Zurich Canada in August 2018 appointed John Thain as Vice President, Travel, Accident & Sickness. He is based in Toronto and reports to Greg Irvine, head of Specialty Products for Canada.

He will be responsible for launching personal leisure travel, business travel accident and supporting accident and sickness products in Canada. Zurich Canada expects to begin selling personal travel products by the start of 2019.

According to Zurich, the global travel insurance market has grown from $12 billion in 2012 to $18 billion in 2016. The group already offers a global portfolio of travel insurance and assistance services under the umbrella of specialist provider Cover-More, which Zurich acquired in 2017 and grew in 2018 through the acquisition of the Travel Ace and Universal Assistance brands.

Before joining Zurich, Thain held roles as an independent consultant, underwriter and program administrator. He holds an Honors Bachelor of Mathematics (B. Math) degree from the University of Waterloo, Canada; he majored in Actuarial Science and Computer Science. He is a Fellow in the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. and a past president of the Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada.