The Hanover mines Big 4 firm for new chief claims officer

The Hanover Insurance Group has hired a new chief claims officer from a Big Four accounting firm,  PwC, with a background in claims leadership roles at  Aviva,  Chubb,  Allianz, GE and  Liberty Mutual. He will replace Mark Welzenbach, who is retiring from The Hanover after 17 years with the company.

David Lovely (Pictured) has joined the firm as executive vice president and chief claims officer, where he will be responsible for the strategic oversight and execution of the company's claims experience. Welzenbach will work closely with Lovely over the next few months to ensure a smooth transition.

Lovely comes from PwC, where he was responsible for building a new practice to help clients strengthen their ability to deter, detect and respond to insurance fraud across the P&C, life and healthcare markets.

Prior to PwC, Lovely was the vice president and UK and global chief claims officer of the Aviva Group. In addition, he has held various claims leadership roles in strategy and operations, commercial insurance, accident life and health, workers' compensation claims and transformation at companies including Chubb Insurance, Allianz Insurance Group, General Electric Company and Liberty Mutual.

"David is an accomplished claims and insurance leader who brings more than 35 years of visionary leadership, operational execution and transformation expertise for enhancing employee and customer experiences," said John Roche, president and chief executive officer at The Hanover. "We are pleased to have attracted such an accomplished claims leader to our organisation. Together with our talented team, we will continue to advance our claims servicing and tools to best serve our customers and agents."