GEICO insurance office. Photo: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock.com
A familiar face in GEICO's legal department is taking over as general counsel as the company and several other large insurers face lawsuits related to alleged insufficient auto policy discounts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Berkshire Hathaway-owned insurance giant based in Chevy Chase, Maryland, recently announced that the GEICO board of directors had promoted Jonathan Shafner to general counsel and vice president.
Shafner joined GEICO in 1986 as an attorney and went on to serve as senior counsel, assistant general counsel and assistant secretary. In 2017, he stepped up to take on the deputy GC position.
Jonathan Shafner, deputy general counsel of GEICO. Courtesy photo Shafner succeeds Hank Nayden, who began working for GEICO in 1992 and reached the chief lawyer seat in 2017. Nayden has retired, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Nayden served as a recent chair-elect of the IIHS.
A GEICO spokesman said Shafner was not available for an interview and did not provide additional details about his promotion.
Shafner is a graduate of the Western New England University School of Law in Springfield, Massachusetts.
As he takes the helm of GEICO's legal department, policyholders are alleging in lawsuits filed in Illinois that the insurer unfairly profited from high rates that were disproportionate to decreased driving habits as people sheltered in place during the coronavirus outbreak.
Other insurers named in the suits, which could become a class action, include Allstate, which also named a new general counsel in the last week; Progressive and Travelers.
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