Phil Cottle is the Head of Forestry for ForestRe, the forest underwriting unit within Globe Underwriting Ltd. based in the City of London.

As the world’s oldest forestry underwriter Phil is known throughout the international reinsurance markets. His mission has always been to de-risk investment into all forms of forestry made by governments, global forestry investment institutions to community reforestation schemes. In his early career Phil was involved in agricultural extension & training among peoples of the Pacific islands, Central Africa and in the UK.

Phil has a wealth of experience of natural hazard impacts on many types of forestry. Technical skill areas include project risk analysis, technical support to investors and insurers, and design of agricultural and forestry insurance products world-wide. With his team he has developed many national and provincial crop and forestry insurance schemes and rubber crop portfolio protection. Crop schemes include a national rice crop in Malaysia, crop insurance programmes in Syria, Sudan and forest provincial fire fighting cost protection in Alberta Canada.

Phil holds an MSc in Agricultural Extension and Rural Development with a BSc in Agriculture and Tropical Crops from Reading University.