Swiss Re Americas Reorganizes U.S. P/C Markets Division

The departure of Swiss Re Americas executive William Donnell last fall opened the door to a major reorganization for the reinsurer’s U.S. property/casualty arm.

Donnell had been president of Swiss Re Americas’ U.S. P/C markets before leaving in October to become president and CEO of the National Council of Compensation Insurance. In his wake, the division now has three managing director positions focused on the U.S. property/casualty markets, a reorganization that the reinsurer said it looked at after Donnell’s departure.

Here are the new breakdowns and respective managing directors:

• President of U.S. P&C – Regional & National. Keith Wolfe gains a new title but will continue to lead the Regional & National team. He’ll also become president of Swiss Reinsurance America Corp., a position that gives him responsibility for management, rating agency and regulatory interaction on behalf of the flagship reinsurance carrier.
• President of U.S. P&C – Large Clients. Seth Ruff has this position, through which he will lead the Divisional Client Executives team and guide large client relationships. He’ll also lead Swiss Re’s Client Market Underwriters, which handle the broker treaty business for both large and global clients. As well, Ruff is set to become president of Swiss Re Underwriters Agency Inc. Ruff is a 15-year Swiss Re veteran.
• Head of P&C Facultative. Nineteen-year Swiss Re veteran Ute Michaelsen has this new role, through which she’ll lead all Facultative teams direct and brokered in the U.S. and Canada. She was most recently broker executive for Swiss Re Underwriters Agency Inc.

Each person will report to Eric Smith, president and CEO of Swiss Re Americas, who said in prepared remarks that the new organization “will move the decision-making closer to the markets to better serve our clients’ needs.”

The appointments are effective as of May 2.

Source: Swiss Re