View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2016/07/28/421486.htm

Canada’s Economical Insurance Names Saunders as President & CEO

Economical Insurance, headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, has named Rowan Saunders as president and CEO, effective Nov. 1, 2016. This follows the announcement on Feb. 19, 2016, that current president and CEO, Karen Gavan, will retire from the company and the board this year.

Saunders has served as president and CEO of RSA Canada since 2003. He joined RSA in 1987 and has held progressive leadership positions in the areas of underwriting, marketing, sales and finance, according to his LinkedIn profile.

“Economical is at an exciting moment in its history with strong plans in place to accelerate our growth and enhance our competitiveness in the market,” said John Bowey, board chair of Economical. “We are extremely pleased to have attracted a leader with Rowan’s track record of success to advance our goals.”

In a statement to announce the appointment, Economical said that Saunders will help advance the company’s strategic initiatives, which include:

• Canada’s first P&C demutualization (http://joininourfuture.com)
• Becoming a publicly traded company with access to new sources of capital to make strategic investments that will drive growth and increase market share
• Continuing to invest heavily in the company’s partnership with broker partners across Canada
• Expanding its digital direct channel (http://sonnet.ca) to service a segment of Canadians that prefer to self-manage their home and auto insurance online
• Potential future acquisitions

Gavan will remain as president and CEO until Saunders assumes office.

Source: Economical Insurance