Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty’s (AGCS) CUO of specialty lines Paul O’Neill has left the business, The Insurance Insider can reveal.
His departure was effective from 30 September, and AGCS CEO Chris Fischer Hirs will take on O’Neill’s responsibilities on an interim basis.
O’Neill oversaw AGCS’ alternative risk transfer, energy, marine, aviation and entertainment lines of business.
He was also responsible for the specialty division’s global strategy and business development as well as the AGCS Underwriting Academy, portfolio management and underwriting integrity and solutions.
O’Neill was appointed to the role of specialty CUO in October 2016, succeeding Bill Scaldaferri who went on to become head of its North America business.
He has been with AGCS for around 16 years, joining Allianz as a regional manager for energy in Singapore in 2003.
He went on to become its global head of energy in 2005, a role which he held for more than nine years, before becoming global head of marine and energy in 2014.
In a statement to this publication, Fischer Hirs said he and the board thanked O’Neill for his “tremendous contribution over many years”, adding that he had been a “great colleague and a true professional”.
It is unknown what O’Neill’s plans are following his departure.
His exit follows a portfolio review at AGCS after a disappointing underwriting performance.
In the second quarter, AGCS operating profit fell 16 percent to EUR79mn ($87mn) and it had a combined ratio of 101.1 percent driven by a higher attritional loss ratio – despite not booking any nat cat losses for the year.
However, it did benefit from a rating uplift of around 4.8 percent, which helped quarterly revenues grow by 5 percent.
According to AGCS CFO Giulio Terzariol, US operations is an area of interest in the company’s review, with its SME, or MidCorp, unit coming under scrutiny.