Zurich names Roger Brunner head of Casualty group of its North America Commercial Specialty Products business

Zurich has named Roger Brunner head of the Casualty group for its North America Commercial Specialty Products business unit. In this role, Brunner will lead the nationwide team that develops and markets the company’s portfolio of Excess, Umbrella, Special Casualty and Railroad products.

Brunner joined Zurich in 1997 and has worked in leadership capacities across the organization. Most recently, he was chief operating officer for General Insurance Proposition Development, building Zurich’s global capabilities in developing forward-looking propositions to serve customers’ needs.

Before his role in Proposition Development, Brunner was a key member of the leadership team that built Zurich's Programs & Direct Markets, an organization that has become the largest writer of program business in North America.

"I am confident that Roger will be a great leader for the Casualty group as well as a strong addition to the Specialty Products leadership team,” said Dan Riordan, president of Specialty Products business for Zurich North America Commercial. "He has a proven track record of successfully growing each business he has led at Zurich.”

Prior to joining Zurich, Brunner founded Specialty & Environmental Administrators in Lansing, Mich., a market-leading program administrator focused on environmental coverage. He also spent eight years as a broker with Mourer-Foster Inc., serving the environmental and construction industries for insurance and surety.

Brunner earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Genetics and Master of Education in Science Education at the University of Georgia.

Zurich’s Casualty unit provides a portfolio of products to excess casualty and special casualty markets. These include Lead Umbrella, Excess Liability and Special Casualty solutions for harder-to-place risks. The Railroad group provides a variety of coverages for the rail industry.

About Zurich

Zurich in North America is a part of Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich), an insurance-based financial services provider with a global network of subsidiaries and offices in North America and Europe as well as in Asia Pacific, Latin America and other markets. Founded in 1872, the Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland and employs approximately 60,000 people serving customers in more than 170 countries, including more than 9,500 employees in North America.

Zurich was the first overseas insurer to enter the U.S. market in 1912. According to Highline Data LLC (NAIC 2008), Zurich in North America (www.zurichna.com) is the second-largest writer of commercial general liability insurance and the fourth-largest commercial property-casualty insurance company, serving the global corporate, large corporate, middle market, specialties and programs sectors. Zurich's risk engineering services in the United States are provided by Zurich Services Corporation.