The Hanover Insurance Group has named Richard "Dick" W. Lavey (pictured, right) as CEO-elect, succeeding president and CEO John "Jack" C. Roche (pictured, left), who plans to retire on December 31, 2026. The timing carries specific market significance. Independent agents placed 62% of all US property and casualty insurance written in 2025, up from 61.5% in 2024 per the Big I 2026 Market Share Report - a record share for the channel The Hanover has built its business around. Simultaneously, commercial premiums fell for the first time in nearly nine years in Q1 2026 per the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers, ending a 33-quarter streak of increases as competition intensifies and pricing softens across several lines. Lavey inherits record channel momentum and a softening pricing cycle at the same moment.
The succession is internal and deliberate. Lavey currently serves as chief operating officer and president of Hanover Agency Markets, which encompasses core commercial and personal lines representing 75% of the company's $7 billion in consolidated gross premiums written. He joined The Hanover in 2004 and has held roles including chief marketing officer, chief growth innovation officer and president of personal lines, following earlier positions at The Hartford and Travelers. Roche said he has worked closely with Lavey for more than two decades and has complete confidence in his ability to guide the company forward. Lavey said he was energized to build on the company's momentum and deliver lasting value for stakeholders at what he described as a transformative moment.
The Hanover posted Q1 2026 net income of $186.8 million, or $5.20 per diluted share, up from $128.2 million a year earlier, with operating income of $188.5 million, a combined ratio of 91.7% and return on equity above 20%. CFO Jeffrey Farber pointed to a 2.4-point improvement in the ex-catastrophe combined ratio and nearly 20% growth in net investment income as the specific operational drivers. The independent agency channel's combined ratio fell to 88% in 2025, well below the broader industry's full-year 92.9% - itself the lowest in more than a decade - giving the channel's record market share its specific financial performance foundation.
Cynthia Egan, chair of the board, credited Lavey's contributions to repositioning the firm's personal and core commercial lines growth and profitability and driving technology advancements as central to The Hanover's strategic expansion. Roche joined the company in 2006 and was named president and CEO in 2017, also serving the wider industry as vice chair of the board of trustees for The Institutes, a board member of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association and a member of the board of overseers of St John's University's Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science.
Lavey inherits a company posting some of its best underwriting results in years, but takes over just as the broader commercial market he has spent two decades helping to grow begins to soften - a shift that will test whether The Hanover's independent agency strategy can sustain its recent momentum through a changing cycle.
