The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (THG), engages in property and casualty insurance products and services. The company markets its products and services through independent agents and brokers in the United States (U.S.).
Segments
The company operates through four segments: Core Commercial, Specialty, Personal Lines and Other.
In its Core Commercial, Specialty and Personal Lines segments, the company underwrites its insurance products through Hanover Insurance, Citizens and other THG subsidiar...
The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (THG), engages in property and casualty insurance products and services. The company markets its products and services through independent agents and brokers in the United States (U.S.).
Segments
The company operates through four segments: Core Commercial, Specialty, Personal Lines and Other.
In its Core Commercial, Specialty and Personal Lines segments, the company underwrites its insurance products through Hanover Insurance, Citizens and other THG subsidiaries. The company distributes them through select independent agents and brokers throughout the U.S.
The company distributes them through select independent agents and brokers throughout the U.S.
The company’s agency and customer-centric strategy focuses on providing specialized insurance products and services with an emphasis on disciplined underwriting and pricing, quality claims handling and customer service.
Lines Of Business
Core Commercial
The company divides Core Commercial into two businesses, small commercial and middle market, both of which focus on account business.
The company’s Core Commercial product suite provides agents and customers with products designed for small and mid-sized businesses.
Core Commercial coverages include:
Commercial multiple peril coverage insures businesses against third-party general liability from accidents occurring on their premises or arising out of their operations, such as injuries sustained from products and services sold. It also ensures business property for damage, such as that caused by fire, wind, hail, water damage (which include flood), theft and vandalism.
Workers’ compensation coverage insures employers against employee medical and indemnity claims resulting from injuries related to work. Workers’ compensation policies are often written in conjunction with other commercial policies.
Commercial automobile coverage insures businesses against losses incurred from personal bodily injury, bodily injury to third parties, property damage to an insured’s vehicle, and property damage to other vehicles and property. Commercial automobile policies are often written in conjunction with other commercial policies.
Other core commercial coverage includes commercial umbrella, monoline general liability, claims-made liability and monoline property coverages.
The company’s strategy in Core Commercial is focused on strengthening and expanding its market reach through differentiated product offerings, industry segmentation, and franchise value through selective distribution. The company continues to make enhancements to its products and technology platforms that are intended to drive more account placements in the company’s small commercial and middle market businesses. In small commercial, the company continues to expand its utilization of the company’s TAP Sales agent quote and issue platform, which makes it easier and more efficient for its agents to do business with the company, leveraging its agency analytics capabilities, comprehensive service center offering, and full suite of digital self-service tools. In middle market, the company maintain its focus on specialized industry segments, a key area of market differentiation. The company continues to grow its most profitable industry segments, including technology, human services and manufacturing, taking a measured approach in more challenging segments. The company also capitalized on the strength of its localized field structure, creating a competitive advantage in sourcing new business, as well as its robust claims and risk management capabilities.
Specialty
Specialty offers a comprehensive suite of products focused predominately on small to mid-sized businesses. This includes numerous specialized products that are organized into four distinct divisions:
Professional and Executive Lines coverage is primarily composed of professional, management, and medical liability, which provides protection for directors, officers and other employees of companies that sued in connection with their performance, and errors and omissions protection to companies and individuals against negligence or bad faith, as well as protection for employment practices liability.
Specialty Property & Casualty consists of:
Hanover Programs business which offers coverage to markets where there are specialty underwriting or risk management needs related to groups of similar businesses and organizations;
Excess & Surplus business that includes non-admitted general liability and property coverage to risks outside of the appetite of standard commercial lines;
Hanover Specialty Industrial business, which provides property insurance to small and medium-sized chemical, paint, solvent and other manufacturing and distribution companies, and fire and allied lines coverages; and,
Specialty General Liability business, which encompasses admitted coverages for higher hazard liability risks.
Surety and Other includes coverage for construction and other firms, as well as sole proprietors in the event of claims for non-performance or non-payment, and commercial surety coverage related to fiduciary or regulatory obligations.
The company has continued to invest in its Specialty businesses, refining its broad product offering, focusing on the lower-end of the risk and account-sized spectrum, leveraging its highly regarded service center, which has been, and it continues to be, a critical growth lever for it. The company has developed a robust, diversified and profitable Specialty segment that it represents a distinct competitive advantage, with nine dedicated businesses and 18 distinct product areas.
The company’s distribution of Specialty products, primarily through retail agents supplemented by select specialists helps to enhance its overall agent value and increase growth opportunities by providing agents easier access to placement solutions for Specialty needs, including those that complement Core Commercial accounts.
Personal Lines
Personal Lines coverages include:
Personal automobile coverage insures individuals against losses incurred from personal bodily injury, bodily injury to third parties, property damage to an insured’s vehicle, and property damage to other vehicles and other property.
