Chubb’s new Australia and New Zealand country president Ben Howell will start on September 1, pending regulatory approval.

He will have responsibility for the insurer’s property and casualty and personal lines operations across the two markets.

Mr Howell is currently head of consumer and Asia-Pacific EVP. He is taking over from Peter Kelaher, who is relocating to Paris as division president of continental Europe, Middle East and North Africa.

Mr Howell will continue to report to Asia-Pacific regional president Marcos Gunn, who took up that role this month and is based in Singapore.

“Ben is a highly respected insurance professional with a wealth of experience gained while working in Australia and across the Asia-Pacific region,” Mr Gunn said. “With a proven track record of leading high-performing teams and driving business innovation while delivering profitable growth, Ben is well placed to further elevate our general insurance business in Australia and New Zealand.” 

Mr Howell has more than 20 years’ experience in the insurance industry. He joined Chubb as an underwriter in Sydney in 2002 before working with other global insurers including with AIG in Hong Kong and Singapore.

He rejoined Chubb in July 2016 as global broker unit manager in Victoria and later moved into increasingly senior roles across the Asia-Pacific region.