PHILADELPHIA–()–ACE USA, the U.S.-based retail operations of the ACE Group, today
announced the appointment of William P. Hazelton as Construction
Industry Practice Leader. In this role, Mr. Hazelton will be responsible
for driving the overall strategic and tactical delivery of the company’s
products and services within the Construction Industry Practice. He will
also oversee ACE USA’s primary casualty construction business in
addition to his current role as Executive Vice President of ACE
Environmental Risk.
“The formalization of the Construction Industry Practice within ACE USA
offers significant growth opportunities for ACE and tangible benefits to
our brokers and customers”
Craig Richardson has been named Senior Vice President, Environmental
Risk, with responsibility for managing all day to day underwriting and
marketing operations for the division. Geoffrey Hall, Senior Vice
President, will continue to lead the day to day underwriting and
marketing activities for ACE’s Primary Construction unit. Mr. Richardson
and Mr. Hall will both report to Mr. Hazelton.
Mr. Hazelton will lead a broad team of dedicated construction
underwriting and service specialists across multiple lines of business,
including Excess Casualty, Environmental Risk, Builder’s Risk, Foreign
Casualty, Surety, Professional Risk and ESIS, Inc., to deliver
stand-alone and integrated insurance solutions to the construction
industry through retail brokers. Mr. Hazelton will continue to report to
Ross Bertossi, Division President, ACE USA Casualty Lines.
“The risks inherent in the construction industry are technical and
complex. ACE USA has demonstrated a unique commitment to deploy
underwriting expertise, engineering and claims management services for a
wide range of customers to manage these complex risks,” said Mr.
Bertossi. “Bill and Craig have driven the segmentation and expansion of
ACE USA’s environmental businesses. Craig is an experienced insurance
executive and is well positioned to continue this expansion. Bill’s
excellent track record and leadership will be an asset in overseeing the
practice and delivering additional value to our clients and brokers.”
“The formalization of the Construction Industry Practice within ACE USA
offers significant growth opportunities for ACE and tangible benefits to
our brokers and customers,” said Chris Maleno, Chief Operating Officer,
ACE USA. “Unifying these resources under Bill’s leadership will enable
more efficient deployment of the company’s myriad of construction
products and services and represents the next phase of our investment in
the business in conjunction with economic growth and the industry’s
continued expansion.”
With more than 20 years in the insurance industry in both claims and
underwriting, Mr. Hazelton joined ACE in 2005, and most recently served
as Executive Vice President of ACE USA’s Environmental Risk unit. Prior
to his tenure with ACE, Mr. Hazelton held a variety of leadership
positions in the environmental underwriting and claims arena at several
global carriers. Mr. Hazelton received a Bachelor of Science degree in
Political Science and History from James Madison University, and a
Master of Arts degree in History from Rutgers University, The State
University of New Jersey. He has published articles on the topic of
environmental liability and risk management issues in several industry
trade publications.
With more than 20 years of insurance industry experience, Mr. Richardson
most recently served as Vice President, Field Operations for ACE
Environmental Risk, having joined ACE in 2008. He previously held
various management and underwriting positions in the insurance industry,
including serving as a vice president and assistant district manager for
the environmental division of a global carrier. Mr. Richardson received
his Bachelor of Arts degree in Biological Sciences from the University
of Mississippi, and a Master’s degree in Public Policy & Administration
from Mississippi State University. He will be based in Atlanta, GA,
where he will continue to report to Mr. Hazelton.
Mr. Hall has more than 24 years of diverse experience in the insurance
arena, and for the past 14 years has focused on the construction and
transportation infrastructure insurance and risk management market. He
joined ACE in 2006 as Senior Vice President, ACE Construction, where he
has been responsible for leading the domestic underwriting strategies of
ACE USA’s Construction Industry Practice. Prior to joining ACE, Mr. Hall
held a variety of marketing and underwriting positions in construction
and healthcare casualty underwriting for a global carrier. He has served
as a speaker on numerous industry panels, and served as a co-author of
an article on the effect of stimulus funding on the insurance industry.
Mr. Hall received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Hobart
College, in Geneva, NY.
ACE’s Construction Industry Practice consists of business units that
offer a broad suite of products and service including:
- Workers Compensation, General Liability & Auto Risk Transfer
-
Environmental, including Contractors Pollution Liability & Contractors
Professional Liability - Inland Marine, including Builders Risk & Contractors Equipment
-
International Casualty Enterprise & Package Solutions, including
Defense Base Act Workers Compensation - Umbrella/Excess
- Weatherbacker® Climate Event
- Wrap Ups & other project-specific programs
- Specialty Claims Construction Defect & Mold Unit
- Construction Risk Management Services
- Surety
-
Professional Liability for architects and engineers, construction
managers and trade contractors
Insurance is provided by insurers within the ACE Group. The product
information above is a summary only. The insurance policy actually
issued contains the terms and limits of the contract. All products may
not be available in all states. For more information regarding the ACE
USA Construction Industry Practice, please visit
our website.
ACE USA is the U.S.-based retail operating division of the ACE Group,
and is rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best Company and AA- (Very
Strong) by Standard & Poor’s. ACE USA, through its underwriting
companies, provides insurance products and services throughout the U.S.
Additional information on ACE USA and its products and services can be
found at www.acegroup.com/us.
The ACE Group is one of the world’s largest multiline property and
casualty insurers. With operations in 53 countries, ACE provides
commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal
accident supplemental health insurance, reinsurance, and life insurance
to a diverse group of clients. ACE Limited, the parent company of the
ACE Group, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ACE) and is a
component of the S&P 500 index. Additional information can be found at: www.acegroup.com