XPT Specialty hires Dina Dryden as Vice President in Woodland Hills

XPT Specialty  has appointed Dina Dryden as Vice President – Commercial Underwriter/Broker, based in its Woodland Hills, California office, as the wholesale broker continues to expand its West Coast operations.

Dryden brings more than 30 years of experience in commercial property and casualty underwriting, with a focus on excess and surplus lines. Her background spans contract authority binding, brokerage, and specialty risk placement, positioning her to support retail agents handling complex and hard-to-place risks.

In her new role, she will work directly with retail agents to place a broad range of commercial P&C business, leveraging experience across both binding authority and brokerage channels to structure solutions from submission through placement.

Dryden most recently served as a property and casualty broker at R.E. Chaix & Associates Insurance Brokers, where she spent five years placing small to mid-size commercial accounts across admitted and non-admitted markets. Prior to that, she held an assistant vice president role at RT Specialty focused on binding authority underwriting for commercial accounts. She began her career in the San Diego E&S market in the mid-1990s.

The hire reflects XPT Specialty’s push to deepen underwriting and brokerage capabilities in the E&S segment, particularly for agents seeking flexible solutions for specialty and non-standard risks.