Beazley chief executive to depart after Zurich acquisition

Adrian Cox will be leaving Beazley following Zurich completing its acquisition of the insurer.

Zurich agreed to purchase Beazley in February 2026, with the court sanctioning the scheme in September 2026.

The deal was complete on 1 October 2026. In a statement a day later, Zurich said that Kristof Terryn has been appointed chief executive at Beazley and Zurich Global Specialty,.

Cox will be leaving Beazley as the organisation begins its next phase. He took up the role in April 2021 after serving as chief underwriting officer.

Mario Greco, group chief executive at Zurich, said: “We would like to thank Cox for his leadership of Beazley over many years.

”Terryn’s extensive experience, combined with his understanding of the specialty market and the strengths that have made Beazley successful, will now position the business for a new phase of growth.”

Acquisition plans

Zurich said the acquisition brings together “two highly complementary businesses to create the world’s largest specialty insurance business, headquartered in London”.

Greco said: “By integrating Beazley into our global specialty business, we will accelerate growth and we will bring new very relevant solutions to our existing clients.

”Beazley’s underwriters will have immediate access to our distribution model and will join our customer service teams.”

He added that “London is one of the world’s leading insurance markets and has already been chosen as the natural base for our global specialty business.

”Zurich has been operating in the UK for more than a century and we know the strength of the market, its talent and its role in shaping the industry’s future,” Greco said.

”Joining Lloyd’s of London for the first time is an important step, giving us access to a unique platform for capital, product and service innovation, specialist underwriting and global reach.”