Novacore Launches Environmental Segment with Veteran Leadership

Industry veterans Cole Russo, Roland Costanzo and Al Nesheiwat join Novacore to lead a new environmental remediation and pollution liability underwriting platform.

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., July 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Novacore, an independent, next-generation specialty insurance provider, today announced the launch of its Environmental segment, expanding its platform into environmental remediation and pollution liability risk. The new segment is designed to deliver specialized underwriting solutions for complex environmental exposures, with a disciplined approach to risk selection, capacity deployment and long-term, profitable portfolio performance.

The segment will be built around a re-engineered Environmental Remediation Cost Cap (ECC) product and a Pollution Legal Liability (PLL) product, with underwriting and program details to be announced as Novacore Environmental prepares to begin writing business later this year.

To lead the segment, Novacore has appointed a team of highly respected industry veterans with deep expertise across environmental underwriting, claims and risk management:

Cole Russo joins as President, Environmental, bringing more than 30 years of multi-disciplinary experience in insurance underwriting, broking and claims management, including developing casualty and specialized insurance programs for Fortune 500 and large multi-national companies across the industrial, chemical manufacturing, pharmaceutical and financial industries. Cole previously served as a client executive and manager at Marsh, Willis and Aon, and as Executive Vice President for Crawford & Company, where he directed a Global Markets Americas business unit managing over $150M in comprehensive claims programs. He also spent 17 years as founder and President of Cole Russo & Company, providing customized insurance products to private equity firms.

"Roland, Al and I are delighted to become part of the Novacore team and to spearhead their environmental segment. Novacore's disciplined underwriting approach and commitment to profitability align completely with our viewpoint and goals," said Russo, President of Environmental. "We look forward to working with our Novacore colleagues to provide environmental insurance risk solutions for our broker partners and their clients."

Roland Costanzo joins as Chief Operating Officer & Executive Vice President of Underwriting, bringing more than 30 years of experience in organizational leadership, senior corporate environmental management, environmental claims management, underwriting management, consulting, reserve forecasting, site remediation and litigation support. As a former senior manager with AIG, Roland directly resolved many of the company's most complex environmental insurance claims across the Americas and Europe and previously served as the senior corporate environmental manager for the Hertz Corporation, overseeing operations across more than 1,000 facilities.

Al Nesheiwat joins as Vice President, Senior Underwriter, bringing more than 30 years of executive and technical experience across the insurance, petroleum, chemical, real estate and energy sectors. Al served fourteen years at AIG managing the scientific, technical and regulatory activities of its environmental claims consulting group and previously served as Director of Environmental Affairs for Witco Chemical Company after beginning his career as a regulator with the U.S. EPA Region II.

Russo, Costanzo and Nesheiwat were founding members of Ryan Transactional Risk Enviro and were the team that also developed and managed North Branch Global Risk, a managing general agency underwriting environmental cost cap insurance on Munich Re paper.

"Profitability discipline is at the core of everything we build at Novacore, and Cole, Roland and Al have spent their entire careers proving they can deliver it, even in some of the most complex, long-tail environmental risk in the industry," said Aaron Miller, Chief Executive Officer of Novacore. "Their track record of underwriting with precision and managing claims to protect the bottom line is exactly the kind of leadership we want anchoring this platform as we scale."

The environmental remediation and pollution liability insurance markets represent a significant and growing opportunity: global remediation and cleanup spend is projected to grow from $149.5 billion in 2026 to over $258 billion by 2032, according to Research and Markets, with North America representing more than 40% of that spend. With dedicated leadership across underwriting, claims and risk management, Novacore is positioned to bring a focused, expert-led and profitability-driven program to this underserved segment of the market.

About Novacore

Novacore is an independent, next-generation specialty insurance provider with a bold mission: transforming insurance — for agents, carrier partners, clients and the future. Building on the 35-year track record of NSM Insurance Group, Novacore delivers industry-specific insurance programs through specialized underwriting, advanced technology and trusted carrier partnerships. The company partners with more than 20,000 agents nationwide and offers 20+ specialty programs across a diverse set of markets. For more information, visit novacore.com.

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SOURCE Novacore