From an attack-diving unit to leading Zurich’s commercial business across the Middle East. Peter Englund, Senior Executive Officer for the Middle East at Zurich, joins FS Brew to talk about risk, capital and the future of insurance in the Gulf.
Peter has spent nearly two decades at Zurich, including a term as CEO of Zurich Denmark. In this conversation he covers what pulled a Swedish insurance professional to the Gulf, how Zurich is structured in the region, and how the market is pricing risks that have no loss history yet.
What this episode covers
Peter’s path from regional roles to CEO of Zurich Denmark to the Middle East, and the decisions that shaped it
How Zurich operates in the DIFC and how its commercial and life/savings businesses work together in the region
Where capacity is loosening or tightening in construction and engineering, energy, marine, D&O and cyber
AI liability as an emerging line of business
Pricing long-tail risks when reinsurance and legal frameworks are still evolving
Geopolitical conflict: war and terrorism exclusions, parametric and contingent business interruption demand, and prolonged marine and DSU claims
Advising clients on correlated losses across property, marine and supply chains
Cyber insurance demand and the gap between perceived and actual coverage
Zurich’s data-center and infrastructure playbook, and its relevance to the Gulf’s giga-project buildout
Closing the talent gap beyond graduate programmes
Build or partner: Zurich’s approach to insurtechs in the Middle East
How culture drives results, hiring and decisions
Rapid fire round: lessons, leadership, favourite cities, recommended reads, and the kindest thing anyone has done for him
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
[00:00] Career path and the move to the Gulf
[00:00] Zurich’s DIFC structure and One Zurich
[00:00] Capacity trends and AI liability
[00:00] Pricing emerging and long-tail risk
[00:00] Geopolitics, war exclusions and correlated losses
[00:00] Cyber insurance gaps
[00:00] Data-center and giga-project playbook
[00:00] Talent and insurtech partnerships
[00:00] Culture at Zurich
[00:00] Rapid fire
Hosts
Vidya Veerapandian and Renjit Philip. Renjit is Managing Partner of Futureu Strategy Group, a Dubai-based AI consulting and M&A advisory firm.
About FS Brew
FS Brew features candid conversations with CEOs and experts shaping insurance and insurtech.
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Renjit Philip:
work: https://www.futureu.co
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