Peak Re brings NewRe's Cussigh to lead European expansion

Hong Kong-based Peak Re has hired Matteo Cussigh from NewRe as senior vice president of markets to support its growth plans in Europe.

Cussigh has spent ten years with NewRe, where he most recently served as head of origination & analytics, capital partners. Prior to that, Cussigh worked for Aon and Swiss Re.

Cussigh has over two decades of industry experience in both traditional reinsurance and alternative risk tools with broking and reinsurance companies.

Franz Josef Hahn, chief executive officer of Peak Re, said: "Matteo has a respectable reputation in the European Market and will be based in Switzerland. Working together with the team, his joining will contribute to the growth of the portfolio and further strengthen relationships with our clients in Europe."

US insurtech giant Lemonade picks France as third European market
Teaser: Lemonade plans to enter its third European market by the end of 2020 after the Netherlands and Germany.

France will be the next European market for artificial intelligence-driven company Lemonade, one of the best-funded insurtech startups which has already launched in the Netherlands and Germany – its major markets outside of the US.

Lemonade plans to make its new multi-risk insurance available in France, its third European country, by the end of 2020.

Lemonade is licensed and supervised by the Dutch Central Bank (DNB), and has its European headquarters in Amsterdam. The insurtech launched in the Netherlands earlier this year, and Germany in June 2019. It was formed in September 2016, by Daniel Schreiber and Shai Wininger, as a licensed insurance carrier offering homeowners and renters insurance.

The company said that its product in France is being crafted specifically for the French customer, and will have the added benefit of being based on the company’s Policy 2.0, a new kind of insurance policy that it claims is a "short, easy to understand, and transparent document designed for ordinary people".

Daniel Schreiber, Lemonade CEO and co-founder, said: “Home insurance is often legally required in France, which automatically makes it a compelling opportunity for Lemonade’s next European country launch.

"While the French insurance market is one of the most developed globally, we believe that Lemonade’s unique mix of value, values, and technology will stand out to the French consumer, offering the ability to get fast, personalized, and mission-driven insurance, from the comfort of any phone.”