Zurich Australia has appointed Craig Newton to the newly created role of Head of Claims, General Insurance, based in Sydney.

Mr Newton spent the past two decades at QBE Insurance in a variety of roles and locations, most recently as senior VP of insurance services in the Philippines. That followed two years as QBE’s operational readiness and change monitor, eBusiness in Hong Kong and Singapore.

He brings more than 30 years’ industry experience spanning claims, underwriting and operations.

In this market-facing role, Mr Newton has oversight of Zurich’s frontline claims teams and reports to Chief Claims & Operations Officer Hilary Bates.

“Craig is passionate about the experience of our broker partners and customers, and through his experience will accelerate our progress in developing a market-leading claims proposition,” Ms Bates said in a statement.