RICHMOND, Va., March 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Markel Corporation
(NYSE: MKL) 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."
About Sarah Gavlick:
Gavlick became Regional President for the Northeast region in 2010.
Prior to that, she was Director, Production and Underwriting for
the Northeast region with oversight for all products. She joined
Markel in 2004 as an Assistant Manager, Excess and Umbrella, and
went on to hold several additional roles with increasing
responsibility. Gavlick has more than 25 years of industry
experience, having started her career as an underwriter at Gen Re.
She is a graduate of Villanova
University.
About Wendy Houser: Houser
was named Regional President for the Mid South region in early
2014, after serving as Managing Director, Underwriting and
Production for the region since August
2012. She joined Markel in 2008 as Director of Marketing and
Business Development in the Mid South region, and in 2010 she was
named Managing Director, Wholesale Marketing. Houser, who has more
than 20 years of insurance industry experience, was a broker at
Alexander, Morford & Woo prior to joining Markel. She is a
graduate of Missouri State University and a veteran of the U.S.
Navy.
About Alison Burgess:
Burgess was promoted to Senior Director of Underwriting and
Production, Management and Professional Liability for the Northeast
region in 2018, after serving as Director since 2016. She joined
Markel in 2012 and underwrote and managed the Management Liability
team. Prior to Markel, Burgess spent 12 years at CNA, where
her last role was Management Protection Products Underwriting
Consulting Director. She is a graduate of Rutgers University.
About Daniel
Kennedy: Kennedy, who was named to his most recent
role in September 2015, manages a
team of 70 and leads business development initiatives and
strategies, helping agents engage and grow with Markel's
diverse suite of products and programs for Markel Specialty
Commercial. A 16-year industry veteran, he began his career in the
insurance industry with FirstComp, a monoline workers compensation
carrier Markel acquired in 2010, and went on to hold additional
sales roles with increasing responsibility at Markel. Kennedy is a
graduate of Kansas State
University.
About Markel
Markel is a diverse financial holding
company serving a variety of niche markets. The Company's principal
business markets and underwrites specialty insurance products. In
each of the Company's businesses, it seeks to provide quality
products and excellent customer service so that it can be a market
leader. The financial goals of the Company are to earn consistent
underwriting and operating profits and superior investment returns
to build shareholder value. Visit Markel on the web at
markel.com.
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SOURCE Markel Corporation