HDI enters Asian Accident & Health market
Industrial insurer HDI Global SE Singapore (HDI) has entered the Accident & Health market in Asia with the underwriting appointment of Lisa Leow, effective immediately.
Lisa can look back on more than 20 years in the insurance industry. She joins HDI from Starr Insurance Companies where she was Head of Accident & Health. Prior to that she held similar positions with QBE Asia and Zurich and spent more than ten years at AIG in different functions. During this time, she gained an extensive expertise in Accident & Health insurance in Singapore and across Asia, which she will now use for HDI to start this new line of business in the Singapore branch.
“I am delighted to welcome Lisa to HDI, with her proven track record and capabilities, she will be invaluable to the business as we enter the Asian Accident & Health market. I am very much looking forward to working with Lisa as we expand our product offering to our clients and brokers across the region.”Graham Silton, HDI’s Managing Director and Principal Officer in Singapore
HDI Global currently offers Property, Casualty, Engineering, Marine Cargo, Power & Energy and Political & Credit Risk in Asia. The Singapore branch functions as a hub for the Southeast Asian market and underpins its ambition to be a global player. The hire of Lisa adds Accident & Health to the portfolio.
Lisa will have a dual reporting line, to both Graham Silton and Chris McDowell, HDI Global SE’s Underwriting Manager, Accident & Health Australasia in Sydney.
“We are delighted that with Lisa we have gained a proven expert to position HDI Global as a reliable partner in the Accident & Health sector in Asia. HDI offers a broad range of Accident & Health products, with a strong proposition in international programmes for global clients. A company’s most important asset is their people. We are an experienced partner to help our clients manage their Accident & Health risks globally.”Chris McDowell, Managing Director and Principal Officer, HDI Global SE Singapore
“HDI has a strong and growing reputation in Asia and I’m looking forward to bringing new opportunities to the business as we grow our Accident & Health market footprint in the region. We provide comprehensive Accident & Health products including medical and security assistance services around the world.”Lisa Leow, Underwriting Manager Accident & Health Singapore
Talanx successfully completes acquisition of Liberty Seguros in Brazil
The Retail International division of the Talanx Group successfully closed its acquisition of the Liberty Seguros business with retail customers and small to mid-sized enterprises in Brazil on 22 November 2023. HDI is thereby strengthening its market position in Brazil and moves up to number 2 in the property and casualty insurance market. Based on the results for the full year 2022, HDI expects gross written premiums in Brazil to increase by at least EUR 1.1 billion.
“We are delighted over the quick and successful closing of the transaction in Brazil. This is a first decisive step in breaking into the top 2 P&C insurers in Latin America,” said Dr. Wilm Langenbach, the member of Talanx AG’s Board of Management responsible for the Retail International division and Chief Executive Officer of HDI International AG. “I would like to extend a warm welcome to our new colleagues, distribution partners and customers and I appreciate the trust they show in us. The combined scale, capabilities and talent will enable us to deliver an even stronger value proposition for our distribution partners and customers.”
HDI International will consolidate the results of the acquired entity with effect from closing of the acquisition for the fourth quarter of 2023. The purchase of the other Liberty Mutual companies in Chile, Colombia and Ecuador remains subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the first half of 2024.
“With this transaction, we are becoming the second largest P&C insurer in Brazil” said Nicolas Masjuan, Head of Latin America at HDI International. “We are excited to further enhance our position and our business model through the combination of HDI and Liberty in Brazil for the benefit of our partners and clients”.
The transaction also includes Liberty Specialty Markets direct insurance business in Brazil.
HDI International AG has been present in Brazil since 1979 with HDI Seguros S.A. Going forward, HDI Seguros and the acquired company will offer insurance services through more than 4,800 employees, 100 branches (physical and virtual) and over 30,000 insurance brokers and distribution partners. Based on the results for the full year 2022, they are expected to generate a combined pro forma premium volume of at least BRL 12.8 billion (EUR 2.3 billion).
Photo (from left to right): Dr Wilm Langenbach, Eduardo Dal Ri, Nicolas Masjuan
Ο Κωνσταντίνος Σεμερτζόγλου αναλαμβάνει CEO στην HDI
Καθήκοντα Διευθύνοντος Συμβούλου στην HDI Global Hellas θα αναλάβει ο Κωνσταντίνος Σεμερτζόγλου στη θέση του Νότη Βαγιακάκου.
Σύμφωνα με ανακοίνωση που απέστειλε στους συνεργάτες της Groupama o γενικός διευθυντής της εταιρείας, Χρήστος Κάτσιος, αποχωρεί ο Κωνσταντίνος Σεμερτζόγλου, Διευθυντής Εμπορικής Διεύθυνσης και Εξυπηρέτησης Πελατών της Groupama μετά απο 7 χρόνια απόλυτα επιτυχημένης πορείας για νέο επαγγελματικό βήμα την 31η Μαρτίου 2023.
Ταυτόχρονα ανακοινώθηκε η διαδοχή του απο τον κ Ευάγγελο Οικονομόπουλο ο οποίος αριθμεί πλέον 8 χρόνια στην εταιρεία.
Σε ανακοίνωσή του ο Νότης Βαγιακάκος αναφέρει τα εξής σχετικά με την ανάληψη καθηκόντων από τον Κωνσταντίνο Σεμερτζόγλου:
«Είμαι στην ευχαριστη θέση να ενημερώσω υπεύθυνα την αγορά ότι η εταιρεία μας καλωσορίζει στις τάξεις της ομάδας του Senior Management της HDI Global SE, Hellas, από τις αρχές Απριλίου 2023, τον κ. Κωνσταντίνο Σεμερτζόγλου, διακεκριμένο στέλεχος της αγοράς μας.
