Allianz Group targets “more consistent” approach through global commercial restructure

Allianz Group has announced the creation of Allianz Commercial, a global commercial insurance segment encompassing its AGCS business serving large corporate clients and its businesses serving mid-sized, country-based accounts.

The new approach anticipates an “the increasing globalisation of risks, closes internal structural gaps in market reach, and extends Allianz’s product offering and delivery at the local level to meet a clear market need,” Allianz said in a news release.

Clients and partners should expect a “more consistent underwriting approach”, with coordination on global scale, the insurer said.

“Allianz Commercial allows us to deliver the full value of Allianz’s scale and full set of capabilities for the benefit of our customers, brokers and shareholders,” said Chris Townsend, member of the Allianz SE board of management.

Allianz Commercial will feature one single lead in each country or region to represent its commercial businesses, a move it said is intended to simplify the experience of clients and distribution partners.

Its trading, underwriting, and customer delivery teams are expected to “work closely together” under the model, according to the press release. The legal entities conducting the insurance business and their leadership are expected to remain the same, Allianz said.

Restructuring its leadership and management team

ACGS has added two new members to its board of management while also updating the responsibilities of existing members.

Joachim Mueller will now lead the Allianz Commercial business as part of his role as CEO of AGCS SE, reporting to Townsend.

Jon-Paul Jones will assume the role as chief operating officer of AGCS, pending regulatory approval, replacing Betting Dietsche, who has already moved to Allianz SE as chief people and culture officer. Additionally, since February 1, Dirk Vogler has been working as the midcorp transformation officer.

Jones will oversee global business operations, IT, protection and resilience, corporate service transformation, global process management, the global data office and major IT transformation projects.

Vogler oversees the program office, which was also created to support the new collaborative model between AGCS and the mid corporate business of national Allianz OEs.

Other notable transitions

Besides these two appointments, various changes in responsibility have come into effect for current AGCS SE Board Members:

• Chief underwriting officer specialty, Renate Strasser, will move to a newly-created AGCS SE board role as chief technical officer, overseeing all global functions that focus on technical excellence in underwriting, pricing, portfolio management, risk consulting and reinsurance, as well as ESG/climate solutions.
• Shanil Williams will now take on greater responsibility for all nine AGCS global lines of business, both corporate and specialty, as chief underwriting officer.
• Claire-Marie Coste-Lepoutre will head the compliance, human resources and the ‘NEW AGCS’ transformation program office. She is also the new deputy CEO on the AGCS SE board, replacing Mueller.
• Alongside his role as CEO of AGCS SE, Mueller will also take responsibility for business in the United Kingdom, France and Australia. Each country has large Allianz MidCorp portfolios and are key parts of the integrated commercial AGCS/OE partnership.
• Other countries or regions will continue to report to either Henning Haagen, chief regions & markets officer 1, or Tracy Ryan, newly appointed as chief regions &, markets officer 2.

“I welcome Dirk and Jon-Paul to AGCS as new members to AGCS SE Board of Management, in addition to Tracy Ryan whose appointment we announced a few days ago” Mueller said. “With these new joiners and a new allocation of responsibilities for some current board members, we, as a leadership team, are ready to open the next chapter in AGCS’s corporate history: the realization of the new collaborative model of Allianz Commercial.”