Anne Arvia was recently named president and chief operating officer of Nationwide Direct, Affinity and Growth Solutions, which includes the Columbus, Ohio-based company's direct property and casualty sales channel, specialty insurance affinity partnerships and Veterinary Pet Insurance.

She joined Nationwide in 2006 as president of Nationwide Bank before becoming leader of Retirement Plans in 2009. Prior to joining Nationwide, she spent 15 years at ShoreBank in Chicago.

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

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

Anne Arvia—It was a very deliberate choice. I wanted a change in industry. I spent 20-25 years in the banking space, which I loved, and saw continued, huge opportunities there.

But when I looked at my next move, I looked at the insurance industry and saw its relative complexity and diversity of product that is changing pretty rapidly. That allowed me some opportunities and challenges personally to grow in an area where I thought my previous experience could apply pretty directly.

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

PC360—Why move from financial services to property and casualty?

AA—Nationwide is dominated by property and casualty. As a leader in the organization, planning to be here a long time, one of the pieces of background I did not have experience in was property and casualty. This is a terrific way for me to broaden my knowledge in this space and gain more leadership opportunities.

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

AA –There are so many similarities and challenges.

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

The business is in very good shape. The question is how do we take 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 the details of understanding the business, but how do we take it to that next level.

PC360—What exactly is that next level?

AA—Integration between direct, affinity and our agents is really, really critical. But it is important that as the market shifts that we make sure the consumers' experience is exceptional; that they bind their policies in the way they choose, whether that is online, call center or use an agent.

PC360—Agents remain a huge part of Nationwide's business. How will the agents' business meld with the direct business?

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

We are partnering with our agents, working with them to understand that this is an opportunity for them as well. Our job is that, for the customer, this appears seamless and very transparent going from online to the agent, because in the end what we care about is that it creates business and policies in force for Nationwide in total.

PC360 – Do you have personal expectations coming into this new role?

AA—Yes. My personal expectations are to satisfy the plan in place today to gain more stability and growth for the business. Nationwide has 86 years of stability and it is important to make sure that the capital strength stays and continues.

PC360—You did a couple of YouTube videos for the financial services division. Do you plan on doing the same for the P&C direct market? How big a role will social media play going forward?

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

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