Assurant Solutions has announces the appointment of Mike Balsley as president and CEO for its European business unit.

The unit comprises the UK, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Germany.

Balsley has more than 30 years of experience in the banking and insurance industries and has been with Assurant Solutions and one of its predecessor companies for more than 14 years. He has spent the last two years as senior vice president, China, to support the Assurant Solutions effort to enter into its heavily regulated credit insurance market.

Prior to China, he was senior vice president, sales and marketing for the creditor business.

Balsley said: “The centralised European operating structure that we introduced 18-months ago has given us real competitive advantage. It has given us the flexibility our clients require and enables us to produce and launch products and services that are tailored to their needs.