Hollard Insurance Chairman Duncan West and former PartnerRe group legal counsel Christine Patton will join Genworth Mortgage Insurance as non-executive directors next month.

Mr West, a professional director, was CEO of Vero Insurance from its launch in 1998 until 2007, and was CEO of CGU in 2008-11.

Ms Patton, an Australian, spent 19 years at Bermuda-based PartnerRe before relocating to Sydney within the past year.

The appointments come as Genworth directors Leon Roday and Anthony Gill prepare to retire at the end of this month.