The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. announced July 16 the appointment of Juan Andrade as president and chief operating office of its property-casualty operations, effective immediately. He will continue to report directly to Hartford chairman and CEO Ramani Ayer and will serve as a member of the office of the chairman.
Andrade's previous industry experience includes leadership positions with The Progressive Corp. and American International Group. Most recently, he served as executive vice president of The Hartford's sales and distribution.
AA&B recently spoke with Andrade in his previous position in a discussion of the insurer's marketing and distribution strategy. Read "Juan Andrade speaks on the future of The Hartford."
In light of his new appointment, he spoke with us again on his plans for leading The Hartford's property-casualty unit.
AA&B: You've worked with Progressive, AIG, and within Hartford in the claims and distribution area. What strengths will you bring from this experience to your new position?
Andrade: I have been involved virtually all aspects of this industry, including underwriting, pricing, sales, and general management roles. This background provides me with a holistic view of how a property-casualty company runs, which is critical in my new position. This experience means I've grown up in the business and has been extremely helpful in connecting with Hartford's employees.
AA&B What do you believe Hartford's current strengths and weaknesses are in the property-casualty arena, and how do you plan on exploiting or improving them?
Andrade: Our strengths start with our people, who are a tremendously creative and loyal group of employees. Another strength is our underwriting discipline and our focus on the right risk for the right price, which is a huge advantage. The fact that our first-quarter results still show us running at a 90 combined ratio is pretty phenomenal, especially in this economy. Also, the loyalty we have with our distributors is unique and unparalleled in our industry.
Our culture of service is another unique strength of the company. For example, J.D. Power just rated The Hartford among the top three carriers in the country for services operations and claims.
AA&B: What do you see are your biggest challenges in your new position, and how will you tackle them?
Andrade: As far as challenges, probably the biggest right now is the macroeconomic environment we're dealing with as business owners. As I mentioned in our previous discussion, fewer employees and fewer payrolls means less business, especially as small business owners struggle with liquidity and maintaining inventories. But we're well positioned to take advantage of the market when the economy turns around.
AA&B: What are you considering in the way of new products and services?
Andrade: The key things have to do with launching our healthcare practice, particularly in workers' compensation and property, targeting midsized hospitals (see previous Web exclusive). We're also in the process of piloting and launching a renewable energy practice focused on wind and solar power. And we're still focused on our construction practice, in which we recently launched wrap-ups for larger, loss-sensitive accounts and infrastructure, where we've been very successful so far.
We're also constantly improving our pricing and underwriting methodology and working on better models to improve our writing of general liability, property and other coverages. We have a great competitive advantage and we're working to make it better.
AA&B: Who will be taking over your position as head of marketing and distribution?
Andrade: We're looking to have the position filled very soon; my goal is to select an internal candidate. I plan to work very closely with him or her. Frankly, I will miss the day-to-day relationships I have with our large agents and brokers throughout the country.
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