Zurich Singapore enhances claims leadership with latest appointment

Zurich Singapore enhances claims leadership with latest appointment | Insurance Business Asia

Claims

Zurich Singapore enhances claims leadership with latest appointment

Specialist to drive growth in two segments

Claims

By
Roxanne Libatique

Zurich Insurance Company (Singapore) Ltd (Zurich Singapore) has named Matt Graves as its new chief claims officer.

Graves (pictured) will report directly to Liam Burrell, CEO Singapore and head of commercial insurance Asia. He will be responsible for overseeing all claims functions within Zurich Singapore’s commercial and newly introduced retail segments.

Who is Matt Graves?

Graves brings over 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, having held various positions at Allianz, Suncorp, and Zurich, specialising in claims management.

He joined Zurich in 2016 as the team leader for the major loss property team in Australia and most recently led the short-tail lines claims operations in Singapore, managing property, global energy, construction, and marine teams across the region.

In his new position, Graves will join Zurich Singapore’s executive committee, working to deliver innovative claims solutions. He will collaborate closely with customers and partners throughout the region to ensure an improved end-to-end claims process.

Commenting on the appointment, Burrell said: “I am pleased to have a seasoned claims executive of Matt’s calibre take on this critical role. Zurich is focused on delivering our customers and partners an efficient and smooth claims experience and Matt’s significant operational and technical expertise will further enhance our claims proposition and performance.”

Group chief financial officer Claudia Cordioli noted the robustness of the group’s diversified business portfolio.

“Ongoing growth in both our P&C and life portfolios, combined with improved margins in retail P&C, confirms the strength of our diversified business model. Farmers continues to show impressive results with Farmers Management Services reaching 6% growth in underlying fee income, well on track to meet or exceed the guidance of mid-single digit growth for the year,” she said.

The company’s P&C insurance revenue for the quarter was distributed as follows:

US$4.43 billion from Europe, Middle East, and Africa;
US$4.60 billion from North America;
US$860 million from Asia-Pacific; and
US$768 million from Latin America.

Each region saw an increase compared to the same period in the previous year.

Zurich reported: “In P&C, the group has seen strong growth in both the commercial and retail businesses. Insurance revenue grew 8% in commercial insurance and 10% in retail. In commercial, rates improved across all regions with an average of 5%. North America was a key contributor with overall rate increases of 8%, including commercial auto where rates increased by 14%.

“Retail had a highly successful start to the year, continuing to see strong, broad-based growth, with 5% rate increases. Growth was additionally supported by higher customer retention in all regions. Top-line growth was underpinned by a 7% rate increase in motor. The rate increases come alongside targeted underwriting, claims, and expense initiatives designed to continue improving profitability.”