EMPLOYERS has appointed Jeffrey Lisenby (pictured) as executive vice president and general counsel.
Lisenby joined EMPLOYERS from ProAssurance Corporation, a multiline specialty insurance holding company, where he spent 25 years as the company's executive vice president and general counsel, as well as corporate secretary. He advised the board of directors and senior management on insurance regulatory compliance, corporate governance, M&A, government relations and enterprise risk management, among other matters.
"Jeff has spent more than two decades building deep expertise in insurance law and regulatory matters, and that background will serve EMPLOYERS well," said Kathy Antonello, president and chief executive officer of EMPLOYERS. "As we continue to grow and navigate an evolving regulatory landscape, we look forward to the expertise and counsel he will bring to the company."
Lisenby's move comes just days after ProAssurance ceased to exist as an independent public company.
The Doctors Company completed its $1.3 billion acquisition of ProAssurance on June 26, with ProAssurance shareholders receiving $25 per share in cash, an approximately 60% premium to the company's pre-announcement share price. Following the closing, ProAssurance's stock was deregistered with the SEC and delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.
The combined organization now protects more than 200,000 healthcare professionals and organizations nationwide with $12 billion in assets, making it one of the largest medical professional liability insurers in the country.
EMPLOYERS is currently working through a more difficult underwriting environment than the company has faced in recent years. The company's GAAP combined ratio deteriorated to 110.9% in 2025, indicating it paid out more in claims and expenses than it collected in premiums, a trend that continued into the first quarter of 2026 at 107.1%.
Much of that pressure has been driven by a higher frequency of specific claim types, including cumulative trauma claims in California, where the company carries significant exposure. Quarterly results have swung sharply over the past year, from a profit of $1.24 per share in the second quarter of 2025 to losses in the following two quarters before returning to a $0.53 per share profit in the first quarter of 2026.
That volatility, paired with the regulatory landscape Antonello specifically flagged, underscores the value of bringing in a general counsel with deep insurance regulatory experience. The broader workers' compensation market is navigating rising medical costs, cumulative trauma litigation, and reserve adequacy concerns, conditions that have prompted carriers across the sector to lean more heavily on legal and regulatory expertise.
Lisenby's appointment also coincides with a period of strategic expansion that will add further regulatory complexity to his role: the company launched a new Excess Workers' Compensation insurance product in February 2026, extending its portfolio to serve large self-insured employers, groups, pools, and joint powers authorities nationwide, a segment with different regulatory and risk management considerations than the small-business book that has historically defined EMPLOYERS.
Together, the deteriorating combined ratio and the push into excess coverage suggest a general counsel's office that will be busy on both the defensive and growth fronts simultaneously.
