president and chief executive of Bermuda based catastrophe reinsurer International Property Catastrophe Holdings Ltd. (IPC).

Mr. Dowling, who is also CEO of IPC's subsidiary International Property Catastrophe Reinsurance Company Ltd., succeeds former Independent Sen. Joe Johnson.

With an insurance career spanning some 30 years, Mr. Dowling was most recently the executive director of Eagle Star Holdings and Managing Director of Eagle Star Reinsurance Company Ltd. in London, after holding top management posts at several major UK insurers.

Mr. Johnson stays on as chairman of the board and as a director of the two companies.

IPC Holdings Ltd. is a Bermuda corporation, in which American International Group, Inc. holds a 24.4 percent stake.