Zurich Insurance (Zurich) has hired Michael Kerner as CEO of General Insurance (GI) and member of the Group Executive Committee (GEC), with effect from 1 September 2012, subject to regulatory approval.

Currently, Kerner is acting as CEO of Global Corporate in North America, will be based in Zurich and report to Zurich CEO Martin Senn.

Prior to this, Kerner was global chief underwriting officer for General Insurance and Head of Group Strategy in Zurich between 2007 and 2009.

In 1992, Kerner joined Zurich from the Continental Insurance and held numerous management position including global head of Group Reinsurance in 2006/2007, head of Ceded Reinsurance for Zurich North America from 2002 to 2005 and chief operations officer for Zurich North America Specialties.

Martin Senn said, "Mr. Kerner combines people management and business skills with a deep knowledge of the technical aspects of Zurich and our industry."

Zurich Insurance (Zurich) is a global underwriter operating in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East as well as other markets.