Chubb announced today leadership appointments for North America Commercial Insurance, the company’s $5.8 billion retail commercial property and casualty (P&C) insurance division that serves middle market and small businesses through 48 offices in the United States and Canada.
Ben Rockwell, currently Executive Vice President and Chief Underwriting Officer of North America Commercial Insurance, has been appointed Vice President, Chubb Group and will serve as Division President, Chubb Middle Market. James Williamson, currently Vice President, Chubb Group and Division President, North America Small Commercial Insurance, will serve as Division President, Chubb Small Business, which includes the company’s product and service offerings for small and lower middle market companies.
Mr. Williamson and Mr. Rockwell will report to Paul Krump, Executive Vice President, Chubb Group and President, North America Commercial and Personal Insurance. The appointments are effective immediately. They succeed C. Scott Gunter, who is leaving the company.
“I want to thank Scott for his service to the company over the past three decades and wish him and his family well,” said Mr. Krump.
“It’s a great pleasure to appoint Jim to lead our exciting and fast-growing small commercial and lower middle market business. This is a high-volume, high-tech segment where efficiency and ease of doing business is the name of the game, and Jim is a proven insurance executive and business-builder in this space. He understands the importance of offering a 100% digital experience for our agents and is the right executive to lead our efforts as we continue to penetrate the $100 billion U.S. small commercial market.
“I am equally delighted to appoint Ben to lead our middle market business, which is a core Chubb franchise. Ben is an experienced and seasoned underwriting executive. His expertise and leadership skills will be instrumental as we execute our ambitious growth strategies and provide the industry’s leading product and service capabilities for middle market companies across North America in more than 25 industry practices, each supported by a team of underwriting, claims and risk engineering professionals.”
The company also announced that Alex Wells, Executive Vice President and Commercial Insurance Regional Manager, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Regions, has been named Chief Underwriting Officer for North America Commercial Insurance, succeeding Mr. Rockwell. Mr. Wells will report to Mr. Rockwell and Mr. Williamson.
Ben Rockwell began his career with Chubb in 1997 as a Casualty Claims Representative. In 1999, he joined the company’s casualty department as an underwriter. Throughout his career, he has held a variety of field and home office underwriting positions, such as Commercial Underwriting Manager, multi-line Executive Field Underwriter, Excess Casualty Manager, and Commercial Insurance Primary Casualty Leader for North America. In 2018, he was appointed Chief Underwriting Officer of North America Commercial Insurance. Mr. Rockwell has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from North Central College.
James Williamson began his career with ACE in 2013. Prior to ACE’s acquisition of Chubb in January 2016, Mr. Williamson was Division President of ACE Private Risk Services. He has also served as Senior Vice President, Chief Operations Officer of ACE’s Global Personal and Small Business insurance business, and as Chief Operating Officer for ACE’s International Accident & Health insurance business. He was named Division President, North America Small Commercial in 2015. Before joining ACE, Mr. Williamson served at The Hartford from 2005 to 2013 in a variety of senior underwriting, sales and strategic planning roles. Prior to The Hartford, he served at Bain & Co. as a consultant. Mr. Williamson received an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Bryant College.
Alex Wells joined the company in 1992 as an inland marine underwriting trainee. Throughout his career, which spanned both Chubb and ACE, Mr. Wells has held a variety of field and home office underwriting positions, including Senior Underwriter, Mid-Atlantic Zone Excess Casualty Leader; Chief Operating Officer, Westchester Excess Casualty; Specialty Casualty and Construction Leader, North America Commercial Insurance; and, since 2017, Commercial Insurance Regional Manager, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Mr. Wells holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from American University.
About Chubb
Chubb is the world’s largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries and territories, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London, Paris and other locations, and employs more than 30,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at: www.chubb.com.