The U.S. arm of Generali Group launched its new Global Construction Insurance practice and has hired a former Allianz executive to run it.

Greg Mason will serve as vice president of Construction for Generali Global Corporate & Commercial U.S.A. He’ll help build the new Global Construction Insurance practice with a focus on providing builder’s risk cover. Mason was most recently executive underwriter at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty.

“The launch of our new Global Construction Insurance practice is a key step forward as the U.S. branch of Generali Global Corporate & Commercial continues to expand,” Andrew Sims, senior vice president, Property & Construction at Generali Global Corporate & Commercial U.S.A., said in prepared remarks.

Beyond Allianz, Mason also has previous construction insurance-related experience from stints at American International Group and Zurich Insurance. Focus areas included claims, account management and underwriting.

The Global Construction Insurance division will initially target projects in areas including infrastructure, high rise residential and civil engineering. It will also have customizable builder’s risk coverage that target risks such as catastrophe perils, commissioning and hot testing, contractor expenses, delay in startup and LEG & DE endorsements.

Generali has made other moves in 2016 to grow its U.S. market presence in potentially lucrative areas. In April, Generali’s Global Corporate & Commercial U.S.A. launched a property insurance product for U.S.-based multinational corporations. The division itself launched three years ago.

Generali itself has had a U.S. branch for more than 50 years, with about 1,200 people working in the U.S. under brands including Europ Assistance and Generali Employee benefits.

Source: Generali