QBE said it will begin writing business in the Netherlands, incepting from January 2023, now that it has received regulatory approval from the DNB (De Nederlandsche Bank).
The company first announced its plans to launch a Dutch branch in June 2022.
QBE also revealed its first hires for the Amsterdam-based Netherlands branch, following high interest from the local insurance market, the company said.
Ijaz Chishti joined as market manager and Joyce Peters as operations manager on Sept. 1. Karin Bouman joined on Oct. 1 as head of Liability. Henk Wessels will join as head of Property from Nov. 1 and Walter Schouten as senior underwriter property.
The opening of the office is part of QBE’s overall growth plans for Europe. The ambition is to position QBE Netherlands as one of the key players in the local market, providing robust solutions to corporate and middle market customers that require a broad range of coverage and support for their international footprint.
“We are delighted with the progress we are making setting up the QBE Netherlands branch, and the great job the team, led by Sebastiaan Lambalk, is doing. We are encouraged by the level of interest both from great talent wanting to join our operation and from brokers welcoming an alternative option. Our expansion into the Netherlands is part of our overall development strategy in Europe where we have been steady building our presence,” commented Bea Valenti, director of Insurance, QBE Europe.
Details of New Hires
Ijaz Chishti will lead broker relationships for the Dutch market, responsible for the onboarding process of new partners. He will focus on developing commercial partnership that align with the strategic growth and expansion plans for QBE in the Netherlands. Chishti joins from MS Amlin where he held several roles since joining the organization, as a trainee in 2008, including claims handler, binder authority management and most recently liability underwriter in the Marine division.
As operations manager, Joyce Peters will shape the new branch of QBE in the Netherlands ensuring the systems and processes are in place to support high quality service delivery to both broker partners and customers. Peters has over 20 years’ experience in insurance, and joins from MS Amlin where she was most recently head of Underwriting Administration.
Karin Bouman, is tasked with growing QBE’s liability portfolio, with an extensive 30 year-plus career in insurance, with a variety of roles across claims, broking and underwriting. Most recently, Bouman was senior underwriter and underwriting manager for Middle Market International Casualty at AXA XL, roles she held since 2006.
Responsible for developing QBE’s property portfolio in the Netherlands, Henk Wessels joins QBE from ERGO where he spent the last 12 years as head of Property. Having spent his career to date in the Dutch property insurance market, Wessels also has a solid track record in coinsurance and spent time on the broking side.
Walter Schouten joins from Allianz, where he has been senior sector specialist property since February 2021. Prior to that, Schouten spent 17 years as senior property underwriter at HDI and six years at Kamerbeek/Meeus as property underwriter. Schouten will be responsible for building the property portfolio together with Wessels.
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