News ReleaseSchaumburg, Ill.March 17, 2026

Zurich E&S appoints Margaret Melnik as Head of E&S Property

Melnik succeeds William “Merritt” Oliver, who is retiring after 25 years of outstanding service to Zurich

Zurich E&S today announced the promotion of Margaret Melnik to Senior Vice President, Head of E&S Property, effective immediately.

In her new role, Melnik will lead Zurich E&S’s Property organization, overseeing underwriting strategy and execution, portfolio management, product development and wholesale producer engagement for the property lines of business. She will have responsibility for the overall strategy and profitability of Zurich E&S Property, which is focused exclusively on the wholesale distribution channel.

“As Zurich E&S continues our journey as a dedicated wholesale property market, I am pleased to have a leader of Margaret’s technical caliber, market knowledge, and management capability leading our E&S Property team,” said Christopher Lewis, President of Zurich E&S. “Her experience and leadership will be instrumental as we continue to deliver flexible, disciplined solutions for our wholesale broker partners.” 

Melnik brings more than 20 years of property underwriting experience to the role, with deep expertise across all forms of specialized property risks. She has held senior underwriting and leadership roles at Crum & Forster and Zurich North America, and most recently served as Vice President, Regional Manager for Zurich E&S Property.

Zurich E&S Property provides wholesale only commercial property solutions for risks that fall outside standard market appetite, offering flexible capacity structures—from quota share participation to excess and ground up solutions—supported by experienced underwriting teams and Zurich’s risk engineering capabilities.

Melnik succeeds William “Merritt” Oliver, who is retiring after 25 years of outstanding service to Zurich U.S.

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