Workers’ compensation’s long profit run is narrowing, and several US carriers have made senior appointments tied to comp and specialty business as they look to shore up their operations.
EverPeak and Great American Insurance Group made comp-related moves and Global Indemnity Group (GBLI) added an executive with excess and surplus (E&S) experience to its board, while Lockton, Foresters Financial, Grange Insurance, and Boston Mutual Life filled legal, distribution, and sales posts.
Great American Insurance Group has promoted Jason M. Cohen (pictured top, left), who has overseen most of its workers’ compensation businesses since 2022, to executive vice president with added reporting duties.
Aaron B. Latto (pictured top, center) also becomes executive vice president and Shawn V. Los (pictured top, right) senior vice president, and both take on several more specialty P&C businesses.
The promotions form part of succession planning ahead of the retirements of executive vice president Michael E. Sullivan in April 2027 and divisional group president Richard L. Suter at the end of 2026.
EverPeak Insurance, which named Patrick K. Daley, CPCU, chief underwriting officer on October 20, 2026, has made a new workers’ compensation middle-market value proposition one of his first priorities.
He will also lead the relaunch of Attune’s business owner’s policy (BOP) and the cross-selling of BOP and other products to comp customers.
Daley has more than 30 years in complex and hard-to-place risk, with roles at The Hartford, Zurich, Glatfelter, and GuideOne. At GuideOne in 2022 and 2023, his re-underwriting work contributed to an outside investment that secured the company financially.
Lockton’s October 2026 market update warned that using comp results to offset liability pricing or retentions links programs in ways that reduce flexibility at future renewals.
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GBLI, which is rolling out its Kaleidoscope technology platform, added Jessica Buss to its board effective October 26, 2026, in place of Bruce Lederman, who retired after two tenures dating to 2015.
Buss, a former CEO of GuideOne Insurance, Argo Group, and Open Lending, grew GuideOne’s premiums from about $400 million to more than $1 billion, a total that included a $400 million E&S business she built, and before that led State Auto’s $1.5 billion commercial and specialty division.
E&S is splitting by line. WSIA’s midyear data showed property premium down 13.7% even though property transactions rose 15.2%, while liability lines kept hardening.
“In a moderating growth environment, the broker’s value proposition and edge become underwriting literacy, data quality, and superior products,” said Janet Pane of the Excess Lines Association of New York.
Grange Insurance named Paige Scott (pictured immediately above) vice president of distribution enablement and operations, effective October 19, 2026, to oversee analytics and agency engagement for Grange and affiliate Integrity Insurance.
At AAA Club Alliance she led more than 200 associates and agents across 13 states in a $1 billion distribution environment, and she grew an independent agency channel from $65,000 to $2.3 million in direct written premium in one year.
Boston Mutual Life Insurance Company appointed Sean Duggan (pictured immediately above), a former Assurity regional vice president with more than 20 years of sales and leadership experience, regional sales director for Georgia and Northeast Florida, from Jacksonville to Gainesville. He will oversee workplace sales and develop new producer partnerships.
Lincoln Financial and Employee Benefit Research Institute research found about half of employees are unaware of the voluntary benefits their employer offers, though 74% of employers that offer them report positive effects on recruitment, retention, and employee performance.
Read more: Use plain language! Closing the voluntary benefits enrollment gap
Foresters Financial hired Tom Ross, previously national distribution vice president at F&G, for the newly created role of chief distribution officer, US annuity sales, effective October 12, 2026.
He will direct US annuity sales strategy and grow the distribution network before a multi-year guaranteed annuity (MYGA) launch in 2027.
MYGAs belong to the fixed-rate deferred category, which is down for the year. LIMRA reported first-half fixed-rate deferred annuity sales of $80.3 billion, 7% lower than a year earlier, though second-quarter sales of $44.7 billion rose 26% from the first quarter as crediting rates climbed.
Sara Romine will become Lockton’s executive vice president, chief legal officer, and corporate secretary on November 1, 2026, in place of Trey Humphrey, who has held the role for 26 years. Romine, who joined in December 2022 as US general counsel, will lead the global legal function and oversee risk and compliance.
