert in the UK and Ireland’s mortgage and title insurance markets and has overall responsibility for corporate strategy.

Christopher’s 30-year career has been exclusively spent in secured lending and insurance. He is an acknowledged authority in the title insurance and mortgage lending arena, having spent the last 20 years at the helm of Titlesolv.

Working with some of the world’s leading insurers and reinsurers, he has developed numerous insurance and risk management solutions that mitigate the perils encountered by investors, developers, financiers and solicitors in property transactions every day.

Specific areas of expertise include insurance, managing lending risk, conveyancing risk, risk mitigation and process re-engineering.

Underwriting Director

Carmel Caramagna

Ms. Caramagna joined Westcor in 2014 as Senior Vice President, Director Commercial and International Insurance Services.

Ms. Caramagna has been an underwriter for title reinsurance and legal indemnities lines for over 20 years. Her group has underwritten for Capital Reinsurance Company, ACE and Houston Casualty Company.

Previously, she was a practicing attorney specializing in real estate law. She represented lenders in commercial and residential real estate transactions in addition to developers and owners of real estate. Ms. Caramagna holds a J.D. from Western New England College and a B.A. from Rutgers University. She is a licensed attorney in New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

Director

Kevin Mills

In late 2023, Kevin Mills joined Westcor, stepping into the pivotal role of Director and becoming a key addition to the company’s leadership.

Transitioning from a law degree at Greenwich, Kevin ventured into the realm of insurance, starting his professional journey at firms like First Title and Legal and Contingency. His tenure at Aviva further shaped him into a comprehensive, commercially astute underwriter, driving significant growth for the company.

Kevin’s mission at Westcor is clear: to establish growth without compromising the renowned quality that defines the company. His ambition aligns seamlessly with Westcor’s ethos, aiming to expand while preserving the exceptional standards the company is known for.

Chief Underwriting Officer

Ben Baker

Ben Baker joined Westcor in January 2020 as Senior Underwriter and has since been made Chief Underwriting Officer.

Ben has been working in title insurance since 2012 with previous experience working on residential, commercial and development policies for First Title.

Previously, Ben worked for Natwest and studied Law at the University of Warwick. His degree course also included a year studying German Law, in German, at the Justus Liebig Universität in Giessen, Germany.

Director, Scotland & Northern Ireland and Solicitor

Kirsty Noble

Kirsty Noble joined Westcor International in April 2021 as a Senior Underwriter to lead their Scottish Underwriting arm.

Kirsty Noble has worked previously at another major title insurer from 2012 to 2016 as a Commercial Underwriter where she specialised in underwriting high net worth legal indemnity risks for commercial, residential and renewable projects.

Kirsty Noble is also a Solicitor qualified in Scotland with over 11 years post-qualified experience. Prior to joining Westcor, she worked for Blackadders LLP as an Associate in the Commercial Property department where she specialised in dealing with sales and acquisitions, all landlord and tenant transactions, refinancing and property securitisation, complex title issues and defects along with providing all aspects of commercial property support to the Corporate team as part of their share sale/purchase transactions with a focus on the healthcare sector. She holds an LLB (Hons) from Strathclyde University and a Diploma in Legal Practice from the Glasgow Graduate School of Law. Kirsty Noble is also a Notary Public.

Senior Underwriter

Laura Lapsley

Laura joined Westcor International in January 2022 as a Commercial Underwriter in their Scotland office.

Laura previously worked at another major title insurer for over seven years and has experience underwriting legal indemnity across Scotland, Northern Ireland, England, Wales and the Republic of Ireland. She has worked on a wide range of complex and high net worth commercial, residential and development matters, including renewable developments and specialist products.

She holds an LLB (Hons) from the University of Glasgow.

Senior Underwriter

Aisling Monahan

Aisling joined WIL Speciality Insurance, the Irish wing of Westcor International in February 2022 as a Senior Underwriter to lead their Republic of Ireland Underwriting team.

Aisling is a Solicitor qualified in the Republic of Ireland with 9 years post-qualification experience. Prior to joining WIL Specialty Insurance, she worked for a number of large law firms as an Associate in their Commercial Property department where she specialised in acquisitions, disposals and financing of commercial property, all types of residential, commercial and banking property due diligence, Landlord and Tenant transactions and advising on planning issues and procedures. She holds an BCL (Hons) from the National University of Ireland, Galway.

Senior Underwriter and Head of Schemes

Josh Dennis

Josh joined Westcor International in February 2022 as a Senior Underwriter, having previously spent nearly 7 years at DUAL Asset.

Josh is experienced in dealing with a wide breadth of residential and commercial risks, including development, renewable, and title wrapper portfolio risks across the United Kingdom, with jurisdictional experience in Europe too. He has a track record of developing and maintaining extremely successful accounts, and particularly enjoys finding solutions where others cannot.

Josh has a keen interest in information systems and computer software, especially where this can be used to improve the underwriting process for the benefit of both the underwriters and customers.

Assistant Underwriter

Tola Akinoso

Tola Akinoso joined Westcor International in September 2021 as a Trainee Underwriter.

In that time, Tola has gained experience in underwriting legal indemnity matters across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. She has worked on a range of residential, commercial and development matters, including cases relating to renewable energy.

Tola is a LLB Law graduate from the University of York and holds a LPC LLM qualification from the University of Law.

Claim Manager

Caroline Tait

Caroline joined Westcor International in March 2022 as the Claim Manager based in Scotland.

Caroline holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from Napier University and has previously dealt with all types of claims such as Property, Motor, Liability, Landlord & Tennant, Clinical Negligence and even Pet Insurance for over 30 years. She joined Westcor having previously worked for the last 9 years as a Senior Manager in a Scottish Law firm and prior to that, she has worked for several major insurers, brokers and loss adjusters.

Caroline brings to Westcor a wealth of claims experience and knowledge in many different jurisdictions which enables an all-round claims service to all our client’s.

Team Administrator

Lauren Semple

Lauren joined Westcor International in June 2022 as a Team Administrator in their Scotland office and provides administrative support across all of Westcor’s UK and Ireland offices. Lauren previously worked at another major title insurer for over seven years and has experience underwriting legal indemnity for residential properties across Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Underwriter

Robert Crane

Rob Crane joined Westcor in September 2020 as an Underwriter. He has worked in the legal indemnities market since 2015, working for a major composite insurer and an MGA before moving to Westcor. Rob has experience underwriting development and portfolio risks across the UK and he holds an M.A. in English Literature from the University of St Andrews.

Assistant Underwriter

Denzel Clarke

Denzel Clarke joined Westcor International in September 2022 as an Assistant Underwriter. Having worked as a legal indemnities broker and a conveyancing paralegal previously, he has gained an insight into the lender market and gained a plethora of experiencing on a range of residential portfolios, commercial acquisitions for utility clients, alongside high value development matters. Denzel is also a LLB Law graduate and holds a LPC LLM qualification from the Nottingham Law School.

Senior Corporate Development Underwriter and Solicitor

Nicola McCluskie

Joining the team in Scotland and Northern Ireland, Nicola McCluskie brings an impressive wealth of experience and expertise to our Scottish and Northern Irish operations. With a career marked by roles at prestigious firms and distinguished legal practices such as Brodies, Addleshaw Goddard, and Pinsent Masons, Nicola’s background encompasses a versatile blend of legal acumen and industry insight.

Nicola’s extensive experience in legal practice and title insurance adds significant value to our underwriting practices, with a dual focus on supporting existing operations and driving business growth. Her goal aligns with our strategic vision of enhancing our offerings in Scotland and Northern Ireland.