Hiscox Ltd. issued a statement confirming that the insurer’s chair, Jonathan Bloomer, and Bloomer’s wife, Judy, died in the tragic sinking of the yacht Bayesian off the coast of Sicily on Monday, Aug. 19.
“We are deeply shocked and saddened by Jonathan and Judy’s tragic deaths. Our deepest sympathies go out to their family and friends at this devastating time,” according to Aki Hussain, Hiscox Group CEO, in a statement.
“It was a privilege to have known Jonathan and to have benefited from his generosity and wisdom over the last year in his role as chair of Hiscox,” Hussain continued.
“His deep experience across our industry and in the broader business arena, combined with his personal values, made him both an excellent chair and a person I was proud to know and work with. His advice and support were immensely valuable to me, and he will be dearly missed,” he said.
Bloomer was also a non-executive chair at Morgan Stanley International.
In addition to Bloomer and his wife, the other fatalities were British tech magnate Mike Lynch; a Clifford Chance solicitor, Chris Morvillo and his wife, Neda Morvillo; and the vessel’s onboard chef, Recaldo Thomas. The body of last missing person, Lynch’s daughter, was recovered on Aug. 23.
Fifteen people, including Lynch’s wife, survived the accident. There had been 22 passengers and crew on board the yacht Bayesian, which was named for a British mathematician.
Photograph: Italian firefighters scuba divers are docked at the harbor of Porticello, southern Italy, Aug. 20, 2024, as rescue teams returned to the site of a storm-sunken superyacht to search for six people, including British tech magnate Mike Lynch, who are believed to be still trapped in the hull 50 meters (164-feet) underwater. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)