Zurich appoints new Head of Travel for Australia and New Zealand
Zurich Financial Services Australia (Zurich Australia & New Zealand) and Zurich Cover‑More today announced the appointment of Blain Waterford as Head of Travel, Australia & New Zealand.
Mr Waterford brings more than 25 years’ experience in global consumer insurance, having worked across South Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. He has a strong track record in driving growth, transformation and consumer distribution strategies across multiple international markets.
Previously, Mr Waterford was the Global Head of Direct & Digital Marketing and Accident & Health Partnerships at AIG, where he led the direct distribution across global markets, spanning accident and health, personal lines and travel insurance. Before this, he held various senior roles at Chubb, including APAC Regional Head of Direct Marketing, Consumer Lines and Head of Retail for Australia and New Zealand.
Mr Waterford will be based in Sydney and will join the Zurich Australia & New Zealand leadership team.
Justin Delaney, CEO, Zurich Australia & New Zealand said Mr Waterford’s extensive experience will be a significant asset as Zurich’s travel business continues to grow and evolve across the region.
“Blain brings a global perspective, industry expertise, strong commercial leadership and a proven ability to deliver customer‑focused outcomes at scale. As Australia’s only major composite insurer, we are confident he will play a key role in advancing our strategy and strengthening our position in the local travel insurance market,” he said.
Donna Dorairajoo, Head of International, Zurich Cover-More said the appointment was an important step in advancing Zurich Cover-More’s purpose and commitment to supporting travellers when it matters most.
“As Zurich Insurance Group’s global travel business, Zurich Cover‑More has a strong reputation for innovation, customer care and specialist expertise. We know that Blain has the expertise to help our ANZ business to build on this momentum, strengthen our partnerships and continue delivering protection and peace of mind for travellers across Australia and New Zealand,” she said.
Commenting on his appointment, Mr Waterford said he looked forward to leading Zurich’s ANZ travel business into a new chapter and further advancing the market position and value proposition for customers and partners.
“This is a very exciting time in global travel protection and through the enhancement of our unique capabilities in ANZ, we can continue to lead the market in delivering on the expectations of travellers,” he said.
The appointment comes after Zurich’s acquisition of AIG’s Travel Guard business in 2024 and Cover-More Group in 2017.
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media@zurich.com.au
Zurich Financial Services Australia is a life insurance, commercial insurance and investments specialist that has been participating in the Australian market since 1920. Since its acquisition of OnePath Life from ANZ in 2019, the organisation provides life insurance to more than 1.5 million Australian customers under both the Zurich and OnePath Life brands. Further information about Zurich Financial Services Australia is available at www.zurich.com.au.
Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) is a leading global multi-line insurer founded more than 150 years ago, which has grown into a business serving more than 82 million customers in more than 200 countries and territories, while delivering industry-leading total shareholder returns. Reflecting its purpose to ‘create a brighter future together,’ Zurich offers protection services that go beyond traditional insurance, to support its customers in building resilience. Since 2020, the Zurich Forest project supports reforestation and biodiversity restoration in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. The Group has more than 65,000 employees and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (ZURN) is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and has a level I American Depositary Receipt (ZURVY) program, which is traded over-the-counter on OTCQX. Further information is available at www.zurich.com.
Zurich Cover-More is one of the world’s largest travel insurance and assistance providers and part of Zurich Insurance Group, a leading multi-line insurer. We stand for more care, more cover, for all, and we look after millions of the world’s travellers every year, making sure we are there every step of their journey. Our family of customer-facing brands include Travel Guard, Cover-More Travel Insurance, Travelex Insurance, Universal Assistance, World Travel Protection, Freely and Blue Insurance. We are a connected and caring workforce of more than 3000 employees with teams in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific. Zurich Cover-More has thousands of distribution partners around the world including airlines, global travel companies, leading retailers, major banks and credit card providers. Further information is available at www.zurich.com/zurich-cover-more.