Chubb appoints NFS CEO to lead North America flood insurance

Property/casualty insurer Chubb has appointed Louis Hobson as senior vice president of flood insurance for its North America operations.

In this new role, Hobson will work in conjunction with Chubb's personal and commercial lines of business, and lead efforts centered on the development and implementation of strategies to further broaden the delivery of the company's suite of flood coverage offerings throughout North America.

He will also have responsibility for underwriting, strategy, and product development, as well as share profit and loss (P&L) performance responsibilities with business leaders of Chubb's personal and commercial lines.

Prior to joining Chubb, Hobson served in a variety of senior leadership positions including chief executive officer of National Flood Services (NFS), a providers of technology-enabled risk and business process services in flood insurance in the US; executive vice president of Aon National Flood Services; and principal at the Boston Consulting Group.

"Chubb recognises that extreme weather events are increasing in both frequency and severity, which is why we have deployed a flood center of excellence focused on providing greater flood protection to our personal and commercial clients," said Derek Talbott, division president of Chubb's North America property & specialty lines. "Our flood practice is designed to meet the needs of those businesses and consumers who are currently underserved by existing public offerings available in the marketplace. The benefits of private flood insurance include more comprehensive coverage and higher limits than what is currently available."

Talbott added: "Chubb's flood center of excellence, with Louis at the helm, underscores Chubb's commitment to providing better access to comprehensive flood insurance, enabling us to more effectively address the needs of our customers. Louis' background and extensive experience in this area serves as a strong complement to our industry-leading underwriting, servicing, and claims handling capabilities."

Hobson said: "Flooding is the most common and costly natural disaster, and everyone is susceptible to flooding. Better education about the associated risks and the need to have the right protection in place is paramount. There is an enormous opportunity to increase the adoption of flood insurance and I will focus on working with our broker and agent partners to increase overall awareness about this type of exposure and the Chubb solutions available to help their clients ensure the right protections are in place."

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