Corgi Insurance appoints Joe Els as Head of Portfolio Risk

SAN FRANCISCO, June 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Corgi, an AI-native insurance company, has announced the appointment of Johannes "Joe" Els as Head of Portfolio Risk as it expands into a broad range of new commercial insurance lines.

In his new role, Els will lead Corgi's insurance portfolio monitoring and risk strategy, overseeing portfolio risk discipline, reserving, technical pricing, and capital model oversight across the company's full-stack carrier group.

Els joins Corgi from Policy Expert, where he served as interim Head of Risk and Reserving, leading portfolio management and reserving. Prior to that, he spent nearly seven years as Head Actuary at Motability Operations, where he led reserve reviews, technical pricing, and capital model calibration.

A Chartered Actuary Fellow with more than 20 years in general insurance, Els has held actuarial and pricing roles across the market. He built the algorithmic logic behind a commercial Property Owners underwriting platform at Allianz, priced mid-market, SME, and MGA business at RSA, managed portfolios at Brit Insurance and its Lloyd's syndicate, and managed medical schemes at Medscheme in Cape Town.

Els joins a growing roster of senior insurance industry veterans at Corgi, including Jeremy Eisemann, who was named Head of Government Affairs and Associate General Counsel after serving in senior roles at the Reinsurance Association of America and Liberty Mutual. The hires reflect Corgi's continued investment in deep insurance expertise as it scales.

Nicolas Laqua, CEO and Co-Founder of Corgi, said, "Joe's experience spanning actuarial science, pricing, reserving, and capital management makes him exceptionally well-suited to support Corgi's continued growth."

"I am excited to join Corgi at such an important time for the insurance industry," Els said. "Corgi pairs serious insurance expertise with a fresh approach to how technology and data can improve underwriting, and after two decades in the market, I am excited to help build the portfolio risk discipline needed to support that growth. I look forward to turning complex risk into clear, commercial insight as the company expands into new lines."

About Corgi

Corgi is an AI-native insurance carrier built for high-growth companies. By combining proprietary underwriting technology, in-house claims handling, and modern insurance infrastructure, with decades of insurance expertise, Corgi helps businesses secure coverage faster and manage risk more effectively as they scale. Since its founding, Corgi has raised $374 million, most recently at a $2.6B valuation.

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SOURCE Corgi