Economical Insurance, a Canada-based property and casualty insurer, has appointed Edward Berko as chief risk officer.

Berko joins Economical with more than 25 years of experience in the field of enterprise risk management. As CRO, he is accountable for developing and maintaining comprehensive processes for identifying, assessing, measuring, monitoring, reporting and, where appropriate, reducing pertinent risks that could interfere with the company's objectives and goals.

Berko works closely with line management, actuarial, finance, legal, reinsurance and investments and deals with other key corporate governance and control functions, including internal audit, fraud, compliance, corporate investigations and information security. In this role, he reports to President and Chief Executive Officer Karen Gavan. He also serves as a key member of the executive committee and chairs the management risk committee. 

Prior to joining Economical, Berko served as the chief risk officer and executive vice-president at Protective Life Insurance Company and Protective Life Corporation. He also previously was managing director and chief risk officer for the investments department at MetLife. Earlier in his career, he served in a variety of positions as a senior executive at a number of financial services, management consulting and technology companies in the delivery of risk management systems and solutions.