QBE North America, an operating division of QBE Insurance Group, today announced two executive appointments in the Property & Casualty business to further support their company's Commercial Insurance growth strategy.

Jamie Luce will lead the Property & Casualty Commercial Insurance business as Senior Vice President. Reporting to Jamie, Julie Hespe has also recently joined QBE as a Product Leader for the company's Commercial portfolio. Based in New York, NY, Mr. Luce will report to Kathleen O. Zortman, President, Property & Casualty.

Mr. Luce joins QBE with extensive underwriting, sales and operations leadership experience. He has a strong background in strategy and operational excellence, as well as proven success in driving significant results in the middle market space. In this new role as Senior Vice President, Commercial Insurance, he will oversee all of the QBE North America Commercial business. His leadership will help narrow the focus of their growth strategy and deepen the specialization in this market.

Ms. Hespe, a highly skilled commercial insurance executive, comes to QBE with substantial expertise in leading top-line growth through program development and underwriting excellence. As Product Leader for QBE's Commercial portfolio, she will help bolster the overall Commercial performance through enhanced performance analysis, while ensuring alignment with customer needs.

"Bringing in world-class talent like Jamie and Julie will further position our integrated specialist insurer strategy for success. Our Commercial portfolio represents a significant presence in the market and these leaders will drive profitable growth in this important segment," said Russ Johnston, Chief Executive Officer, QBE North America.

Ms. Zortman echoed Mr. Johnston's comments, and added, "These appointments showcase our commitment to our Commercial business strategy. They each bring seasoned leadership to round out our Property & Casualty team, while sharpening our focus on expert underwriting and superior service."

Mr. Luce built a highly successful middle market business over the past 14 years with Liberty Mutual Group, through his underwriting leadership. In his most recent Chief Underwriting Officer role, he was responsible for overseeing Liberty Mutual's Business Insurance segment.

He spent his early career in various positions with Wausau Insurance Company, the Westfield Group and AIG.

Ms. Hespe led program development and strategy as an Executive Vice President for the MGA and brokerage group, BlueSkyRisk. She also held various leadership positions at AIG, AIG Environmental, Swiss Re and AIU International Environmental.

About QBE

QBE North America is part of QBE Insurance Group Limited, one of the largest insurers and reinsurers worldwide. QBE NA reported Gross Written Premiums in 2016 of $4.4 billion. QBE Insurance Group's 2016 results can be found at www.qbena.com. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, QBE operates out of 37 countries around the globe, with a presence in every key insurance market. The North America division, headquartered in New York, conducts business through its property and casualty insurance subsidiaries. QBE insurance companies are rated "A" (Excellent) by A.M. Best and "A+" by Standard & Poor's. Additional information can be found at www.qbena.com, or follow QBE North America on Twitter.