Securian Financial Names New Head of Group Life Unit
January 6, 2010 by Fran Matso Lysiak
ST. PAUL, Minn. January 05 (BestWire) — Von Peterson has been tapped to lead the group life insurance unit of Securian Financial Group. He will succeed retiring executive vice president Jim Johnson, a 45-year company veteran who led the group life division.
Peterson, who also was promoted from vice president to senior vice president, joined Securian Financial in 1996 as a sales manager and moved to the group division in 1998, the company said. Recently, he oversaw client relationships, including 12 offices in the United States as well as a national sales team.
Johnson will remain until May 31 to help with the transition to the new leadership, Securian Financial said.
While the overall U.S. life/health industry saw a 3% decline in group life business issued in 2008, some companies, including Securian Financial, saw big increases, an A.M. Best Statistical Study showed earlier this year (BestWire, July 28, 2009).
Securian saw an 8.2% rise in group life business issued to $68.04 billion. Peterson in July told BestWire the group life division was responsible for most of the company’s 30.4% sales increase in total life business issued in 2008 (BestWire, July 28, 2009).
Under Johnson and Peterson, the group life business, which operates as Minnesota Life Insurance Co., has grown fast, the company said. In 1991, Minnesota Life was the 16th-largest group life insurer in the United States, with $66 billion of life insurance in force. In 2008, it was the fourth-largest, with $620 billion in force.
Minnesota Life Insurance currently has a Best’s Financial Strength Rating of A+ (Superior).
(By Fran Matso Lysiak, senior associate editor, BestWeek: fran.lysiak@ambest.com) BN-NJ-01-05-2010 1628 ET #
