The new division will preserve the regional model that was part of its Assurance operations and add two new overarching territories (East and West) to foster a more consistent customer experience
Image: Markel to combine its U.S. Specialty and Assurance divisions. (Credit: Pixabay/Free-Photos.)
Markel Corporation today announced it is combining its existing U.S. Insurance divisions – Assurance and Specialty – into one division called Markel Specialty, effective April 1, 2020. The new division will preserve the regional model that was part of its Assurance operations and add two new overarching territories (East and West) to foster a more consistent customer experience.
“This evolutionary change will make it even easier for our trading partners and customers to navigate Markel,” said Bryan Sanders, who will lead the newly created division as President, Markel Specialty. “By combining our Assurance and Specialty divisions, it will position us to get closer to and more efficiently serve our customers with unmatched underwriting expertise and competitive, industry-leading products.”
The company also announced four promotions related to this organizational change. Wendy Houser and Sarah Gavlick have been named to the newly created roles of Executive Territory Officers, effective immediately. Most recently, Houser was Regional President for Assurance’s Mid South region and Gavlick was Regional President for Assurance’s Northeast region.
In their new roles, Houser and Gavlick oversee the existing regional structure with the goal to further simplify Markel for its customers—making it easier for them to seamlessly access more of what Markel has to offer. Houser manages the West territory, which includes the Mid South, Midwest and West regions and Gavlick manages the East territory, made up of the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions. Both report to Sanders.
“Wendy and Sarah are proven leaders with deep industry understanding and expertise,” Sanders said. “They will help us leverage the power of the Markel platform and our regional structure to create the best customer experience in the industry.”
The company also announced the promotions of Alison Burgess to Regional President for the Northeast region and Daniel Kennedy to Regional President for the Mid South region, effective April 1. Burgess currently serves as Senior Director of Underwriting and Production, Management and Professional Liability, for the Northeast region, and Kennedy is Managing Director, leading the sales team for Specialty’s Commercial group.
“Dan and Alison are exceptional leaders with considerable industry experience and knowledge, who also have a track record of developing high-performing teams,” Sanders said. “We are confident they will only build on the successful regional operations Sarah and Wendy established.”
Source: Company Press Release