Zurich North America appoints new head of professional liability and cyber

Zurich North America has named Kara Higginbotham as its new head of professional liability and cyber for US national accounts. Higginbotham will lead a team of underwriters serving Zurich’s largest corporate and middle-market clients in the United States.

Higginbotham brings over 16 years of financial lines underwriting experience to the position. She began demonstrating expertise in professional liability and cyber insurance upon joining Zurich in 2018, overseeing corporate accounts, according to the firm.

Her responsibilities will now include the development and execution of the underwriting strategy for Zurich’s professional liability and cyber insurance offerings for retail customers. Additionally, she will collaborate with excess and surplus teams and the speartip cyber risk management team within Zurich Resilience Solutions.

She will report to Brian Zink, Zurich’s head of financial lines for US national accounts. She joins the management team, working alongside Robert Malone, head of middle market professional liability and cyber, and Stephen Pannucci, head of wholesale professional liability and cyber.

Zink highlighted Higginbotham’s technical acumen and strong relationships with customers and brokers. “[Kara’s] deep understanding of the current portfolio adds to her qualifications for this position,” he remarked.

Before joining Zurich, Higginbotham held various underwriting roles with another insurance provider and a mortgage due diligence company. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin and is a registered professional liability underwriter.

Higginbotham expressed enthusiasm for leading the professional liability and cyber team, noting that she looks forward to supporting Zurich’s customers and exploring new avenues for growth. She will continue to lead the corporate accounts team until her successor is named.

“We will continue to explore areas for profitable growth and ways to support our customers’ needs now and in the future,” Higginbotham said.

Have something to say about this story? Leave a comment below.