ACE USA, the U.S.-based retail operations of the ACE Group, today announced the appointment of William P. Hazelton as Construction Industry Practice Leader. In this role, Mr. Hazelton will be responsible for driving the overall strategic and tactical delivery of the company's products and services within the Construction Industry Practice. He will also oversee ACE USA's primary casualty construction business in addition to his current role as Executive Vice President of ACE Environmental Risk.

Craig Richardson has been named Senior Vice President, Environmental Risk, with responsibility for managing all day to day underwriting and marketing operations for the division. Geoffrey Hall, Senior Vice President, will continue to lead the day to day underwriting and marketing activities for ACE's Primary Construction unit. Mr. Richardson and Mr. Hall will both report to Mr. Hazelton.

Mr. Hazelton will lead a broad team of dedicated construction underwriting and service specialists across multiple lines of business, including Excess Casualty, Environmental Risk, Builder's Risk, Foreign Casualty, Surety, Professional Risk and ESIS, Inc., to deliver stand-alone and integrated insurance solutions to the construction industry through retail brokers. Mr. Hazelton will continue to report to Ross Bertossi, Division President, ACE USA Casualty Lines.

"The risks inherent in the construction industry are technical and complex. ACE USA has demonstrated a unique commitment to deploy underwriting expertise, engineering and claims management services for a wide range of customers to manage these complex risks," said Mr. Bertossi. "Bill and Craig have driven the segmentation and expansion of ACE USA's environmental businesses. Craig is an experienced insurance executive and is well positioned to continue this expansion. Bill's excellent track record and leadership will be an asset in overseeing the practice and delivering additional value to our clients and brokers."

"The formalization of the Construction Industry Practice within ACE USA offers significant growth opportunities for ACE and tangible benefits to our brokers and customers," said Chris Maleno, Chief Operating Officer, ACE USA. "Unifying these resources under Bill's leadership will enable more efficient deployment of the company's myriad of construction products and services and represents the next phase of our investment in the business in conjunction with economic growth and the industry's continued expansion."

With more than 20 years in the insurance industry in both claims and underwriting, Mr. Hazelton joined ACE in 2005, and most recently served as Executive Vice President of ACE USA's Environmental Risk unit. Prior to his tenure with ACE, Mr. Hazelton held a variety of leadership positions in the environmental underwriting and claims arena at several global carriers. Mr. Hazelton received a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and History from James Madison University, and a Master of Arts degree in History from Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey. He has published articles on the topic of environmental liability and risk management issues in several industry trade publications.

With more than 20 years of insurance industry experience, Mr. Richardson most recently served as Vice President, Field Operations for ACE Environmental Risk, having joined ACE in 2008. He previously held various management and underwriting positions in the insurance industry, including serving as a vice president and assistant district manager for the environmental division of a global carrier. Mr. Richardson received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Mississippi, and a Master's degree in Public Policy & Administration from Mississippi State University. He will be based in Atlanta, GA, where he will continue to report to Mr. Hazelton.

Mr. Hall has more than 24 years of diverse experience in the insurance arena, and for the past 14 years has focused on the construction and transportation infrastructure insurance and risk management market. He joined ACE in 2006 as Senior Vice President, ACE Construction, where he has been responsible for leading the domestic underwriting strategies of ACE USA's Construction Industry Practice. Prior to joining ACE, Mr. Hall held a variety of marketing and underwriting positions in construction and healthcare casualty underwriting for a global carrier. He has served as a speaker on numerous industry panels, and served as a co-author of an article on the effect of stimulus funding on the insurance industry. Mr. Hall received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Hobart College, in Geneva, NY.

ACE's Construction Industry Practice consists of business units that offer a broad suite of products and service including:

  • Workers Compensation, General Liability & Auto Risk Transfer
  • Environmental, including Contractors Pollution Liability & Contractors Professional Liability
  • Inland Marine, including Builders Risk & Contractors Equipment
  • International Casualty Enterprise & Package Solutions, including Defense Base Act Workers Compensation
  • Umbrella/Excess
  • Weatherbacker® Climate Event
  • Wrap Ups & other project-specific programs
  • Specialty Claims Construction Defect & Mold Unit
  • Construction Risk Management Services
  • Surety
  • Professional Liability for architects and engineers, construction managers and trade contractors

Insurance is provided by insurers within the ACE Group. The product information above is a summary only. The insurance policy actually issued contains the terms and limits of the contract. All products may not be available in all states. For more information regarding the ACE USA Construction Industry Practice, please visit our website.

ACE USA is the U.S.-based retail operating division of the ACE Group, and is rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best Company and AA- (Very Strong) by Standard & Poor's. ACE USA, through its underwriting companies, provides insurance products and services throughout the U.S. Additional information on ACE USA and its products and services can be found at www.acegroup.com/us. The ACE Group is one of the world's largest multiline property and casualty insurers. With operations in 53 countries, ACE provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident supplemental health insurance, reinsurance, and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. ACE Limited, the parent company of the ACE Group, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ACE) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Additional information can be found at: www.acegroup.com

ACE North America Communications
Carla Ferrara, 215-640-4744
carla.ferrara@acegroup.com