Zurich strengthens leadership in underwriting and claims
Zurich today announced three key leadership appointments, further bolstering its underwriting and claims capability within its General Insurance business in Australia and New Zealand.
Alex Morgan has been appointed to Head of Retail in Underwriting and will be returning to Australia from Singapore, where he is currently the Head of Specialty for Commercial Insurance for Zurich’s Asia Pacific region. He will start in his new role in May and brings almost 17 years insurance experience having spent time as a Chief Underwriting Officer in Singapore, China and Japan, working as both an underwriter and a broker in the UK and Australian markets.
Tim Plant, CEO General Insurance said: “As we continue to respond to a rapidly changing SME insurance market, this role will be critical in maintaining our strong underwriting discipline while delivering premium solutions to meet the evolving needs of our customers and brokers.”
Zurich has also bolstered its claims leadership team with two new appointments:
James Dimitriou has been appointed to Head of Claims, General Insurance, and will be responsible for strategic, operational, financial and stakeholder responsibilities within General Insurance Claims operations. The role will support front line claims teams to deliver on strategy, business plans, and results.
James brings a wealth of operational and technical expertise to the role and will join Zurich in late January 2020, based in Melbourne. He is currently Executive Manager for Commercial & Specialty Short Tail Claims at IAG.
This follows the recent leadership appointment of Catherine L’Estrange as Head of Casualty & Specialty Claims.
Catherine joined Zurich Sydney in November 2019 and is responsible for Accident & Health, Financial Lines, Liability, Marine, Travel and Workers Compensation claims. Catherine brings more than 20-years experience in general insurance managing commercial claims and operations in Australia and Asia Pacific across all lines of business.
Catherine started her career in private practice and then had senior roles across various brands such as Lawcover, GIO, ACE, QBE and Minter Ellison Flex. Catherine is also an NMAS Accredited Mediator.
Tim Plant, CEO General Insurance said: “we’re fortunate to have such high calibre leaders joining us, who each bring deep experience and capability to our business. These appointments reflect the commitment we have at Zurich to strengthen our position in the commercial intermediated market, by delivering a first class claims experience and underwriting expertise to both our brokers and customers.”
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Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) is a leading multi-line insurer serving people and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. Founded 150 years ago, Zurich is transforming insurance. In addition to providing insurance protection, Zurich is increasingly offering prevention services such as those that promote wellbeing and enhance climate resilience.
Reflecting its purpose to ‘create a brighter future together’, Zurich aspires to be one of the most responsible and impactful businesses in the world. It is targeting net-zero emissions by 2050 and has the highest-possible ESG rating from MSCI. In 2020, Zurich launched the Zurich Forest project to support reforestation and biodiversity restoration in Brazil.
The Group has about 60,000 employees and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (ZURN), is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and has a level I American Depositary Receipt (ZURVY) program, which is traded over-the-counter on OTCQX. Further information is available at www.zurich.com.