Bermuda-based James River Group Holdings Ltd has appointed David Gelinne as group chief actuary.

James River said current group chief actuary Jennifer Kish has announced her intention to retire at the end of the third quarter.

The company said Mr Gelinne’s actuarial career spans more than 40 years with a deep and broad focus on non-life casualty risks.

Most recently, he served as chief actuary at Allied World Assurance Company, AG, and prior to that, as chief actuary of that company’s North American segment.

Prior to his five years at Allied World, the company said Mr Gelinne spent more than 30 years at AIG in roles of increasing seniority within the actuarial group.

At James River, he will report to chief executive officer Frank D’Orazio and be responsible for overseeing the actuarial function across the group.

Mr Gelinne said: “I am thrilled to join James River at this phase in its development and growth. I am looking forward to working closely with my new colleagues to help drive the group’s initiatives ahead in the coming years.”

Mr D’Orazio said: “It is very exciting to welcome Dave to James River. With over four decades of deep actuarial expertise, he is the right person to support our actuarial function at a key time of ongoing focus on risk management. I am looking forward to working with him again.”

He added: “I would like to thank our current chief actuary, Jennifer Kish, for her years of dedicated service to the organisation. She has been a great resource to me, and I speak for the entire James River Group in wishing her the best in her retirement.”

James River Group owns and operates a group of specialty insurance and reinsurance companies. The company operates in three specialty property-casualty insurance and reinsurance segments: Excess and surplus Lines, specialty admitted insurance and casualty reinsurance.