Insurance Australia Group general counsel Michael Cripps has returned to private practice and China after a five year stint in-house in Sydney.

Cripps is the latest senior appointment to be made by Clyde & Co and will be joining the firm’s global corporate insurance practice as a partner at the end of February. He will be based in Shanghai and will be focussing on developing the corporate insurance practice in China.

Prior to joining IAG, Cripps lived and worked in Shanghai for 13 years as a partner in Allens Arthur Robinson and managing director of Glenmore Trading; he has lived and worked as a lawyer in China for more than 13 years and is fully bilingual. In 2006 ALB included Cripps as someone to watch in the annual Roaring 40’s list and was named him in-house high-flyer  the same year.

His appointment follows the arrival of corporate insurance partners Bob Ansehl (New York) and William Tsang (Hong Kong) last year and brings the total number of partners in the global Corporate Insurance team to 18.

“The Chinese insurance market is incredibly exciting and we are building a first class team, with both local insight and a reputation for corporate insurance that is second to none. I look forward to helping to build the global practice both in China and across the region,” said Cripps. Andrew Holderness, global head of the corporate insurance group, said China’s total insurance premiums grew at a rate of 33% in 2010, according to the Chinese regulator, up to approximately US$751bn, in line with the country’s rapid economic development.

IAG is in the process of recruiting a replacement for Cripps.