- HDI Global strengthens Dubai hub to scale Middle East growth with senior cyber and construction hires
- Growing cyber risk and mega-projects drive demand for specialised underwriting and engineering
- Builds position as long-term partner in increasingly complex GCC market
Corporate & Specialty lines insurer HDI Global is strengthening its Dubai office and expanding specialist capabilities in the Middle East by appointing two senior leaders in cyber underwriting and construction risk engineering. These appointments reflect the company’s ongoing growth ambitions in the region.
Jessica Heaume has joined HDI Global as Head of Cyber, Middle East, while Lloyd Lui has been appointed Senior Risk Engineer Construction, Middle East. The appointments add further depth to HDI Global’s regional platform at a time when clients across the Middle East are navigating increasingly complex risk environments, driven by digital transformation, large-scale infrastructure development, regulatory evolution and the need for more specialised insurance expertise.
Jessica Heaume has over eight years of experience in cyber and financial lines underwriting, with extensive expertise in the Middle East and Africa markets. She joins from AIG, where she most recently served as Head of Cyber for the region, leading the development and execution of the cyber underwriting strategy and supporting portfolio growth. Prior to this, she held senior underwriting roles spanning cyber and financial lines facultative reinsurance, and began her career at Beazley in London.
Her appointment aligns with rising cyber risk on executive agendas across the GCC, as organisations face a rapidly changing threat landscape, increased digital adoption, greater operational connectivity, and evolving regulations. For businesses in the region, cyber insurance is increasingly viewed not only as a risk transfer solution, but as part of a broader resilience strategy requiring technical underwriting discipline, market knowledge and close collaboration between clients and key stakeholders.
“Businesses across the Middle East are navigating a fast-changing cyber threat environment, and they need underwriting partners who can bring clarity, consistency and strong technical judgement,” said Jessica Heaume, Head of Cyber, Middle East at HDI Global. “HDI Global’s focus on disciplined underwriting, technical excellence, and long-term partnership aligns with the region’s needs. I look forward to working closely with clients to support resilient growth and help address the gap between cyber exposure and effective risk transfer.”
HDI Global is also reinforcing its construction risk engineering capabilities through the appointment of Lloyd Lui as Senior Risk Engineer Construction in its Dubai office. Lloyd brings more than 13 years of experience across engineering, project risk management and insurance, with a career spanning Australia, the United Kingdom and the Middle East. He has worked with leading organisations including Marsh McLennan, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance and Allianz Commercial, supporting brokers and underwriters on construction risk engineering. Most recently, he was based in Saudi Arabia, where he worked on major giga-projects across the GCC.
Construction and infrastructure remain central to the region’s economic development agenda, with major projects becoming increasingly complex in scale, design, delivery and stakeholder requirements. In this environment, engineering-led risk insight plays an important role in improving project resilience, strengthening risk quality and supporting more informed underwriting decisions.
“The scale and complexity of development across the GCC demands risk engineering that is practical, collaborative and focused on outcomes,” said Lloyd Lui, Senior Risk Engineer Construction at HDI Global. “My focus will be on working closely with clients and stakeholders to translate technical risk insights into clear actions that can improve resilience, strengthen risk quality and support better project performance.”
Willem van Wyk, Senior Executive Officer and Director, Middle East at HDI Global, said the appointments reflect the company’s continued investment in specialist expertise to support clients and stakeholders across the region.
“These appointments mark an important step in strengthening our Dubai office and expanding the specialist depth we bring to clients and stakeholders in the Middle East,” said Willem van Wyk. “Cyber and construction are two areas where technical excellence, disciplined underwriting and local market understanding are critical. Jessica and Lloyd each bring a strong track record and highly relevant regional expertise, which will be instrumental as we continue to drive growth and further establish HDI Global as a leading Corporate & Specialty insurer and a long-term partner in transformation for brokers and clients in the region.”
The regional expansion is supported by HDI Global’s strong global performance in the first quarter of 2026. In its three-month results, HDI Global reported operating profit (EBIT) of EUR 207 million, compared with EUR 195 million in the same period of 2025, while net income rose by 8 percent to EUR 152 million. The company’s combined ratio improved slightly to 91.0 percent, supported by disciplined underwriting, favourable large loss experience and a strong contribution from investment income. Insurance revenue remained broadly stable at EUR 2.5 billion, while large loss payments stood at EUR 58 million, significantly below the pro rata budget for the period.
The results underline HDI Global’s continued focus on profitability, disciplined underwriting and technical excellence as it expands its capabilities in key markets, including the Middle East.
