USQRisk CEO Moreno departing and being succeeded by Zipper and Bavishi

By Chris Munro

July 11 - (The Insurer) - USQRisk founder and CEO Anibal Moreno is leaving the alternative risk transfer-focused MGA “to focus on personal interests,” with president Michael Zipper and chief underwriting officer Parag Bavishi stepping up to jointly succeed him at the company’s helm.

Moreno will step down from USQRisk on July 31, with Zipper and Bavishi assuming their new roles as co-CEOs on August 1.

USQRisk was formed in 2020 before officially launching in early 2021, with Moreno leading the business from the start, supported by several of his former Allianz colleagues, including Zipper and Bavishi.

In early April, it was announced that Ryan Specialty had agreed to acquire USQRisk. That transaction, which completed in May, saw Ryan Specialty pay $30.5 million cash for the MGA.

“As USQ enters an exciting new chapter following the acquisition by Ryan Specialty, I’ll be stepping down – grateful, proud and inspired by our accomplishments and thankful to the team and everyone that supported our mission along the way,” said Moreno in a statement issued on Friday.

“It’s been a privilege to work alongside Michael Zipper and Parag Bavishi for over a decade.

“Their insights, expertise and unwavering drive make them the perfect leaders to carry USQ’s vision forward. While I’m stepping away, I will remain a passionate believer in USQ and look forward to watching its continued impact, from a different vantage point,” Moreno added.

Zipper will move into the co-CEO role from his current role as president. At USQRisk, he leads structuring solutions and risk financing strategies for (re)insureds and risk takers, utilizing traditional property and casualty, credit and financial products.

Prior to joining USQRisk, Zipper was a senior executive and general counsel of Allianz’s alternative risk transfer and insurance linked securities/collateralized reinsurance businesses.

Bavishi has over 20 years of experience in the alternative risk transfer and risk finance (re)insurance segments.

At USQRisk, Bavishi currently oversees pricing, underwriting and portfolio management for the MGA. He also maintains the (re)insurance relationships for the MGA’s alternative risk transfer business.

“Since USQ’s founding five years ago, Anibal has consistently brought, innovation and leadership to the company’s evolution,” said Zipper and Bavishi in a joint statement.

“We are grateful to Anibal for his vision and courage to build a first-of-its-kind MGA concept and the years he devoted to growing the business.

“As co-CEOs of USQ, we look forward to carrying forward USQ’s mission to deliver innovative, bespoke risk solutions to our clients,” they added.

Moreno’s departure is the second notable exit from USQRisk since it was acquired by Ryan Specialty.

As this publication revealed in May, USQRisk’s head of casualty Ashleigh Sears left the business, before joining Everest Insurance as head of alternative risk and national accounts excess casualty for North America insurance.