Hanover reveals restructuring; appoints new leaders

The Hanover Insurance Group has announced several organisational changes to drive global growth through its “go-forward” business strategy over the next five years.

As part of the Hanover 2021 strategy, the company is combining its small commercial, middle market and personal lines businesses into one division, to leverage and build on their respective strengths.

The new division called Hanover Agency Markets will be led by John Roche as president, who most recently served as president of commercial lines.

In this new role, Roche will lead the company's efforts to grow business written through the agent partners. The division will enhance existing offerings, selectively expand its risk appetite, pursue new customer segments, and grow its presence in under-penetrated geographic markets.

The Hanover has also expanded its specialty business, leveraging its existing capabilities in the US and internationally. It will now manage its domestic specialty business as a separate division, and is on the lookout for its head. The business will report to CEO Joseph Zubretsky in the interim.

The company recently  announced that its international specialty business, written through Lloyd’s insurer Chaucer, will be headed by John Fowle who has been promoted to the role of CEO.

The group has also appointed Richard Lavey to serve as chief growth innovation officer of a separate unit formed to drive innovation across its businesses. Lavey most recently served as president of personal lines and chief marketing officer.

Mark Berthiaume has been given the role of chief technology innovation officer, responsible for the delivery of technology-based solutions that provide digital platforms for the company's partners and customers, predictive analytics and other services. He most recently held the position of chief information and administration officer.

"This is an exciting time for us," said Joseph Zubretsky, president and chief executive officer of The Hanover. "Our company is well positioned financially and competitively, is nimble and agile, and adept at delivering creative solutions to the market quickly and efficiently. We are intensely focused on growing responsibly in all of our businesses, managing volatility and generating strong returns for our shareholders."

He added: "The future of our marketplace will continue to be highly competitive and dynamic. We believe our company, together with our distribution partners, is uniquely positioned to thrive and that Hanover 2021 will drive profitable growth in our business and consistent returns for our shareholders."

Zubretsky expects the successful execution of the company's go-forward strategy to result in increases in revenue and book value per share, and generate top-quartile returns on equity over the next five years.

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