Zurich has announced a new structure of its commercial insurance business in the Asia Pacific region.
The major insurer has combined its global corporate and commercial units into a single division in a bid to simplify its business and give commercial clients a single entry point into the firm.
The integration of the two units is being undertaken on a country-by-country basis, the insurer confirmed, and Chris Waterman will lead the new business.
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Waterman, who joined Zurich as chief underwriting officer, commercial, for Asia Pacific in 2016, will report to
Jack Howell, chief executive officer of the insurer in the region, and Jim Shea, chief executive officer of Zurich’s commercial insurance business globally.
“We are changing our go-to-market approach so we can provide customers and brokers with one single channel to access the tailored insurance and protection solutions they are looking for,” Waterman said of the changes.
“With this new structure, we are also empowering each country with the authority and agility they need to make even faster decisions in response to their customer conversations.”
The changes will also see
Reg Peacock, currently head of commercial for Japan, appointed to the role of CEO for Zurich’s business in Singapore subject to regulatory approval.
Peacock will continue in his role in Japan until approval is granted and will be replaced by Kazuhisa Otani, currently VP of distribution for Japan commercial.
The insurer has also announced that it has created three roles for leadership of casualty, specialty and property lines within the business.
Penny Search, who joined the business earlier this month, will be head of casualty and crisis management for the region while Alex Morgan, currently chief underwriting officer of commercial in Japan, will take on the role of head of specialty and relocate to Singapore in April.
Waterman will also take on the role of head of property for the region.
Each of the new positions will be supported by a deputy with Geoff Gillmore and Echo Chen to continue in their roles as deputy head of property and casualty respectively. Tim Warren, currently head of credit and political risk for the region, has been appointed deputy head of specialty.
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