Cover-More Group announces new CEO amid merger

Cover-More Group announces new CEO amid merger | Insurance Business New Zealand

Travel

Seasoned leader takes dual role

Travel

By
Roxanne Libatique

Cover-More Group, a subsidiary of Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) specialising in travel insurance and assistance, has named David Fike as its new CEO, effective immediately.

Fike (pictured) is currently the head of life, accident & health (LAH) for Zurich’s North America division.

He joined Zurich in 2014 and has held various significant positions, including CEO of General Insurance Malaysia and president director of Adira-Indonesia, where he managed integration efforts following Zurich’s acquisition of Adira.

Cover-More Group’s new CEO

Fike will retain his current responsibilities overseeing Zurich’s North America LAH business while taking on his new role at Cover-More Group. He will report to Cara Morton, CEO of Zurich Global Ventures.

Commenting on the leadership appointment, Morton emphasised Fike’s deep experience in the LAH sector as essential for leading the integration and driving Cover-More Group’s growth.

“David’s extensive experience in the life, accident & health market makes him the ideal leader to guide our team through this transition, drive our travel business forward, and further strengthen our market position,” she said.

“Justin Sebire has been an exceptional interim CEO for Cover-More Group and will now return to his role as group CFO of Cover-More,” she said.

The acquisition will merge AIG Travel with Cover-More Group, significantly enhancing Zurich’s footprint in the US travel insurance market. This combined entity is expected to generate around US$2 billion in annual gross written premiums.

“This appointment comes at a pivotal time as we immediately move into the integration phase following our recent agreement to acquire AIG’s travel business. With this strategic combination of the travel businesses, North America will become Cover-More Group’s largest region,” Morton said.

Aside from the acquisition, Zurich recently partnered with Aon to launch a new clean energy insurance facility, aiming to provide comprehensive insurance coverage for blue and green hydrogen projects with capital expenditures up to $250 million.