Zurich North America names new Head of Professional Liability & Cyber

Veteran underwriter Kara Higginbotham to lead team of underwriters serving large corporate and middle market customers

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., April 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Zurich North America, a leading provider of commercial property and casualty insurance, has named Kara Higginbotham as Head of Professional Liability and Cyber for U.S. National Accounts, leading a team of underwriters who serve Zurich's largest U.S. corporate and Middle Market companies.

In her new role, Higginbotham will be responsible for development and execution of the underwriting strategy for retail Professional Liability and Cyber insurance offerings. She also will collaborate with Excess & Surplus teams as well as the SpearTip Cyber Risk Management team within Zurich Resilience Solutions. She will report to Brian Zink, Head of Financial Lines for U.S. National Accounts. 

"Kara has more than 16 years of Financial Lines underwriting experience and brings technical acumen as well as strong relationships with customers and brokers to the role," Zink said. "Her deep understanding of the current portfolio adds to her qualifications for this position."

Higginbotham joined Zurich as the Head of Corporate Accounts for the Professional Liability and Cyber team in 2018. She most recently led the Corporate Accounts segment of the Professional Liability and Cyber liability team, focusing on providing solutions for large companies with respect to Security & Privacy; Miscellaneous Professional Liability; Technology Errors & Omissions; and Employed Lawyers Liability coverages. She will continue to lead the Corporate Accounts team until her successor is named.

"In this new role, I look forward to the opportunity to serve Zurich's Professional Liability & Cyber team in a broader capacity along with the rest of the management team, Robert Malone [Head of Middle Market Professional Liability and Cyber] and Stephen Pannucci [Head of Wholesale Professional Liability and Cyber]," Higginbotham said. "We will continue to explore areas for profitable growth and ways to support our customers' needs now and in the future."  

Earlier in her career, Higginbotham held various underwriting roles with another insurance provider and a mortgage due diligence company.

She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance at The University of Texas at Austin. She also is a Registered Professional Liability Underwriter.

Learn about Zurich Professional Liability insurance here.

Learn more about Zurich Cyber insurance here.

About Zurich North America 

SOURCE Zurich North America