Θα συνεργαστούμε στενά με τον Κωνσταντίνο ώστε, υπό την προϋπόθεση των σχετικών κανονιστικών εγκρίσεων, εν ευθέτω χρόνο, μέσα στο πρώτο εξάμηνο του 2023 όπως υπολογίζουμε, να αναλάβει την Νόμιμη Εκπροσώπηση και Γενική Διεύθυνση του Ελληνικού Υποκαταστήματος της εταιρείας.
Θα παραμείνω δίπλα στον Κωνσταντίνο μέχρι το τέλος του 2023, προκειμένου να εξασφαλίσουμε, από κοινού την ομαλή μετάβαση της διοίκησης του Ελληνικού Υποκαταστήματος στη νέα εποχή. Για την HDI Global SE, Hellas
Νότης ΒαγιακάκοςΝόμιμος Εκπρόσωπος και Γενικός Διευθυντής»
O κ. Σεμερτζόγλου κατείχε από το 2016 μέχρι πρότινος τη θέση του Εμπορικού Διευθυντή στην Groupama Ασφαλιστική και στο παρελθόν έχει διατελέσει στέλεχος σε ανώτερες θέσεις μεγάλων ελληνικών και πολυεθνικών ασφαλιστικών εταιρειών, ενώ ο Νότης Βαγιακάκος διετέλεσε CEO επί σχεδόν δύο δεκαετίες στην HDI Global Se, Hellas.
HDI earns award as “Brand of the Century”
HDI has been awarded the honour of “Brand of the Century” by the “Deutsche Standards” brand jury, a subsidiary of Hamburg publishing house ZEIT-Verlag. HDI received the award in the “Industrial Insurance” category. The jury based its decision on a number of factors, including the long tradition of the HDI brand: “Originally founded by customers, in order to think like customers, HDI has been providing industrial companies and groups with high-quality insurance solutions for more than a hundred years. Throughout its history, the insurer has always succeeded in communicating a clear image of the brand. Partnership, entrepreneurship and reliability are the core values of HDI.”
– Honoured for more than one hundred years of service in liability and property insurance for industrial companies and groups, and for retail customers and small businesses
– “HDI brand is associated with a host of positive messages”
Florian Langenscheidt, initiator of the award “Brand of the Century”, describes the HDI brand in his appraisal as “one of the outstanding insurance brands in Germany during this century”. He continued by saying that HDI had succeeded in writing a history of partnership with German industry, which made the insurance group one of Germany’s most prominent brand ambassadors. HDI was currently ranked among a series of companies like Ritter-Sport, Miele, Bosch, Siemens and others. All these brands represented the highest possible quality aspirations and were really formative in their category. That’s why the companies with their brands in global markets had such a lot of business success over the long term. The reason: “Quality never goes out of style,” emphasised Langenscheidt.
“We are well aware of our long heritage and our high brand value. This value has been built up since the company’s foundation in 1903 based on decades of hard work. Generations of HDI employees have transformed the Haftpflichtverband der Deutschen Industrie (Liability Association of German Industry) – a mutual insurance company – into a world-ranking insurance group. This is our motivation and part of our daily function,” commented Leue (photo), Chairman of the Board of Management of Talanx AG, which the insurers of the HDI Group belong to. He continued by saying that this was also the hallmark of the HDI brand promise: We transform the world into a place full of opportunities for our customers and partners.
Three divisions are grouped under the HDI brand within the Talanx Group: Industrial Lines (as HDI Global), Retail Germany (as HDI Versicherung and HDI Lebensversicherung) and Retail International (e.g. as HDI Assicurazioni in Italy and as HDI Seguros in Argentina and Brazil). Industrial insurance is the nucleus of the HDI Group. It was founded in 1903 as “Haftpflichtverband der deutschen Eisen- und Stahlindustrie” (Liability association of the German Iron and Steel Industry). Later, the Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit (VVaG, mutual insurance company) changed its name to “Haftpflichtverband der deutschen Industrie” (Liability Association of German Industry), abbreviated to: HDI. Since the establishment in 1903, the main purpose has consistently been provision of high-quality insurance solutions for German industry.
When HDI was reorganised, the insurer entered retail customer business in 1953, and since 1966 a reinsurer, Hannover Re, has also been part of the Talanx Group. Today, the Group ranks among the three biggest insurance groups in Germany. In Europe, it numbers among the top 10. Together with all the subsidiary and peer companies, it employs approximately 23,000 people worldwide, around half of them in Germany. In 2020, gross premium volume amounted to around EUR 41 billion.
HDI Appoints Jessica Cao to Vice President, Actuary
HDI Global Insurance Company (HDI Global USA) today announced the appointment of Jessica Cao to Vice President, Actuary. Ms. Cao will be based in Chicago and will report to Brad Diericx, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer.
Ms. Cao will lead the company’s actuarial organization. She will be responsible for the company’s claims reserve function, aligning pricing across all lines of business, and implementing critical analysis to support and improve underwriting profitability.
“As the Actuarial department continues to support HDI’s growth initiatives, I am confident that Jessica brings the necessary experience and leadership qualities that will help us bring new products to our customers,“ said Diericx. “I am pleased to welcome Jessica to HDI and look forward to working with her on positioning our business for sustainable underwriting profitability.“
Prior to joining HDI, Ms. Cao served as an actuarial specialist at AmWINS Specialty Casualty Solutions, where she determined pricing for workers‘ comp and liability treaties, including PEO, public entities and healthcare. In her close to two-decades of industry experience, she has held leadership roles at StarStone, Zurich, CNA, and Liberty Mutual.
Ms. Cao holds a B.S. in Economics from Fudan University in Shanghai, China and a Master of Science in Mineral Economics from Pennsylvania State University. In 2006, she was admitted as a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society.