Allianz establishes new Global Commercial division

Effective July 1, 2021, a new division for Global Commercial insurance was established under Chris Townsend, Member of the Allianz SE Board of Management responsible for Global Insurance Lines & Anglo Markets, Reinsurance, Middle East and Africa. The Global Commercial Group Center will enable a dedicated focus on the P&C commercial sector, which represents a significant, organic growth opportunity for the Group.

Global Commercial brings together and builds on the substantial resources and expertise within the Allianz Group, to drive benefits to our customers and distribution partners.

“We are excited about the opportunities this division represents for customers and our businesses,” said Oliver Bäte, CEO of Allianz SE. “Current market conditions make the timing perfect to bring a dedicated focus to our commercial P&C business.” 

“These changes will improve our underwriting capabilities and customer propositions right across the commercial sector, but with a particular focus on the mid-market business outcomes, and enable profitable growth, while driving enhancements in our client service,” said Chris Townsend

Allianz New Global Commercial Division

Global Commercial is structured into three business units: Chief Underwriting Office, Business Transformation and Global MidCorp.

The Chief Underwriting Office will be led by Rasmus Nygård, who joins from AIG September 1, 2021. In his future role, Rasmus will be responsible for developing an overall underwriting strategy for the business in order to drive a consistent and transparent offering to our clients and distribution partners on a global basis.

Business Transformation is led by Jörg Hipp, previously member of the Board of Management of Allianz Versicherungs-AG for the Automotive division. Jörg has responsibility for further driving a data-driven business model while improving the underwriting process to enhance accuracy, efficiency and speed.

Global MidCorp is led by Ole Ohlmeyer, previously already responsible for the regional MidCorp hubs. The Global MidCorp unit will operationalize the Global Commercial strategy jointly with the regions and support them with specific capabilities for underwriting operations and portfolio management.

The Allianz Group is one of the world's leading insurers and asset managers with around 125 million* private and corporate customers in nearly 70 countries. Allianz customers benefit from a broad range of personal and corporate insurance services, ranging from property, life and health insurance to assistance services to credit insurance and global business insurance. Allianz is one of the world’s largest investors, managing around 737 billion euros** on behalf of its insurance customers. Furthermore, our asset managers PIMCO and Allianz Global Investors manage about 1.7 trillion euros** of third-party assets. Thanks to our systematic integration of ecological and social criteria in our business processes and investment decisions, we are among the leaders in the insurance industry in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. In 2023, over 157,000 employees achieved total business volume of 161.7 billion euros and an operating profit of 14.7 billion euros for the group.
* Including non-consolidated entities with Allianz customers.
** As of December 31, 2023.

Press contacts

Siân Taylor
Allianz SE
As with all content published on this site, these statements are subject to our cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements:

Further information

Future-ready: Trust, prevention, and digitalization key to meeting customers’ evolving needs

Embracing the future with trust, prevention, and digitalization. Customers want an ongoing relationship based on trust and personal advice. At Allianz, we're leading the way with innovative programs like Secure Home for the elderly and tools like the Pension Compass that help secure your future.

Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance insights

Ongoing inflation, refinancing and insolvency pressures, geopolitical issues, and electoral uncertainty are just some of the headwinds D&Os need to be prepared for in 2024, according to Allianz Commercial financial lines and D&O experts.

2023 Atlantic hurricane season: the year in review

The 2023 North Atlantic hurricane season was initially expected to be subdued, due to the potentially dampening effects of El Niño. But as the season unfolded, it proved to be an active period of tropical cyclone formation and exceeded averages for storm numbers and intensities. Here, the Allianz Commercial natural catastrophe risk analysis team looks back on the season’s notable events and some of the estimated insurance industry losses incurred.