Elizabeth Kramer | Age: 55 President of excess and surplus lines

Munich Re Specialty Insurance

New York

Elizabeth Kramer has held several leadership roles at Munich Re Specialty Insurance and the wider industry, and she is relishing her current role in one of the most dynamic areas of the business.

She was promoted to head Munich Re Specialty’s E&S business in July, after joining the insurer in October 2020 as chief underwriting officer.

“It’s probably one of the most exciting divisions right now,” Ms. Kramer said. She also appreciates the opportunity “to get back in front of the customers” after previous underwriting roles.

Prior to joining Munich Re Specialty, Ms. Kramer was with Zurich North America for about three years and before that with General Re Corp. for 19 years in a series of underwriting roles.

Her path into the insurance industry, however, was not a straight line.

After graduating from Binghamton University in New York in 1990, Ms. Kramer taught English in Japan.

“I was an economics major, and I didn’t want a desk job. … I wanted to do something different, so I looked at what options were overseas,” Ms. Kramer said.

Returning to the United States, she first worked at a law firm before joining a Gen Re unit.

An advocate for diversity, Ms. Kramer is president and a board member of the Association of Professional Insurance Women.

“I was very fortunate, throughout my career, to have mentors — people who supported me, pushed me, challenged me,” Ms. Kramer said.

She realized, however, that all her mentors were men. It was “very, very hard to find women leaders” to emulate as role models, she said, adding that things have since improved.

“We’ve made a lot of progress in the industry. We definitely still have work to do, but I feel pretty optimistic when I see the talent coming out of colleges and the universities,” she said.

Barbara Bufkin, senior adviser with Amwins Group Inc. and a former president of APIW, praised Ms. Kramer for both her business and leadership qualities.

Matthew Lerner