Markel Insurance has appointed Abbas Choker (pictured) as chief financial officer for Asia-Pacific, effective July 29, 2026 – a hire that places dedicated finance leadership at the centre of the specialty insurer’s fastest-growing region while also consolidating oversight of its Middle East and North Africa (MENA) operations under a single Singapore base.
Choker joins from AIG, where he served as regional head of financial planning and analysis for Asia-Pacific. He will lead Markel’s APAC finance function, report to Sucheng Chang, managing director, Asia-Pacific, and work alongside Andy Davies, CFO, international. He brings more than 20 years of insurance industry experience spanning Australia and multiple Asian markets.
The appointment carries geographic scope beyond Asia-Pacific. Markel has confirmed that Choker’s Arabic language capabilities will extend his remit to cover its MENA operations – a structural decision that consolidates growth-market finance governance in Singapore rather than a European hub. That configuration aligns with a pattern Markel has been building. In October 2025, the company appointed its first claims role based in Dubai, with the appointee joining the Asia claims team and taking responsibility for MENA claims. Markel Asia has also identified marine and energy as focus growth areas for the MENA region, pointing to sustained government investment in maritime infrastructure across the Gulf. The CFO appointment brings financial governance for both corridors under one leadership line.
Chang described the hire as part of ongoing investment in regional infrastructure. “As we build on strong momentum to date, it is essential that we continue investing in the talent, capabilities, and infrastructure needed to support sustainable long-term growth and performance in the region. Abbas is a seasoned executive whose experience, energy, and commercial acumen are a strong match for our ambitions, and I look forward to working with him as we continue building a thriving business in APAC,” Chang said. Davies tied the appointment to Markel’s financial governance requirements as it scales internationally. “Together with Vera and the wider finance team, Abbas will play a key role in ensuring we have the financial capabilities, governance, and insights required to capitalise on the market opportunity,” Davies said.
The CFO appointment is the latest in a sustained build-out under Markel’s Accelerate Asia-Pacific strategy. Since the programme launched in 2019, the company has reported a sixfold increase in gross written premiums, with staffing levels across the region tripling during the same period. Markel’s international president Andrew McMellin has stated the company is generating approximately US$275 million in annual GWP across the region, targeting up to US$500 million over the next three to five years.
In February 2026, Markel created the head of Korea and Japan role and appointed John Bang, with the position focused on wholesale portfolio development and establishing dedicated desks for both markets. In January 2025, the company created the head of Singapore role, naming Wanshi Lin to lead underwriting operations and business planning through Markel’s Lloyd’s Singapore platform. The CFO appointment adds a dedicated finance layer to that growing structure.
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The choice of Singapore as Markel’s APAC finance base reflects a deliberate positioning by both the company and the city-state’s regulators. At the 21st Singapore International Reinsurance Conference in November 2025, Chia Der Jiun, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), noted that insurers are growing their headquarters or regional functions in Singapore, driven by structural and strategic considerations, and that specialty insurance lines and reinsurance capacity are growing to cover large and complex risks in the region. He also noted that Singapore’s total insurance premiums grew at an average of over 8% annually between 2019 and 2024, reaching approximately S$78 billion.
That regulatory environment provides the backdrop against which global specialty carriers are making organizational decisions. According to Mordor Intelligence, the global specialty insurance market was valued at US$134.6 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow from US$147.76 billion in 2026 to US$235.44 billion by 2031, at a CAGR of 9.77%, with Asia-Pacific projected to record the fastest regional growth rate over that period.
Fitch Ratings has maintained a neutral sector outlook for Asia-Pacific insurance in 2026, citing robust performance across most markets and strong solvency buffers, while expecting non-life insurers to focus on underwriting discipline – a context in which finance governance and reporting capability becomes a competitive differentiator rather than a back-office function. S&P Global Ratings separately identifies specialty lines as among the fastest-growing insurance segments in Asia-Pacific, with primary cyber insurers in the region recording compound annual GWP growth of approximately 36% over the past five years.
For global specialty carriers making organizational decisions in this environment, Oliver Wyman has noted that demand is strongest for leaders who can combine local market knowledge, international exposure, and sector-specific expertise – a profile that frames the commercial logic behind Markel’s approach of placing regionally experienced executives in local leadership roles rather than deploying from London or New York. Clyde & Co’s Insurance Growth Update 2026 found that APAC recorded the largest rebound in insurance M&A activity globally in 2025, with 59 deals completed, up from 39 in 2024, further indicating the scale of organizational commitment global carriers are making to the region.
Against that backdrop, Markel’s decision to formalize APAC finance leadership at CFO level – with a dual APAC-MENA remit anchored in Singapore – signals a move toward the governance infrastructure required to sustain, report on, and scale premium growth across what the company has identified as its most significant international growth corridor.
