QBE Insurance Group has been approved by the central bank of the Netherlands to write business in the country, with the new branch in Amsterdam to be manned by a handful of initial hires.
Senior arrivals to QBE include operations manager Joyce Peters and market manager Ijaz Chishti, who both came onboard on September 1, followed a month later by liability head Karin Bouman. Joining on the first of November are property head Henk Wessels and senior property underwriter Walter Schouten.
“We are delighted with the progress we are making setting up the QBE Netherlands branch, and the great job the team, led by Sebastiaan Lambalk, is doing,” commented QBE Europe insurance director Bea Valenti, who was referring to the group’s strategy executive for Europe.
Lambalk, who has been with QBE since August 2021, is overseeing the establishment of the Dutch unit.
“We are encouraged by the level of interest both from great talent wanting to join our operation and from brokers welcoming an alternative option,” added Valenti. “Our expansion into the Netherlands is part of our overall development strategy in Europe where we have been steadily building our presence.”
Chishti and Peters both made the switch from MS Amlin, while Bouman was previously with AXA XL. Incoming colleagues Wessels and Schouten are joining from ERGO and Allianz, respectively.