Homeowners and other personal lines coverages insure individuals for losses related to:
residences and personal property, such as those caused by fire, wind, hail, water damage (excluding flood), theft and vandalism;
liability claims by a third-party for bodily injury and/or property damage experienced at residences; and,
personal umbrella, inland marine (jewelry, art, etc.), fire, personal watercraft, personal cyber and other miscellaneous coverages.
The company’s strategy in Personal Lines is to provide account–oriented business (i.e., writing both an insured’s automobile and homeowners insurance, along with other Personal Lines coverages, when applicable) through select independent agents, with a focus on increasing geographic diversification. The market for the company’s Personal Lines business is very competitive, with continued pressure on independent agents from direct insurance writers, as well as from the increased usage of real time comparative rating tools and increasingly sophisticated rating and pricing tools. The company maintains a focus on working with high quality, value-added agents that stress the importance of consultative selling and account rounding (the conversion of single policy customers to accounts with multiple policies and/or additional coverages, to address customers’ broader objectives). The company continues to refine its products and to work closely with these high-potential agents to increase the percentage of business they place with it and to ensure that it is consistent with the company’s preferred mix of business. Additionally, the company remains focus on further diversifying its geographic mix beyond its largest historical core states of Michigan and Massachusetts.
Disposition
During the second and third quarters of 2024, the company exited all of Opus Investment Management, Inc. (Opus) business operations serving unaffiliated entities. Investment management services provided by Opus to THG related to its investment-grade fixed maturities portfolio were also transferred to an external manager during the second quarter of 2024.
Marketing and Distribution
The company serves a variety of standard, specialty and targeted industry markets. The company’s business consists of approximately 41% Personal Lines, 36% Core Commercial, and 23% Specialty. Core Commercial, including its small and middle market businesses, Personal Lines and the majority of the company’s Specialty business distribute its products primarily through a network of independent agents.
Core Commercial, Specialty and Personal Lines
The company’s Core Commercial, Specialty and Personal Lines independent agency distribution and field structure are designed to maintain a strong focus on local markets and the flexibility to respond to specific market conditions. During 2024, the company wrote 19.0% of its Core Commercial, Specialty and Personal Lines business in Michigan and 8.2% in Massachusetts. The company localized field management structure is a key factor in the establishment and maintenance of productive, long-term relationships with well-established independent agencies. The company maintains 33 local offices across 23 states. The majority of processing support for these field locations is provided from its Worcester, Massachusetts; Howell, Michigan; Salem, Virginia; and Windsor, Connecticut offices.
The company licensed to sell property and casualty insurance in all fifty states in the U.S., as well as in the District of Columbia (D.C.) and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Throughout the U.S., the company actively markets Core Commercial and Specialty policies in 40 states and D.C., and Personal Lines policies in 20 states.
The company manages its Core Commercial and Specialty business portfolio with a focus on growth from the most profitable industry segments within its underwriting expertise. The company’s Core Commercial business is generally consists of several complementary commercial lines of business, consisting of small and middle market accounts, which include targeted industry segments. Additionally, in the company’s Specialty segment, it has multiple specialty lines of business. The company seeks to maintain strong agency relationships as an approach to secure and retain its agents’ best accounts.
The company manages its Personal Lines business with a focus on acquiring and retaining preferred accounts. Approximately 88% of the company’s policies in force are account business. Approximately 50% of the company’s Personal Lines net premiums written is generated in the combined states of Michigan and Massachusetts. In Michigan, based upon direct premiums written for 2024, the company underwrites approximately 7% of the state’s total personal lines market.
Approximately 63% of the company’s Michigan Personal Lines net premiums written is in the personal automobile line and 34% is in the homeowner line. Michigan business represents approximately 41% of its total personal automobile net premiums written and approximately 35% of its total homeowner net premiums written.
Approximately 65% of the company’s Massachusetts Personal Lines net premiums written is in the personal automobile line and 32% is in the homeowner line. Massachusetts business represents approximately 13% of the company’s total personal automobile net premiums written and approximately 10% of its total homeowner net premiums written.
The company sponsors local and national agent advisory councils to gain the benefit of its agents’ insight and enhance its relationships. These councils and the company’s other strong agency relationships provide market and operational feedback, input on the development of products and services, guidance on marketing efforts, support for its strategies, and assist the company in enhancing its local market presence.
Catastrophe Bonds
The company has catastrophe protection through two per occurrence excess of loss reinsurance agreements with Commonwealth Re Ltd. (Commonwealth Re), an independent company, licensed as a Special Purpose Insurer in Bermuda.
History
The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. was founded in 1852. The company was incorporated in 1995.