Shenandoah Life Insurance Co., Roanoke, Va., successfully exited receivership following a $60 million capital infusion. Former Aviva Life Insurance Co. president and CEO Hans Carstensen has been named president and CEO of Shenandoah Life.
Shenandoah Life, which has served policyholders since its founding in 1914, will continue to be based in Roanoke as a subsidiary of its new owner, privately held Prosperity Life Insurance Group LLC.
The transaction, finalized Tuesday by order of the Virginia State Corporation Commission, means the company will resume normal operations, including continuing to fulfill all of its commitments to policyholders.
Carstensen noted what a unique situation it is for an insurance firm to successfully exit receivership as most end up being liquidated. To what does Shenandoah owe its success? "Clearly, the talent of the commissioner, the receivership team and Shenandoah's employees," Carstensen said.
Carstensen said three years in receivership is tough to come through, but he is looking forward to the challenge. "It will be fun to get the company back in the market."
In other industry news:
Association for Advanced Life Underwriting, Reston, Va., members elected new officers and three new directors for 2012-13. David A. Culley, CLU, ChFC, will serve as AALU president for the coming year.
Serving with Culley as AALU officers will be:
- President elect – Thomas J. Von Riesen, CLU, ChFC
- Immediate past president – Forrest G. Surles, CLU, ChFC, CFP, AEP, MSFS
- Vice president & treasurer – Anthony J. Domino, CLU, ChFC, MSFS
- Secretary – Mark B. Murphy, CLU, ChFC
Joining the AALU board of directors for a three-year term are:
- Robert P. Burke, CLU, ChFC, AEP
- Kenneth R. Samuelson Jr., CLU, ChFC
- Marc P. Schwartz, J.D., CLU
The AALU membership also recognized Past President Nathan M. Perlmutter, CLU, ChFC and departing board members Daniel Barry and Michael G. Goldstein, Esq, JD, LL.M for their service to the AALU and the life insurance industry.
MetLife Inc., New York, N.Y. (NYSE: MET), announced Christopher Townsend will join the company as head of its Asia region, which consists of Japan, Korea, Australia, Hong Kong and China. Townsend will be based in Hong Kong, report to the CEO and become a member of the company's executive management team.
Townsend previously was chief executive officer of Chartis–Australasia, with responsibility for the company's businesses across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Earlier, he was the CEO for Hong Kong, head of mergers and acquisitions, and held a number of senior leadership roles in Hong Kong, Singapore, London and Sydney. He joined Chartis in the United Kingdom in 1991 and has spent more than half of his 21-year career in the company's Asia-Pacific region. Townsend has agreed to join MetLife after a period of time during which he fulfills his existing obligations to Chartis.
The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co. appointed Peter Owh to sales manager of Life Planning Group, its career agency in Uniondale, N.Y.