Markel hires AIG retail property head Kryszon, to partner with Nephila

Markel Corporation has announced the hiring of ex-AIG retail property head Guenter Kryszon who will be tasked with working across the group, including in partnership with its ILS management unit Nephila Capital.

Kryszon will take on the role of Executive Underwriting Officer for Global Property at Markel, with his appointment effective as of May 13th 2019.

In the role, Kryszon will work with the Markel Insurance and Reinsurance divisions, as well as in partnership with the Nephila Capital and State National teams, the company explained.

This work will include corporate initiatives to enhance Markel’s property and other first-party portfolios, the company said.

With Nephila Capital accessing the returns of direct and retail property insurance business through its MGA unit Velocity and in partnership with program fronting specialist State National, the addition of Kryszon brings a significant addition of relevant experience and contacts in the primary property space to the Markel group of companies.

Nephila works with its partners to put its collateralized reinsurance capacity as directly as possible behind pools of primary property insurance risk, thus shortening the value-chain and maximising margins from the underwriting of this business.

For Markel this was always going to be one of the compelling reasons behind its acquisition of Nephila last year. The addition of this hire and highlighting of Nephila and State National as key levers in the retail property area, could be significant for the firm as it looks to more deeply integrate the capital markets and Nephila’s ILS fund management within its broader underwriting groups.

Kryszon will also be tasked with working across the Markel business on issues and initiatives including climate change, capacity, growth, portfolio optimization, and overall results oversight, the firm further explained.

“We are pleased and proud to be welcoming Guenter to our team. Attracting top industry talent is one of our continuing objectives at Markel, and Guenter brings a wealth of experience and credibility to our team. His remit includes first-party property across the organization, across the globe, and across distribution channels,” commented Robin Russo, Chief Underwriting Officer.

Kryszon will report to Russo and is relocating to work at Markel’s headquarters in Richmond, Virginia.

———–

Register today to attend our next ILS conference in Singapore, ILS Asia 2019.

We’re returning to Singapore for our fourth annual ILS market conference for the Asia region. Please register today to secure the best prices. Early bird tickets are still on sale.