HDI Global has expanded its underwriting and distribution leadership with three senior appointments in Hong Kong as the insurer seeks to take a lead role on more insurance programmes across North Asia.
Rebecca Kong has been named head of distribution and strategic partnerships, while LiLian Lau joins as head of property, and Rebekah Khew joins as head of marine, the specialty insurer announced on Monday.
The strengthened leadership team will focus on major property risks across Greater China, specialist marine and cargo business across regional markets, and international programmes for North Asian companies expanding overseas, the insurer said.
Kong brings over two decades of commercial insurance experience across Greater China, specialising in broker and client engagement, multinational programmes and strategic distribution management. She most recently held senior distribution and strategic planning roles at AIG China.
LiLian also has more than two decades of experience across property, construction, natural resources and risk engineering. She most recently led natural resources and construction in Greater China at Allianz, with responsibility for underwriting teams in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Khew carries 30 years of marine insurance experience with particular expertise in cargo, project cargo and marine liabilities. She has built and scaled portfolios across regional markets and most recently served as director for Asia Pacific at Vivace Insurance Partners.
Michael Ahn, chief executive of HDI Global Hong Kong, said, “We see clear opportunities in North Asia to take a lead role on more programmes. Achieving this requires disciplined underwriting, strong portfolio leadership and close relationships with brokers, cedants, and clients. Rebecca, LiLian and Rebekah bring complementary strengths across each of those areas.”
The appointments reflect HDI Global’s expanded leadership and operational capabilities in North Asia, following several additions to the team last year. Most recently, it hired Yibo Mo as liability underwriter, Viola Lee as head of claims in June and James Zhan as senior risk engineer, all based in Hong Kong.
As part of its global Xcelerate29 strategy, the insurer is stepping up its push into specialty lines and expanding internationally, including in Southeast Asia. In January, HDI opened a representative office in Seoul.
The insurer reported an 8% rise in first-half insurance service result to €465m (US$540m) while its combined ratio improved to 90.7% from 91.6%, supported by disciplined underwriting and lower large-loss payments.
