Allianz leader moves to Everest for ‘once-in-a-career opportunity’

Everest Insurance has finally confirmed the rehire of a senior property professional that left the company same time last year to take up a position at  Allianz group’s specialist corporate insurer AGCS. The appointee is excited to be coming back to  Everest and “solve the problems our clients are facing” as she believes the company is now ‘perfectly balanced and positioned for growth’.

Maria Grace (pictured) is back at Everest, this time as its new head of international property. She rejoined the business in January this year.

Grace  left Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) in late 2021, after only a few months in the post. There she served as global head of property.

Grace has over 24 years of commercial underwriting and claims experience. She joins AGCS from  Everest Re Group, where she served as the chief underwriting officer for property and inland marine for the insurance business from October 2016 to May 2021. Before that she held various executive and managerial roles at Starr Companies, AIG North America and AIG’s Latin American and Caribbean division.

Writing on LinkedIn, Grace said coming back to  Everest was a “once-in-a-career opportunity”, and that she’s looking forward to leading a new international property insurance business for the company that helps clients navigate market challenges.

“I wanted to be a part of a business that empowers people to use their expertise and imagination to solve the problems our clients are facing,” she wrote.

“My excitement in coming back to  Everest is that the international team is perfectly balanced and positioned for growth. While we have all the ambition, energy, and commitment of a start-up, we also have a 25-year-old brand renowned in the marketplace.

“We have an exciting opportunity to build a strong foundation and grow a new international property insurance business. There is a real need for a different approach, and we are creating exactly that kind of business. Our priorities, capabilities, and culture are unique, and I look forward to sharing all of those with our clients and partners as we grow this special business.”

“Insurance to value is an area we’re keenly focused on improving,” Grace said of her strategy and focus areas, including rising cyber risk, inflation and disruption to supply chains, among others.

“For years there has been an underlying deficiency in the commercial property market, in which insured values have been under-reported. With inflation rates heading for record levels and enormous disruption to supply chains caused by the pandemic, the pressure on proper valuations is intensifying. We will address the very real prospect of clients not receiving full indemnity and work closely with them to ensure this trend doesn’t continue,” Grace said.

“We will also address the silent cyber threats. Cyber is an ever-evolving risk with less historical data on which to base assessments, so it requires even more of a collaborative exploration of options. Given our deep cyber expertise, we’re adept and committed to delivering superior cyber support and counsel,” she added.

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