Matthias Horntrich named chief underwriting officer for international property

XL Insurance has appointed Matthias Horntrich as chief underwriting officer for international property.

Horntrich has 15 years' experience in property underwriting across various European countries.

He re-joins XL Insurance from Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty where he was regional head of property, with responsibilities for UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium and South Africa.

Between 1997 and 2009, Horntrich held various underwriting roles within XL Insurance culminating in property underwriting manager in Germany.

He takes over the role from Gerald Kanis who will be taking up a new senior management job within the company.

XL Insurance's chief executive for international property & casualty, Eileen McCusker, said: “Matthias is a well respected underwriter with an outstanding reputation and we are delighted that he is re-joining XL Insurance. Gerald's technical and strategic capabilities will be a significant asset in the implementation and development of our business strategy.

“These appointments allow us to capitalize on the strengths of these two talented individuals and demonstrate our strategy of building on in-house talent while also seeking the best external experts to strengthen our position in the market."

Gerald Kanis will continue in his current role until Horntrich joins in July 2011.