Allianz Commercial appoints new ART head

Allianz Commercial has announced that Lara Martiner (pictured) will become the new global head of alternative risk transfer at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE (AGCS), with effect from April 1, 2025. She succeeds Grant Maxwell, who leaves Allianz at the end of June, and will maintain her current role as chief executive of AGCS subsidiary Allianz Risk Transfer AG.

Alternative risk transfer is a strategic growth area for Allianz Commercial, with increasing demand from clients looking to complement their traditional risk transfer programs with non-traditional solutions. These include structured insurance, captive fronting, and bespoke risk solutions such as parametrics and sustainable solutions. In 2024, the alternative risk transfer unit underwrote over €2.0 billion in gross written premium including fronting premiums. 

A trained lawyer, Martiner has been with Allianz Group for more than 14 years, originally joining in 2011 as legal counsel, head of compliance and location head in Zurich. Since that time, she has held a variety of increasingly senior roles in AGCS and the alternative risk transfer organisation, including joining the executive board of Allianz Risk Transfer AG in October 2021, and taking on the role of chief executive and general counsel one year ago.   

Vanessa Maxwell, chief underwriting officer at Allianz Commercial, said: “Congratulations to Lara on her appointment to this key role in our business and I look forward to working with her. Alternative Risk Transfer is an area of key growth for us, and I have every confidence that she will continue to build on our capabilities and expertise, for the benefit of our wider business in future. I would also like to thank Grant for his capable and effective leadership of this business unit over the last five years and his almost 17 years with Allianz Group.”

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