To meet contractors' multi-line insurance and risk management needs, XL Insurance, the global insurance underwriting operations of XL Group plc, announced six new appointments to its North America Construction team.
Lawrence Lejfer—VP and senior underwriter for construction professional liability in New York. Lejfer joins XL from Zurich North America where as an underwriting manager he directed the company's Construction Professional Liability and Builders Risk books of business for the Northeast Region.
Raymond Allen—AVP and senior underwriter for construction professional liability in New York. Allen joins XL's Construction team from its environmental unit where he served as a professional and pollution liability underwriter for XL's Construction & Environmental Services clients. Prior to his underwriting positions with XL, Allen also served as an Environmental Claims Consultant where he provided management and technical support for claims involving remediation projects and national spill response management program.
Michael Baxter—VP of property in XL's Toronto office. Baxter is responsible for managing XL Insurance's Canadian property business, including Energy and Construction-related property coverages. He joins XL Insurance from Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, where he was VP-engineering and construction. Previously he served as CEO and chief agent of Arch Insurance Group's Canadian operations, and was worldwide chief underwriting officer for Arch Insurance Group's Onshore Energy (Technical Risk) and CAR/EAR businesses. Prior to joining Arch, he was VP in the Marine and Energy Practice of Marsh Canada Limited in Calgary.
Jim Richert—risk engineer for Subcontractor Default Insurance in New York. Richert joins XL Insurance's North America Construction team from Zurich Services Corporation where he spent the last five years as a senior risk engineering consultant serving professional liability, subcontractor default and casualty insurance clients. He also brings hands-on construction industry experience to XL having spent nine years working for a major U.S. heavy/highway/transit contractor.
Mark Kulas—senior underwriter for construction property in XL's Chicago office. He joins XL from Zurich North America where he was a senior account executive underwriting Inland Marine/Builder's risk. Prior to his tenure in underwriting, he worked for Zurich's property claims department for nearly a decade handling large losses and catastrophe claims.
Nancy Rummel—VP and executive underwriter in Construction Primary Casualty and based in Indianapolis. Rummel brings 30 years of multi-line underwriting experience to XL. Most recently, she was managing account executive for Zurich North America, helping establish its construction underwriting operation in Indianapolis and managing activities in Kentucky, Indiana and Michigan. Her career also includes underwriting management and staff positions with CNA Insurance Company and Aetna Casualty.
"When we first established the Construction business unit just over a year ago, we anticipated that we would attract contractors who would not only rely on us for quality coverage but who also valued industry-focused and high-quality service. And we did," said Gary Kaplan, president of XL Insurance's North America construction team. "Our new XL colleagues are additional assurance that we are well equipped and well staffed to address our growing client base with continued high level of service. We have not only built a dedicated construction team, but built it with some of the most knowledgeable, most committed talent in our industry."
