Growth Ahead as State Auto Exits Specialty Biz

December 11, 2017 by Susanne Sclafane

A complete digital transformation is taking shape at State Auto Insurance, where efforts to turn around several years of underwriting losses have also meant exits of certain part of the business.

Recently, Chief Executive Officer Michael LaRocco and other State Auto executives spoke to Carrier Management about the digital transformation. (See related article, “Standing Up a New Insurance Carrier: Super Regional State Auto Goes Digital for Real.”) With the interview coming just two months after State Auto announced that the company is reviewing options for its excess and surplus (E&S) lines business, including a possible sale, we asked whether the move to digital might have had something to do with the decision to exit lines that many believe aren’t conducive to digital sales.