Zurich Appoints Cloud Saungweme as Chief Claims Officer and JP Blignaut as Chief Underwriting Officer

JP Blignaut

Appointment: Chief Claims Officer

Cloud Saungweme has been appointed to the position of Chief Claims Officer of Zurich Insurance Company South Africa effective 1 September 2012.

With over 20 years’ experience in the short term insurance industry, most recently as the Head of Claims Operations at Zurich South Africa, Cloud’s previous roles include Claims Operations Superintendent at AIG South Africa; Claims Operations Supervisor at Protea Insurance (acquired by Mutual & Federal); Assistant Claims Operations Manager at Rand Mutual Assurance and, most recently, General Manager Operations at Hollard Insurance.

Cloud holds various industry related qualifications including a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Demontfort, a Fellow of the Insurance Institute of South Africa and an executive leadership course from the University of Stellenbosch.

In this role, Cloud reports to Edwyn O’Neill, CEO of Zurich South Africa and joins the Executive Team.

Appointment: Chief Underwriting Officer

JP Blignaut was appointed to the position of Chief Underwriting Officer of Zurich Insurance Company South Africa effective 15 September 2012.

A commercially focused and results oriented actuary, JP has over 16 years’ experience across Africa, Europe and Asia. JP was previously the Chief Actuary at RSA Insurance Group in Asia and the Middle East region where he built actuarial and pricing capabilities across eight countries.

JP holds a BComm (Hons) from the University of Stellenbosch and is a Fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries UK. His experience of building effective teams and his focus on the commercial side will benefit the South African operation enormously.

In this role, JP reports to Edwyn O’Neill, CEO of Zurich South Africa and joins the Executive Team.