Schaumburg, Ill., September 10, 2009 – Zurich, one of the largest property-casualty insurance companies, today announced its Accident & Health unit has entered the mass consumer (affinity) market with a varied offering of Accidental Death, Dismemberment and travel assistance insurance offerings. This is a first tier offering that will be expanded to include bundled products and services customized to a variety of special consumer group needs.
“We are very excited to bring our capabilities to this marketplace,” said Bryan Salvatore, executive vice president and head of Accident & Health for Zurich North America Commercial's Specialties business unit. “By leveraging our experience, knowledge and service capabilities in the group Accident business, and with the addition of experienced mass consumer professionals to our staff, we are able to develop and deliver the products and services consumer groups need.”
Wayne Gutridge, vice president – Accident & Health for Zurich, will lead the unit’s expansion. Gutridge has more than 23 years affinity and worksite marketing experience with large national insurance programs in the U.S. He has extensive experience in the development of new business and alternative distribution, as well as in creating integrated product offerings. Prior to joining Zurich, Gutridge led mass consumer efforts at AIG, where he focused on new channel development as well as a variety of new product initiatives.
Colleen Gannon, vice president of operations – Accident & Health for Zurich, will develop and manage operational aspects of the new unit, focusing on providing easy access to products and services for consumers. Gannon has more than 18 years of experience in insurance operations, most recently as assistant vice president of operations for AIG@ Work. She has also managed operations at several national carriers, including MetLife and Allmerica Financial. Her experience will be critical to offering a bundled product portfolio via rapid delivery platform.
“Accident insurance is a critical, specialized coverage that meets the needs of organizations and their members, and includes high risk exposures, such as catastrophic events, terrorism, war risk, natural disasters and industrial accidents. It is a specialized field that requires knowledge and experience for successful management. It also requires an insurer with the financial strength to weather the potential for catastrophe,” said Seraina Maag, president of Zurich’s Specialties business unit.
Salvatore added, “Zurich is a leading carrier providing Accident coverage for groups of all sizes. We offer the specialized technical knowledge required to help organizations and individuals protect themselves from the effects of this potentially catastrophic exposure. We are also one of the few Accident carriers that can access through our company network the ability to write policies in more than 100 countries. During our many years in this business, we have built a solid reputation for quality and customer service, as evidenced by the fact that more than 95 percent of our customers choose Zurich North America Commercial’s Accident products at renewal time.”
Zurich’s Accident & Health group is a nationwide team that develops and markets Zurich’s portfolio of A&H products, including accidental death & dismemberment, business travel accident, occupational accident, statutory disability, medical stop loss and managed transplant services.
About Zurich
Zurich’s North America Commercial and Global Corporate in North America business divisions are part of Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich), an insurance-based financial services provider with a global network of subsidiaries and offices in North America and Europe as well as in Asia Pacific, Latin America and other markets. Founded in 1872, the Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. It employs approximately 60,000 people serving customers in more than 170 countries. In North America, Zurich (www.zurichna.com) is a leading commercial property-casualty insurance provider serving the global corporate, large corporate, middle market, specialties and programs sectors.
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Insurance coverages underwritten by Zurich American Insurance Company, 1400 American Lane, Schaumburg, IL. Certain coverages not available in all states. Some coverages may be written on a nonadmitted basis through licensed surplus lines brokers. For information about the ratings of Zurich American Insurance Company, access the ratings section on www.zurichna.com.
Media contact:
Steve McKay
Zurich
(847) 706-2265
steven.mckay@zurichna.com