XL Insurance, the global insurance operations of XL Group, has appointed Matthias Horntrich as new chief underwriting officer for International Property.
Horntrich will succeed Gerald Kanis who will be taking up a new senior management role within the company. Kanis will continue in his current role until Horntrich joins in July 2011.
Horntrich has 15 years of experience in property underwriting across various European countries. He will re-join XL Insurance from Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty where he was regional head of Property, with responsibilities for UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, Belgium and South Africa.
Between 1997 and 2009, Horntrich held various underwriting roles within XL Insurance culminating in property underwriting manager in Germany.
XL Insurance chief executive for International Property & Casualty Eileen McCusker said that these appointments allow XL Insurance to capitalize on the strengths of these two individuals and demonstrate the strategy of building on in-house while also seeking the best external experts to strengthen the company’s position in the market.