Markel Insurance has appointed Kevin Leung as Managing Director, Southeast Asia, with immediate effect, as the insurer brings its Singapore and Malaysia operations under a unified regional structure, the specialty insurer announced on Tuesday.
Leung moves into the role from his most recent role as chief underwriting officer for Asia Pacific. He has been with Markel for more than three years and previously served as chief underwriting officer for Asia before taking on the wider APAC remit.
He brings 28 years of insurance industry experience. Before joining Markel, Leung spent more than six years with Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, most recently as head of casualty & finpro for Asia Pacific, and previously held roles with Catlin, ACE Group, AIG and Aon.
In his new role, Leung will oversee Markel’s Singapore and Malaysia operations and continue to report to Sucheng Chang, Managing Director for Asia Pacific. He will support local and regional teams on the insurer’s strategy, product offerings and broker and client relationships, while recruitment for his successor as APAC chief underwriting officer is underway.
Jasminder Kaur will remain country head of Malaysia, retaining responsibility for the day-to-day running of the Malaysian business.
“Bringing our Singapore and Malaysia teams together strengthens our ability to serve brokers and clients by creating a more connected and coordinated regional platform,” Chang said.
“Kevin’s deep underwriting expertise and proven leadership across our Asia Pacific underwriting operations make him ideally placed to bring these two markets together and build on the strong momentum we’ve established across the region,” he added.
The leadership change comes as Markel continues to expand its Asia-Pacific platform. Earlier in September, Chang outlined the insurer’s regional growth plans, including an ambition to nearly double its regional book within five years.
In Malaysia, Markel appointed Weng Fatt Tan in July to lead casualty underwriting, adding a dedicated casualty underwriting capability in the country.
