Allianz brings AGCS and mid-market units into new global commercial business

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) and local Allianz units serving mid-sized firms are coming together under a new Allianz Commercial business.

Allianz said the new business, which is led by AGCS CEO Joachim Mueller, will cover the global commercial segment and leverage its local market footprint to deliver a broader set of solutions for clients.

The legal entities involved in the new business, such as AGCS, and their leadership will remain the same.

AGCS believes its combination with Allianz’s midcorp will benefit large customers, who will be able to access a bigger pool of specialist risk consultants and insurance solutions, better services and, importantly, stronger local teams to deliver global programmes.

“Allianz Commercial is the result of market feedback encouraging us to combine the best of AGCS with the best of local Allianz businesses to serve more clients around the world,” said Mueller.

“The result will be simplicity, clarity and consistency for our customers, where we serve them with a wider range of products – from Allianz multinational to climate solutions – in a seamless approach that preserves the trusted relationships and local know-how they value,” he added.

Allianz Commercial will feature one commercial lead in each country or region. Teams currently focused on trading, underwriting and customer delivery will work closely together under the new integrated operating model.

“Partners will experience a consistent underwriting approach and access harmonised insurance solutions that are globally coordinated and locally delivered with one market interface,” said Allianz.

Chris Townsend, a member of Allianz’s board of management, said Allianz Commercial is “a natural continuation” of his company’s “existing multi-year strategy to scale and globalise the commercial segment”.

Mueller will report directly to Townsend. Dirk Vogler has joined the AGCS board of management in the newly created chief midcorp transformation officer position. Vogler was previously a board member at Allianz Versicherungs in Germany responsible for the corporate division. He will report to Mueller.

In his new role, Vogler will oversee the office set up to establish collaboration between AGCS and Allianz’s mid corporate business at national level. His work will start with helping AGCS partner with Allianz’s mid corporate operations in France, Germany, the UK and Australia.

In addition to leading Allianz Commercial, Mueller will take responsibility for the new combined UK, French and Australian businesses. These countries have large midcorp portfolios and are therefore key to the new partnership, Allianz explained.

Other countries or regions continue to report to AGCS chief regions and market officers Henning Haagen and Tracy Ryan.

AGCS has also added Jon-Paul Jones to its board of management as chief operating officer (COO). He succeeds Bettina Dietsche, who has already become Allianz’s chief people and culture officer.

Jones was previously global head of business transformation at Allianz’s global commercial insurance unit.

The shakeup sees AGCS’s current chief underwriting officer for specialty, Dr Renate Strasser, move to the newly created chief technical officer board role. She will oversee all global functions that focus on underwriting, pricing, portfolio management, risk consulting, reinsurance and ESG/climate solutions.

Shanil Williams, AGCS board member and chief underwriting officer for corporate, will now take an expanded role as CUO of both corporate and specialty across all of the company’s global business lines.

Chief financial officer Claire-Marie Coste-Lepoutre is named deputy CEO at AGCS.

“I welcome Dirk and Jon-Paul to AGCS as new members to AGCS SE board of management, in addition to Tracy Ryan whose appointment we announced a few days ago. With these new joiners and a new allocation of responsibilities for some current board members, we, as a leadership team, are ready to open the next chapter in AGCS’s corporate history: the realization of the new collaborative model of Allianz Commercial,” said Mueller.

“We will partner and collaborate closely with the mid-corporate business of national Allianz entities based on a globally coordinated underwriting and distribution approach, which is locally delivered for our customers through one face to the market,” he added.