Zurich Canada names new CEO

Zurich Insurance has appointed Saad Mered as CEO and chief agent of Zurich Canada, effective Oct. 1, 2018.

Mered is currently chief claims officer for Zurich Insurance Group. He will be assuming the chief agent role from David Levinson, who will work together with Mered during the transition. Levinson will be returning to the United States to explore other opportunities at Zurich.

Mered joined Zurich in 2008 as CEO for Zurich Middle East, where he developed and led an accelerated growth strategy across six countries. In 2010, he was appointed CEO of general insurance for the Middle East and Africa. He became chief claims officer for the Zurich Group in 2014 and has been a “driving force for modernizing and re-imagining the global claims function while helping to raise customer service levels,” Zurich said in its announcement of the appointment Tuesday. Mered started his professional career in 1994 at AIG, where he held various positions during his tenure with the company.

Mered will report to Zurich North America CEO Kathleen Savio.

He holds a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley.

“Saad’s knowledge of Zurich and our people, his proven ability to foster valuable relationships with customers and brokers, and his drive for innovation and execution will continue to position our important Canadian business to deliver top-tier performance,” said Savio.

In North America, Zurich provides a variety of insurance products and services, including workers’ compensation, liability, property, specialty and F&I (finance and insurance) for a number of major industries, such as construction, auto dealers and technology.