Zurich Insurance Group has added Nicole Yates to its commercial insurance accident and health (A&H) underwriting roster to serve as head of A&H in Australia.

Yates, who was an A&H senior underwriting manager at Zurich Australia from 2010 to 2016 before moving to another firm, has returned to join the team in Melbourne. Prior to coming back, she led AXA XL’s Australian and New Zealand wholesale and retail A&H business.

Meanwhile Stephane Baj and Chris Howard have been appointed as Zurich’s A&H heads in the UK and the US, respectively.

“Accident and health continues to be an attractive market with strong growth potential,” said Sierra Signorelli, chief underwriting officer for commercial insurance at Zurich.

“Our large commercial customer base and strong global network combined with our underwriting expertise and unified product offering uniquely position Zurich to become a leading global provider in the A&H business.”