Somerset Re Appoints New Chief Financial Officer and Chief Legal Officer as Firm Builds on Record-Setting Year

HAMILTON, Bermuda--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 4, 2026--

Somerset Reinsurance Ltd. (“Somerset Re”), a leading provider of asset-intensive reinsurance solutions to the life and annuity market, today announced the appointments of Steve Belcher as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Joelina Redden as Chief Legal Officer (CLO). Mr. Belcher is responsible for the firm’s financial and capital management, as well as its accounting, tax and financial reporting. Ms. Redden is responsible for complete legal oversight of the firm’s operations.

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These leadership appointments follow a record-setting year for Somerset Re, marked by the firm’s highest deal count to date and one of its strongest periods of premium growth. The year featured robust annuity flow activity and the completion of Somerset Re’s second-largest U.S. in-force reinsurance transaction – a multi-billion-dollar deferred annuity deal that further strengthened the firm’s position as a trusted partner to life and annuity cedants globally.

“This is an important moment for Somerset Re,” said Danish Iqbal, Chief Executive Officer of Somerset Re. “Bringing on Steve and Joelina underscores the growth we’re seeing in our business and our commitment to investing in the right leadership to support our next phase of growth. Both leaders bring deep expertise and leadership that align with the increasingly complex, multi-jurisdictional nature of the transactions we are executing today.”

Steve Belcher – Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Belcher brings more than 34 years of global knowledge and expertise in life and annuity insurance. Prior to joining Somerset Re, he spent 15 years at MetLife, where he most recently served as Senior Vice President, Global Controller and Reinsurance CFO, overseeing accounting and related financial reporting for MetLife’s global insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries. During his tenure at MetLife, Mr. Belcher held several senior finance leadership positions, including U.S. Controller and Global Head of Accounting Policy. Prior to that, he held senior finance leadership roles at AIG, including Global Head of Accounting Policy and Chief Accounting Officer of its global life and annuity subsidiary, American Life Insurance Company.

Mr. Belcher served as Chair of the Accounting Committee of the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) from 2017-2021 and as Chair of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ (AICPA) Insurance Experts Panel from 2017-2019. Since June 2022, he has served as a member of the AICPA’s Finance Reporting Executive Committee. He is a CPA and holds a master’s degree in accounting from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Joelina Redden – Chief Legal Officer

Ms. Redden joins Somerset Re with over 23 years of experience in the Bermuda (re)insurance industry. Before joining the company, she was General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary at Athora Life Re Ltd., and Senior Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Athora Holding Ltd., where she was responsible for legal, regulatory, corporate secretarial, governance and compliance matters. Before that, she was Vice President, Associate General Counsel at Allied World Assurance Company, Ltd., and, prior to that, Counsel at Appleby (Bermuda) Limited, where she advised on all aspects of (re)insurance-related corporate, regulatory, compliance and transactional matters.

Ms. Redden graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (cum laude) in Anthropology and International Development Studies from Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Canada. She earned a Post Graduate Diploma in Law from City St George’s University of London, England and completed the Legal Practice Course at BPP Law School, London. She has been a member of the Bermuda Bar Association since 2002.

Looking Ahead to 2026

With a strong foundation built in 2025, Somerset Re enters 2026 with significant momentum. The firm remains focused on delivering customized, capital-efficient reinsurance solutions to insurers seeking growth, balance sheet optimization and long-term partnership. “We are excited to carry this momentum forward into 2026,” added Mr. Iqbal. “With our strengthened leadership team, we are well positioned to deepen support for our current clients and forge new partnerships throughout the global life and annuity market.”

About Somerset Re

Somerset Re is a leading provider of reinsurance solutions for life insurance and annuity business globally, helping its clients with growth, managing capital efficiency and improving their financial results. With offerings that encompass new business support, legacy block management and capital-driven reinsurance solutions, Somerset Re delivers tailored strategies to meet the diverse needs of its clients. Notably, Somerset Re earned the highest overall Business Capability Index (BCI) rating according to NMG Consulting's 2025 U.S. Structured Financial Solutions study for the Asset-intensive Segment. For more information, visit www.somersetre.com.

About Aquarian

Somerset Re is owned by Aquarian Holdings, a diversified global holding company with a strategic portfolio of insurance and asset management solutions. With a team of distinguished and driven professionals led by founder Rudy Sahay, Aquarian has grown to approximately $25.8B in assets under management as of September 30, 2025. The firm invests across capital structure and creates tailored financing solutions that enable great, high-quality companies to grow and evolve. Aquarian Insurance acquires and operates companies providing retirement income solutions for millions of people. Aquarian Investments deploys capital into opportunities that seek to yield attractive risk-adjusted returns with downside protection for its clients. For more information, visit aquarianlp.com.

