DARAG expands international business with hires
Run-off insurer DARAG has expanded its international business by appointing a new chief executive officer (CEO) for the group’s Maltese risk carrier as well as two country managers.
On August 1, Joanna Aquilina took up the position of CEO at DARAG Malta Insurance and Reinsurance PCC, a recently established risk carrier under the umbrella of the DARAG Group. Aquilina joined the firm from Aon, where she served as diector and deputy general manager in Malta.
Frédéric Allemand also took on responsibilities as country manager for Italy, France and Spain on August 1 August. Allemand has been a consultant for DARAG since September 2011. Prior to joining DARAG, he served as business development senior manager at Dexia.
Paul Van Coillie also took on responsibilities as country anager for the Benelux countries and Eastern Europe on the same date. Van Coillie joined DARAG in October 2012. He last managed the set-up of DARAG’s Maltese insurer as CEO and he previously served as senior manager at Vanbreda Risks & Benefits.
Arndt Gossmann, head of DARAG Group and CEO of the German insurer, said: “Joanna Aquilina has considerable experience in building and developing protected cells, a unique concept in the EU so far. With the PCC, we will significantly increase the value of run-off transactions for our clients.
“Frédéric Allemand has in-depth knowledge of the southern European countries. His wide network constitutes a strategic advantage for our business development in this region.
“Paul Van Coillie has more than 35 years of experience in the insurance industry. Thanks to his long-standing expertise he is just the right candidate to ensure close proximity to the market and our customers.”
Gossmann said that market potential of run-off is “rapidly growing” ahead of the introduction of Solvency II and that DARAG anticipates “total volume of all transactions – which came to 1.7 billion euros in 2014 – will more than double in 2015.”
