The Hanover Insurance Group brought back a former chief financial officer company to serve as interim CFO, a move made necessary due to the unexpected death of his predecessor earlier in October.
Eugene Bullis, once an executive vice president and CFO at The Hanover, will return to his old role least temporarily. His presence will give The Hanover board some breathing room as it searches for a permanent replacement for David Greenfield, the insurer’s CFO who died earlier in October after a “health event” at age 53.
Initially, Hanover President Frederick Eppinger had said he would take on Greenfield’s CFO slot added to his own responsibilities. Eppinger announced in September that he’d be leaving the company next year to pursue new professional opportunities.
The Hanover announced Bullis’s temporary return in its 2015 third quarter earnings announcement on Oct. 28. He served as CFO at The Hanover from 2007 through 2010. Before that, Bullis was CFO at CNO Financial Group (known previously as Conseco) and also Wang Laboratories, among other companies.
While The Hanover has been facing major leadership transitions, the insurer produced positive 2015 third quarter results.
The Hanover booked $78.3 million in net income during the quarter, or $1.74 per diluted share, versus just under $55 million, or $1.22 per diluted share, in the 2014 third quarter. Net premiums written reached just under $1.2 billion, a slight dip over $1.24 billion produced during Q3 2014. The Hanover’s combined ratio for Q3 is 94.9, an improvement over 98.2 produced in the same year-ago period.
Net investment income came in at $68.3 million, a 1.2 percent uptick from the same period last year.
The Hanover said its domestic business grew 5 percent during Q3, thanks both to price increases and improved retention.
Also of note, The Hanover repurchased 783,00 shares of common stock for $61.8 million during Q3, and the board of directors authorized a $300 million increase to its existing common stock repurchase program.
Source: The Hanover Insurance Group