Joelina Redden

Steve Belcher

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Emotional medical staff on the Greek island of Chios on Wednesday have spoken of frantic efforts to identify the parents of injured children after an overnight collision between a coast guard patrol boat and a speedboat carrying migrants killed at least 15 people and injured more than two dozen others.

Coast guard vessels and a helicopter were still scouring the sea off the eastern coast of Chios, an island located near the Turkish mainland, on Wednesday as it was unclear how many people had been on board the speedboat, the coast guard said. Initial information indicated the vast majority of passengers were Afghans, while one person was identified as a Moroccan national.

The bodies of 11 men and three women were recovered from the sea shortly after the collision late Tuesday, while one woman who had been hospitalized died a few hours later. Twenty-four people, including 11 children, remained hospitalized Wednesday, as did one of the two coast guard officers who were injured, hospital and coast guard officials said.

Nighttime video footage from a dock in Chios showed injured people being offloaded from a boat and being led to waiting coast guard vehicles, their blue lights flashing. A young child kneels beside someone on the ground wrapped in a foil emergency blanket, holding on with an outstretched arm and resisting being led away before the child is eventually taken to a waiting car, limping.

Hospital doctors told local media Wednesday that the injuries were mainly broken bones, traumatic abdominal injuries and head injuries, while three people were in serious condition in the intensive care unit. Two pregnant women also suffered miscarriages.

“On the pediatric side, one problem we had was finding the parents,” said pediatrician Kirykas Zannikos, pausing to compose himself as his voice broke and he struggled to fight back tears. The children ranged in age from 1 to 15. Some parents were located among the injured on Wednesday, he said, including one mother who was in intensive care.

Olympia Kouvara, a representative of the hospital staff, described the case of one baby that clung to a medical worker's arms as staff tried to locate the parents. Despite fears they were among the dead, the child's mother was later identified as being one of the surgical ward patients.

“There are some times like these when we also break down,” Kouvara told the politischios local news website.

Doctors said that all hospital staff, including administrative staff, rushed to the hospital on Tuesday night to volunteer as those on duty struggled with the sudden influx of injured and dead.

“Our sorrow for the loss of 15 human lives in Chios is unspeakable,” said Maritime Affairs Minister Vassilis Kikilias, under whose responsibility the coast guard falls. “Modern-day smugglers, traffickers, are the enemies of the country. They put human lives in mortal danger, both of those unfortunate people and of the members of the coast guard.”

An investigation would be conducted “with transparency and professionalism,” Kikilias said.

Greek President Constantine Tassoulas expressed his grief at the loss of life, saying that “the support of the Greek state will be unwavering” for the survivors.

Details of exactly what happened were unclear. According to a coast guard statement, one of its patrol boats came across the speedboat late Tuesday making its way towards Chios without its navigation lights on. The speedboat refused to stop despite sound and visual signals by the patrol boat and changed direction, colliding with the patrol boat and capsizing, the statement said.

Photos posted by the coast guard showed signs of abrasion on the patrol boat's right side. The coast guard’s account couldn't be independently verified.

Greece is a major entry point into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, and fatalities are common.

Many undertake the short but often perilous crossing from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands, often in overcrowded inflatable dinghies or aboard speedboats piloted by smugglers. But increased patrols and allegations of pushbacks — summary deportations without allowing for asylum applications — by Greek authorities have reduced crossing attempts.

“Let me stress something which we cannot stress enough. Every life lost as sea is a tragedy,” EU spokesperson Markus Lammert said. “At the hands of smugglers, too many people risk their lives and lose their lives, and this is exactly what we're working on to prevent.”

In December, the EU was overhauling its migration system, including streamlining deportations and increasing detentions.

There has long been a fierce debate among EU members about migration. Since a surge in asylum-seekers and other migrants to Europe a decade ago, public debate has shifted and far-right parties have gained political power. EU migration policies have hardened, and the number of asylum-seekers is down from record levels.

This photo provided by the Hellenic Coast Guard on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, shows a Hellenic Coast Guard patrol vessel docked at the port of Chios after being involved in a collision with a speedboat carrying migrants off the eastern Aegean island of Chios late Tuesday. (Hellenic Coast Guard via AP)

Rescue workers and paramedics wait at the port on the eastern Aegean island of Chios, Greece, late Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, after a collision between a migrant speedboat and a coast guard patrol vessel killed multiple people. (Kostas Anagnostou/Eurokinissi via AP)

Greek coast guard officers carry out rescue operations at a port on the eastern Aegean island of Chios, Greece, late Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, after a collision between a migrant speedboat and a coast guard patrol vessel killed multiple people, authorities said. (Pantelis Fykaris/Politischios.gr via AP)