Avatar MGA has appointed Jenna Contreras as US head of distribution. Based in Florida, Contreras leads the firm’s US distribution strategy, with a focus on building a scalable, high-performance property platform. The platform is designed to connect US wholesale brokers and managing general agents (MGAs) with London market capacity. She reports to Adrian Williams, chief operating officer, and Clare Bailey, head of property underwriting. In her new role, Contreras develops and executes US go-to-market strategies across the excess and surplus (E&S) property landscape. She is also responsible for building and managing strategic relationships with wholesale brokers, MGAs, and carrier partners. Contreras supports the firm’s London team, bringing market insight from the US E&S wholesale property market to reinforce its London market credentials with local brokers. She also identifies and executes new product, programme, and strategic initiatives. She works closely with the underwriting team to deliver the company’s underwriting plan for non-habitational property risks with total insured values (TIV) between US$20 million and US$1.5 billion. Bailey says: “We are delighted to welcome Jenna to the team. She will be working closely with me to deliver Avatar’s underwriting plan for non-habitational property risks with total insured values between USD20m and USD1.5bn, and her insights will be invaluable.” Contreras joins the company from Allianz Commercial, where she served as portfolio solutions leader for North America. Prior to this, she was national market relations manager at Risk Placement Services, Inc. Contreras also spent more than four years at Prime Insurance Company. During her tenure at the firm, she held several positions, including senior vice president of strategic relationships and assistant vice president of national business development. Her earlier career includes roles at SIS Wholesale Insurance Services and WE Insurance. Contreras also sits on the board of Young Risk Professionals.
