Kerner to lead new Munich Re commercial insurance unit

Munich Reinsurance America Inc. on Friday announced a new commercial insurance unit in North America, Munich Re Specialty Insurance, to be headed by Michael Kerner as chief executive officer.

In this new role, Kerner will have oversight for uniting several Munich Re Group business units under the new primary specialty commercial insurance umbrella, the reinsurer said in a statement. He will report to Tony Kuczinski, president and CEO of Munich Re, US.

“His deep insurance industry expertise and experience managing multiple functional areas in a global organization are important assets that will help unify and grow our primary specialty commercial insurance business," Mr. Kuczinski said in the statement. “Munich Re Specialty Insurance will complement American Modern, Hartford Steam Boiler and other parts of the Munich Re family in the U.S.” 

Mr. Kerner most recently served as executive vice president, risk management and strategy at Everest Re, the statement said. Prior to that, Kerner spent 23 years at Zurich Insurance Co. in a variety of senior executive roles, including CEO of general insurance.

“Munich Re Specialty Insurance will unite the expertise of our multiple commercial specialty insurance divisions,” Peter Roeder, chairman of Munich Re America and Board Member of Munich Re, said in the statement. “I am convinced that the new unit will become an important and profitable part of Munich Re in the U.S. Mike Kerner is the ideal candidate to successfully lead Munich Re Specialty Insurance, and I am happy to have him on board.”