Zurich Australia has appointed Faaizah Banu as national lead for authorised representative (AR) groups within its Zurich AR Advance business, strengthening its distribution team as competition for broker and AR relationships intensifies, announced Melissa Starfield, Zurich Australia’s head of strategic broker management, in a LinkedIn post.
Banu joins Zurich from Allianz Australia, where she served as national relationship manager for nearly four years. She previously spent seven years at AIG as broker relationship manager for New South Wales and has also held underwriting and business development roles at Longitude Insurance, Winsure Insurance Group and CGU.
In her new role, Banu will lead Zurich’s national AR team and oversee engagement with authorised representative groups across Australia. She will also manage the insurer’s team of broker development associates and mid-market underwriters supporting the AR segment.
The appointment comes as insurers continue to invest in distribution capabilities and intermediary relationships amid growing competition across Australia’s broker and authorised representative market.
The appointment follows a series of leadership changes across Zurich’s Asia-Pacific commercial insurance business, including Kin Lee’s promotion to head of energy for Asia-Pacific and Giles Crowley’s appointment to the newly created role of head of customer and distribution management for Asia-Pacific.
