Anne Arvia was recently named president and chief operatingofficer of Nationwide Direct, Affinity and Growth Solutions, whichincludes the Columbus, Ohio-based company's direct property andcasualty sales channel, specialty insurance affinity partnershipsand Veterinary Pet Insurance.

She joined Nationwide in 2006 as president of Nationwide Bankbefore becoming leader of Retirement Plans in 2009. Prior tojoining Nationwide, she spent 15 years at ShoreBank in Chicago.

PC360.com asked Arivia to discuss the move and the future ofthis business segment.

PC360— Why did you decide to make themove from banking to insurance?

Anne Arvia—It was a very deliberatechoice. I wanted a change in industry. I spent 20-25 years in thebanking space, which I loved, and saw continued, huge opportunitiesthere.

But when I looked at my next move, I looked at the insuranceindustry and saw its relative complexity and diversity of productthat is changing pretty rapidly. That allowed me some opportunitiesand challenges personally to grow in an area where I thought myprevious experience could apply pretty directly.

Coming to Nationwide and starting the bank put my foot in thedoor to the broader insurance world.

PC360—Why move from financial servicesto property and casualty?

AA—Nationwide is dominated by propertyand casualty. As a leader in the organization, planning to be herea long time, one of the pieces of background I did not haveexperience in was property and casualty. This is a terrific way forme to broaden my knowledge in this space and gain more leadershipopportunities.

PC360 – In making this move, what isthe learning curve for you?

AA –There are so many similarities andchallenges.

The competitive pressure working in a national company having alocalized experience, I've already dealt with that in the bank andretirement-plan space.

The business is in very good shape. The question is how do wetake it to that next level? This is an area very focused on growth.So what I am able to bring to the organization is not so much thedetails of understanding the business, but how do we take it tothat next level.

PC360—What exactly is that nextlevel?

AA—Integration between direct,affinity and our agents is really, really critical. But it isimportant that as the market shifts that we make sure theconsumers' experience is exceptional; that they bind their policiesin the way they choose, whether that is online, call center or usean agent.

PC360—Agents remain a huge part ofNationwide's business. How will the agents' business meld with thedirect business?

AA—That's a huge focus for Nationwide.Agents are still a significant part of our business, with 85percent of the book today. Even though 80 percent of shoppers startonline, only 24 percent end up binding online. There is still asignificant desire on the part of the buyer to either talk withsomeone direct on the phone or through our group of agents.

We are partnering with our agents, working with them tounderstand that this is an opportunity for them as well. Our job isthat, for the customer, this appears seamless and very transparentgoing from online to the agent, because in the end what we careabout is that it creates business and policies in force forNationwide in total.

PC360 – Do you have personalexpectations coming into this new role?

AA—Yes. My personal expectations areto satisfy the plan in place today to gain more stability andgrowth for the business. Nationwide has 86 years of stability andit is important to make sure that the capital strength stays andcontinues.

PC360—You did a couple of YouTubevideos for the financial services division. Do you plan on doingthe same for the P&C direct market? How big a role will socialmedia play going forward?

AA—[YouTube] may be part of thesocial-media plan, but our company and agents are very involved insocial media. We see social media as an opportunity to educate[policyholders] and get broad brand awareness into that space. Itis imperative for Nationwide to be in that space because that iswhere the people we are trying to talk to are.