XL Catlin Appoints Branch as Chief Executive of Insurtech Team, Accelerate

XL Catlin announced the appointment of Vincent Branch as Chief Executive for Accelerate, its new expert team focused on innovation and insurtech.

Accelerate is led by XL Catlin’s former chief underwriting officer for Insurance, Paul Brand.

Branch joins XL Catlin with over 20 years’ experience in the insurance industry. Most recently, he held the position of chief underwriting officer and chief actuary for VitalityHealth (part of the Discovery group). Prior to this role, Branch was the global chief underwriting officer for personal lines at Zurich Insurance. In these roles, he implemented a wide range of product and pricing innovations. He holds a BSc Honours degree in Mathematics from Loughborough University of Technology, and is a Fellow in the UK Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and Chartered Insurance Institute.

“We all know our industry is undergoing a huge amount of change. New technologies are impacting our client’s risk profiles both in terms of creating and eliminating risk; they are also altering distribution channels and buying trends. How the market responds is going to determine the future survival of our industry,” said Brand, speaking on Branch’s appointment and on his ambition for the team.

“We understand the huge opportunities that technology and innovation presents for re/insurers that are prepared to push the boundaries. Our investment in this team is a further demonstration of our commitment to doing just that,” Brand said.

“The team will work across the business, with the business. It is charged with harnessing our collective expertise to deliver new solutions and services which ultimately deliver value by giving rise to better outcomes for our clients,” he added.

Brand continued: “I am delighted that Vincent has joined the team. The stand out work he has done in the personal lines space looking at how the insurance industry approaches and leverages wearables, telematics and automation, positions him ideally for this role and greatly enhances our play.”

Accelerate complements other innovation focused activities at XL Catlin. In 2015, it announced the creation of XL Innovate, an XL Group Ltd sponsored venture capital initiative. XL Innovate is financially backed by XL Group Ltd. and invests in companies that have a strategic focus on developing new capabilities in the insurance sector. XL Innovate invests in companies that strive to create opportunities outside of the traditional underwriting space by finding ways to underwrite currently uninsured risks.
Source: XL Catlin

Topics InsurTech Tech AXA XL