Chubb hires new chief reinsurance officer

Chubb, which was acquired by ACE earlier this year and has a significant Bermuda presence, has appointed Michael Kessler as its vice president and chief reinsurance buyer, just as the run into the January renewals season gets underway.

Formerly, Kessler was the chief actuary of the company’s international general insurance business, Chubb Overseas General. He will be managing the company’s reinsurance recoverable asset and overseeing relationships with its reinsurers and reinsurance brokers.

In addition, he will serve as chairman of the company’s reinsurance security committee and as a member of its global credit committee.

Kessler will report immediately to John Keogh, executive vice chairman and chief operating officer of Chubb.

“We thank Bill O'Farrell for more than a decade of strong, effective leadership as chief reinsurance officer. We wish him the best in his new endeavors," said Keogh.

"We are particularly pleased to appoint Mike Kessler to this important leadership role for our company. Mike is an experienced actuarial executive with a long tenure at ACE and Chubb.

“He has impressive technical capabilities and experience, both US and international actuarial experience, and deep first-hand insight into our businesses around the globe.

“He is also a proven partner to our company's insurance businesses and has actively supported our business unit leadership on the analysis of their reinsurance needs and reinsurance purchasing decisions.”

Kessler joined ACE, which bought Chubb in January 2016, in 2003 as senior vice president and chief actuary for the specialty group of ACE Westchester, the company’s commercial property and casualty excess and surplus lines business.

Before this he held senior manager and consulting actuary positions at Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers.