Hanover Insurance Group : Everything you need to know

Headquarters address: 440 Lincoln Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01653, United States

Year established: 1852

Size (employees): 6,500

Net premiums written: $5 billion

Underwriting expertise: Personal and business insurance

Key people: John C. Roche (president & CEO), Jeffrey M. Farber (executive vice-president, chief financial officer), Dennis F. Kerrigan (executive vice-president, general counsel), Richard W. Lavey (executive vice-president & president of Hanover Agency Markets), Willard T. Lee (executive vice-president, chief information and innovation officer), Denise Lowsley (executive vice-president, chief human resources officer), Bryan J. Salvatore (executive vice-president & president of specialty), Mark J. Welzenbach (executive vice-president, chief claims officer)

About Hanover Insurance Group

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (The Hanover) is an insurance holding company that offers a range of property and casualty (P&C) policies to individuals, families, and businesses through its network of independent agents across the US. The group also provides claims and risk management services.

The Hanover boasts a long list of subsidiaries, which distribute its products and services to clients in different regions of the country. These are:

The Hanover has received an A rating for financial stability from global credit rating agencies A.M. Best, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s. The group is also accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB). 

The Hanover Insurance Group product range

The Hanover offers an array of personal and commercial policies to fit the varying needs of its individual and business clients.

Personal insurance

The Hanover’s personal lines portfolio includes:

• Auto insurance
• Home insurance
• Recreational vehicles insurance
• Umbrella insurance
• Valuables insurance
• Watercraft insurance

The Hanover has also partnered with identity management and fraud education specialist CyberScout to provide customers with identity theft coverage and cyber education and restoration services. For young drivers, the company offers the Hanover SafeTeen initiative, which is a series of programs aimed at educating teen motorists about road safety and responsible driving. Prestige, the group’s distinctive brand of personal insurance policies, meanwhile, is tailored for high-value homes and vehicles.

Business insurance

The Hanover offers the following coverages for businesses across a wide range of industries:

• Auto insurance
• Business owner’s policy
• Cyber insurance
• General liability insurance
• International business insurance
• Management liability insurance
• Marine insurance
• Professional liability insurance
• Property insurance
• Surety insurance
• Umbrella insurance
• Workers' compensation

The Hanover’s commercial lines products caters to the following sectors:

Leadership at Hanover Insurance Group

John C. Roche – President & Chief Executive Officer

Roche was appointed president and CEO of The Hanover in October 2017. Since joining the group in 2006, he has served in various senior leadership roles, most recently as president of Hanover Agency Markets. Roche has also served as president of business insurance and vice-president of field operations, marketing, and distribution, as well as vice-president of underwriting and product management, commercial lines.

Prior to joining The Hanover, Roche held senior underwriting and management roles at the St. Paul Travelers Companies, Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, and Atlantic Mutual Insurance. He is also currently on the board of directors for The Institutes and American Property Casualty Insurance Association and the board of overseers of St. John’s University School of Risk Management. He previously served on the board of the National Council on Compensation Insurance. Roche earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Connecticut.

Culture at The Hanover Insurance Group

The Hanover is committed to being a socially responsible organization. Part of this commitment is “embracing inclusion, diversity, and equity (IDE) in all forms. Among The Hanover’s IDE initiatives are:

• Advancing ongoing focus to diversify senior and executive leadership ranks
• Weaving IDE goals and objectives into the overall performance assessment for both the CEO and executive team
• Expanding cultural competence and support of underrepresented populations with allyship and mentorship opportunities, and purposeful conversations led by Hanover employees certified to facilitate these dialogues
• Raising the level of awareness among all employees of what equity means at the company and its commitment to embedding equity into its culture through enhanced training and evolving practices

The Hanover also has several employee-led business resource groups (BRGs) aimed at supporting women and underrepresented populations and their allies. These include:

• Kinship Village: Aims to attract, educate, and empower members of The Hanover’s African-American community and the broader insurance industry.
• Proud to Empower: Its goal is to lead with CARE (collaboration, accountability, respect, and empowerment) to create a safe space for employees who identify as LGBTQIA.
• Veterans Connection: Designed for those interested in supporting veterans and making a difference in the veterans’ community.
• Mi Familia: Seeks to enhance leadership, promote talent and development, expand participation, and raise awareness to foster a sense of belonging within The Hanover community. 
• Hanover United Professionals: An employee-led, early-in-career, and ally group focusing on career development, philanthropy, and intellectual contribution.
• Women @ Hanover: Aims to empower women to reach their full potential by building confidence, creating work-life balance, developing leadership skills, and broadening professional networks while simultaneously advocating for an inclusive environment.
• H.A.A.P.I.: Stands for Hanover Asian American Pacific Islander, the group aims to cultivate a community committed to empowering, engaging, and educating The Hanover community and other diverse communities about each other's history and experiences.

The group also reinforces its commitment to sustainability through various initiatives, including the following:

• Upgrading facilities to reduce lighting-related energy usage by 70% or a total of 1.2 million kWh annually
• Recycled 64 tons and composted four tons of waste material
• Installing electrical vehicle charging stations for employees and visitors
• Saving an estimated 40,000 kWh and 1,000 therms at the company’s headquarters in 2021, which will continue on a go-forward basis
• Planted 10,000 trees in three months as part of its commitment to reduce paper use, which includes registering more than 16,500 personal lines clients for paperless policy documents
• Diverted 21 tons of construction and demolition materials from landfills
• Establishing The Green Team, an employee-led advisory group focused on leading resiliency action and nurturing a sustainable mindset among employees through education and community engagement