QBE North America appoints professional lines leader

Appoints Toria Lessman as Head of Professional Lines and Industry Verticals.

Specialist insurer QBE North America has appointed Toria Lessman as senior vice president, head of professional lines and industry verticals.

Lessman most recently served as head of transactional liability, a key business line in the professional Lines portfolio.

In her new role, Lessman will be responsible for identifying opportunities to profitably grow all the lines of business in the professional lines and industry verticals portfolio.

Besides transactional liability, the business lines include E&O, D&O for both private and public companies, and the financial institutions and Healthcare industry vertical practices. She will be based in QBE's Chicago office.

"Toria is a dynamic leader who has transformed our Transactional Liability business into one of our star performers in terms of meeting customer needs in the fast paced and highly confidential world of mergers & acquisitions," said Tom Fitzgerald, president of QBE North America's Specialty & Commercial business.

"She has proven her ability to instill a culture of personal and shared accountability within the business to deliver effective solutions to customers, and we are excited to have her apply her leadership skills and business acumen to the broader set of businesses that are critical to our success."