While having a brand name everyone knows gives Fireman's Fund a leg up in the market, the carrier had to overcome an "identity crisis" before it could build a new, profitable business model based on the competitive advantage its history provides, the carrier's newly elected president contends.
When Joseph Beneducci was named executive vice president and chief operating officer in May 2003, "we had one of the most recognized brands in the business, but the biggest challenge was resolving an identity crisis from the late 1990s stemming from not focusing on what we really did well and what made us distinctive in the market," he told National Underwriter in an exclusive interview here last week.
"We didn't use our own intuition," added Mr. Beneducci--who was elected president on Feb. 3, while retaining his COO title. "We talked to our agents and customers to determine what value they saw in us and what they really needed from us. We became a very disciplined organization in meeting those demands, concentrating on markets where we could distinguish ourselves by offering unique, value-added products and expert services."
Recommended For You
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
