Zurich unit announces partnership, names global head

Zurich Insurance Group’s Zurich Resilience Solutions has partnered with KPMG Switzerland while also appointing Dirk De Nil (pictured) as global head of the commercial risk advisory and services unit.

Strategic collaboration

The tie-up is aimed at providing comprehensive climate change advisory services by combining Zurich Resilience Solutions’ physical risk assessment with KPMG’s transition risk assessment capabilities.

The offering features a customised climate scenario analysis designed to identify material exposures and assess financial impacts across the value chain. Initially available in Switzerland, it will subsequently be rolled out across Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific regions.

“Our collaboration with KPMG is a great example of how we are delivering on our commitment to use our capabilities to help customers around the globe tackle the challenges of climate change,” commercial insurance chief executive Sierra Signorelli said in an emailed release.

“By working together with a like-minded organisation that shares our values and combining our strengths, we can have a greater impact and drive meaningful change towards a more sustainable future.”

The goal is to help businesses in evaluating and implementing adaptation and mitigation measures in support of their natural hazards-related loss prevention strategies, long-term climate change-related investment strategies, and regulatory sustainability reporting frameworks.

“In the current landscape, effective climate risk management has developed into a paramount concern for businesses,” KPMG Switzerland global client lead partner Marc Gössi said. “The imperative lies in fortifying resilience across the entire value chain.

“By bringing together Zurich’s strong physical risk capabilities and the specialised expertise of KPMG professionals, we empower our clients to craft judicious and sustainable choices, underpinned by a comprehensive climate risk assessment that takes into account the broader picture.”

New global head

Meanwhile, in a separate release, Zurich announced De Nil’s appointment as global head of Zurich Resilience Solutions. Currently based in Belgium where he serves as Zurich Benelux and Nordics CEO, the three-decade industry veteran will be relocating to Switzerland to take on his new role in October.

De Nil, who came on board Zurich in 2008, is succeeding Hanno Mijer. The latter, whose previous roles include CoverMore chief and corporate life & pensions global head, is retiring next month. As for De Nil’s replacement, the search is already underway.

“Zurich Resilience Solutions is a key pillar to deliver on our strategic priorities,” Signorelli commented. “I am delighted to have Dirk take on this important role within the commercial insurance business. His industry and leadership experience as well as passion for customer focus position him very well to lead the business and drive its growth and success.

“In this rapidly evolving risk landscape, it is more important than ever that we continue to focus on supporting our customers manage both traditional and emerging risks through prevention and mitigation services that go beyond traditional insurance.”

Additionally, she had this to say about Mijer: “Hanno has led Zurich Resilience Solutions since its creation in 2021. During this time he has successful positioned the business, and it has become a true differentiator for us that combines the expertise of our risk engineering community with a renewed focus on advisory services and sales development.

“On behalf of the entire organisation, I would like to sincerely thank Hanno for his incredible energy, passion, and exceptional contributions to Zurich.”            

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