Zurich has announced the appointment of a new chief claims officer for its general insurance business in Australia and New Zealand.

Elizabeth Gallagher has been appointed to the role and will replace Daniel Franzetti, who will return to North America after a two-year international assignment locally.

Gallagher joined Zurich in 2012 as head of claims governance and quality assurance before moving on to head of liability and specialty lines claims.

Interim chief executive officer of Zurich general insurance in Australia and New Zealand, Rajbir Nanra, thanked Franzetti for his service to the Australia and New Zealand branch of the company and praised Gallagher’s experience for the role.

“I want to thank Dan Franzetti for the significant contribution he has made over the last two years,” Nanra said.

“The role of Chief Claims Officer is a critical leadership role for Zurich - we place significant emphasis on ensuring that we have the very best claims service to support our broker community and customers.  

“Elizabeth Gallagher has the right experience and expertise to provide that leadership. In addition, Elizabeth’s appointment is a great testament to the internal talent pipeline we have here at Zurich.”

Gallagher is a lawyer with more than twenty years’ experience working with Australian law firms and insures.

Franzetti’s move to the United States marks the second leadership loss for Zurich in quick succession as former-CEO, Daniel Fogarty, left the business last week.