Dive Brief:
- Farmers Insurance Group tapped Allstate veteran John Griek to serve as its CFO effective April 1, the insurer announced Monday in a press release.
- Griek takes the seat from interim CFO Maïté Irakoze Baur, who will return to her role as chief investment officer for the Los Angeles, California-based provider of small business, home and automotive insurance, according to the company.
- Farmers, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zürich, Switzerland-based Zurich Insurance Group, will draw on Griek’s past experience in the insurance industry — which includes “a demonstrated history of leading multi-year operational strategies” — as it looks to continue “to execute on our strategic plans for achieving long-term, profitable growth for the Farmers enterprise,” president and CEO Raul Vargas said in a statement included in the release.
Dive Insight:
Griek most recently served as VP of property and casualty insurance finance operations for Allstate, according to the release. His previous roles at the Northfield Township, Illinois-based Allstate also included a three-year stint as its director of investor relations as well as a two-year span as its controller, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He is taking Farmers’ financial reins as the insurance provider looks to return to solid ground after a tumultuous couple of years. In August, the insurer announced it would be laying off 11% of its workforce — or about 2,400 employees — across its business lines as part of a restructuring aimed at positioning it for long-term profitability, according to a press release.
Farmers was one among several insurers to slash its workforce last year, and was also among many insurance providers who stepped back from providing services to certain states in the face of increasing environmental risks in 2023.
Farmers halted offering coverage in Florida and scaled back the number of services it offered in California where it ranks as the latter state’s second most popular insurer, according to an August report by USA Today. High construction costs and wildfire risks persuaded Farmers to pull back from California, announcing that it would no longer accept new applications for home insurance in the state past May 27, USA Today said.
The insurance provider has been juggling the impacts of its layoffs and macroeconomic risks alongside turmoil in its C-suite; Farmers appointed Vargas to serve as its president and CEO effective last January, replacing CEO Jeff Dailey, according to an October 2022 announcement.
This February, Farmers’ CFO Giles Harrison abruptly departed from the insurer after less than three years in the top financial seat, having joined Farmers from parent company Zurich Insurance Group in June 2021, according to a press release at the time.
Baur, who joined the company in 2020 as its chief investment officer, has been serving as Farmer’s interim CFO since early February of this year after Harrison’s departure, according to a company spokesperson. Harrison left to pursue other opportunities, the spokesperson said in an emailed response to questions.
Harrison’s departure, coupled with August’s layoffs, has sparked uncertainty surrounding the company’s financial health; rumors that Farmers’ parent company Zurich Insurance may be gearing up for a potential sale of Farmers swirled in a Reddit group of FIG employees after Harrison left the organization in February.
In November, Zurich announced FGI had agreed to acquire three brokerage entities as well as the Farmers Exchanges’ flood program servicing arm for $760 million, according to a press release. The ownership “will ensure FGI maintains and broadens its position in supporting the Exchanges in meeting customers’ needs while generating an additional capital-light stream of earnings for FGI,” Zurich said.
Farmers declined to comment on Griek’s appointment beyond the Monday press release.
