QBE Forming Global Reinsurance Business – QBE Re

The QBE Insurance Group announced that it is combining its worldwide reinsurance operations under a single management team and unified brand, QBE Re. The new reinsurer will “comprise the current statutory businesses of Syndicate 566, QBE Re (Europe), Secura NV and QBE Re (Americas).”

QBE said the combined business “will have a gross written premium of more than $1.5 billion, across a well-balanced portfolio of property, casualty and specialty lines. It will be led by QBE’s current European chief underwriting officer for reinsurance, Jonathan Parry, who will become chief underwriting officer of QBE Re.”

He will be supported by a global leadership team including:
• Paul Horgan (London) – Head of Property
• Chris Larson (New York) – Head of Casualty and US Multiline
• Peter Wilkins (London) – Head of Specialty Lines
• Luc Boghe (Brussels) – Head of European Multiline

QBE also said it “plans to maintain its statutory business reporting and will supplement its key divisional strengths with the opportunities offered by the scale and diversification of a global business. The new model will allow QBE Re to offer its clients a consistent underwriting philosophy. QBE Re will continue to differentiate through excellent levels of service and the use of local expertise empowered to make local underwriting decisions.”

Parry explained that such a “global approach allows us to create a platform where we can provide the best possible service to our clients worldwide. Our business philosophies, market approach and appetite will be coordinated, which in turn will help ensure greater consistency across underwriting, pricing, risk management and reserving. I, and QBE Re’s leadership team, am excited by the opportunities offered by the new business model.”

QBE’s Global Underwriting Operations CEO, John Neal added: “The establishment of QBE Re strongly underlines QBE’s commitment to the reinsurance market. We believe our clients will welcome the move to unify our reinsurance businesses. By retaining our deep local underwriting expertise, and supplementing it with benefits provided by a global organization – scale, consistency, flexibility, capacity and improved service.”

Source: QBE Insurance