Following approval now granted from the DNB (De Nederlandsche Bank), QBE has announced that it can now proceed with its plans to written business in the Netherlands incepting from January 2023.
Plans for the branch were first announced in June, earlier this year.
At the same time, QBE has announced its first hires for the Amsterdam-based Netherlands branch. Ijaz Chishti joined as Market Manager and Joyce Peters as Operations Manager on September 1.
As Market Manger, Chishti will lead broker relationships for the Dutch market, where he will be responsible for the onboarding process of new partners. This role will also allow him to focus on developing commercial partnership that align with the strategic growth and expansion plans for QBE in the Netherlands.
He joins QBE from MS Amlin where he held several roles since joining the organisation, as a trainee in 2008, including Claims Handler, Binder Authority Management and most recently Liability Underwriter in the Marine division.
As operations Manager, 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. Overall, Peters has over 20 years of experience within the insurance industry. She joins QBE from MS Amlin where she most recently served as Head of Underwriting Administration.
Additionally, Karin Bouman joined the firm on October 1 as Head of Liability. Within this role she will be responsible for growing QBE’s liability portfolio, with an extensive career of over 30 years in insurance, within a variety of roles across claims, broking and underwriting. Most recently, she was the Senior Underwriter and Underwriting Manager Middle Market International Casualty at AXA XL, both roles she held since 2006.
Meanwhile Henk Wessels will join as Head of Property from November 1, as well as Walter Schouten as Senior Underwriter Property.
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, Henk also has a solid track record in coinsurance and spent time on the broking side.
Furthermore, Schouten joins QBE from Allianz, where he has been Senior Sector Specialist Property since February 2021. Prior to that, he spent 17 years as Senior Property Underwriter at HDI and six years at Kamerbeek/Meeus as Property Underwriter. Within his new role, Walter will be responsible for building the Property portfolio together with Henk.
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.
Bea Valenti, Director of Insurance QBE Europe, commented: “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.”
