Worcester, Mass.-based Hanover Insurance Group Inc. said yesterday that it has named Joseph M. Zubretsky president and chief executive officer, effective June 20.
He will replace current President and CEO Frederick H. Eppinger, who is retiring.
Most recently, Zubretsky was CEO of Healthagen Holdings, a group of healthcare services and information technology companies owned by Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna Inc., through Sept. 30, 2015. He and Eppinger will be working closely together over the next few weeks to manage a smooth transition, Hanover said.
Zubretsky, 59, has more than 35 years of experience in the insurance and financial services industries. Prior to heading Healthagen, he was senior executive vice president at National Businesses — a $10 billion Aetna company that provides health insurance to multinational companies, and Aetna's executive vice president and chief financial officer.
PropertyCasualty360.com Senior Editor Rosalie Donlon spoke with Zubretsky after his selection was announced:
PC360: How do you feel about making the transition from healthcare insurance to Property & Casualty (P&C)?
Joseph M. Zubretsky: I've had a long career — more than 35 years — working with all kinds of insurance. I started my working life at Coopers & Lybrand as an accountant, becoming a partner of its national insurance industry group, and the foundational elements of insurance are quite similar. Taking my approach to building innovative and new platforms, leveraging distribution channels, and producing a differentiated experience for our agents and ultimately our policyholders, while slightly different in P&C, I'm still operating with the same mandate that I've had in other aspects of my career.
PC360: Do you find parallels between the various lines of business in terms of the issues insurance companies face?
Zubretsky: The P&C industry, particularly small commercial lines products and personal lines products at one end of the spectrum are highly commoditized and at the other end are highly specialized. As the economy changes and risks become more complex, there is a lot to do to keep the product portfolio fresh and robust in the marketplace across all lines. We all face the same issues: Direct-to-consumer competitors are intruding on agency business. Consumerism — that is, people wanting a mobile experience instead of an interactive experience — is spreading. All insurers are using big data to understand risks and customers better. These general themes in what's happening in insurance and the risk management space are common to all lines of business.
PC360: What do you think will be your biggest challenges as the new CEO of Hanover Insurance Group?
Zubretsky: I'll be going out, listening and learning for the first 60 to 90 days to understand our agency partnerships. I've dealt with the independent agency model in past positions, and I believe that understanding the potential of the independent agency distribution channel will be critical.
It's also important for me to understand Hanover's technical capabilities and whether that's leverageable globally or domestically. First and foremost, what I'll be doing early on is learning at a granular level the capabilities and platforms that Hanover has, for example, in risk management, risk selection, pricing or service, and how they can be leveraged to optimum value.
As strategies develop, we'll look to product adjacencies that will serve our channel. As homes get smart, cars get driverless and the world changes, you have to keep your product portfolio fresh so that it's relevant in the marketplace.
Risks — domestic and global — change as we move from a manufacturing economy to a service economy to an information economy. Some risks that we insure today weren't even thought to be risks five years ago. We have to be really in tune with the market and the consuming economy. A company like Hanover has to be where small business is headed, where consumers are headed, and where wealth is being accumulated so it can keep its portfolio aligned with market needs.
PC360: What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the P&C industry?
Zubretsky: In the lines of business in which Hanover plays, the Main Street agents and brokers for decades have been the lifeblood of the insurance economy. That's not going to change in the near future. But the channel faces headwinds from direct writers, and challenges on the benefits side of the business. Staying in tune with what our agent/partners need and how we at Hanover can help them be successful in their marketplace is critical.
The other challenge the industry faces is the issue of insurance GDP and middle market. Small-business and small-nation GDP is down, and its being over-regulated and over-taxed. The small-business middle market is really difficult right now, and that's what we insure. It's a challenge we all face.
PC360: What are you looking forward to most about your new position?
Zubretsky: It's all about the people that I'll be working with at Hanover. The management team is steeped in P&C subject matter, they're experts in this area, and the board is committed to driving above-market total shareholder return. I'm proud to have been selected by the board, and I look forward to partnering with the Hanover management team to be differentiated in the marketplace.
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