QBE Optima Insurance appoints new CEO
Peter Rebrin
QBE Optima Insurance recently announced the appointment of Peter Rebrin as its CEO in Puerto Rico, as well as the reassignment of outgoing CEO, Antonio Ortiz, as a Board director. Both appointments will be effective Feb. 7.
Optima Insurance was founded by executive Antonio Ortiz in 2005 and acquired by the QBE Group in 2011. As part of the acquisition agreement, Ortiz made the commitment to stay and lead the company until 2015. During this tenure, QBE Optima has recorded an average annual growth of 25 percent in gross written premium between 2011 and 2014, the company said.
As CEO, Rebrin will be responsible “for taking the company growth to the next level through business diversification and introduction of new products that leverage the regional and global underwriting capabilities and expertise of the QBE Group. This will enable QBE Optima to serve more customer segments with a strong value proposition,” the company said in a statement.
Rebrin joined QBE in September 2014, with more than 28 years of industry experience involving various roles based in Latin America, Europe and the United States. Prior to joining QBE, he was with Zurich Insurance Group for some 15 years, having held several senior executive roles, including CEO for Latin America and global head of partnerships.
QBE Latin America Region is part of the QBE Emerging Markets Division. The QBE Group created the Emerging Markets Division in August 2014 to bring Asia Pacific and Latin America together to further unleash the business growth potential of the two regions.
QBE Latin America has a presence in seven countries in the region: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. QBE is one of the 10 largest multinational non-life insurance groups in Latin America.
