UK insurer boss targeted to replace retiring James Schiro

Swiss insurer Zurich has approached Andy Haste, the chief executive of Britain’s RSA to take over at from the retiring James Schiro, its current chief executive, when he steps down at the end of the year, the Telegraph reports.

The paper said Haste is facing competition from internal candidates and that RSA would battle hard to hang on to him.

Other leading candidates to replace Schiro are thought to include Dieter Wemmer, Zurich's chief financial officer, and Axel Lehmann, its chief risk officer, the Telepgraph said.

Mr Wemmer joined Zurich in 1986 and became chief financial officer in 2007, while Mr Lehmann joined the insurer in 1996, taking his current position in January last year.

But the Telegraph said: “Zurich has a history of recruiting British executives, having appointed Annette Court, the former boss of Royal Bank of Scotland Insurance, to replace Mr Wemmer as chief executive of its European general insurance arm in 2006.”

The 2025 Insurance Times Awards took place on the evening of Wednesday 3rd December in the iconic Great Room of London’s Grosvenor House.

Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
Many congratulations to all the worthy winners and as always, huge thanks to our sponsors for their support and our judges for their expertise.

Topics