GuideOne hires property specialist Simeoni from Swiss Re

Fast-growing US insurer GuideOne has brought in property focused Joseph Simeoni from Swiss Re as the latest addition to its ranks, The Insurer can reveal.

Simeoni joins West Des Moines, Iowa-based GuideOne after less than a year at Swiss Re where, according to the new hire’s LinkedIn profile, he served as standard property product manager, North America.

Before joining Swiss Re in June last year, Simeoni spent 15 months at AIG’s technology-driven middle market platform Blackboard which the insurance giant put into run-off last year.

During his career, Simeoni has worked for Mitsui Sumitomo as a senior underwriter within the company’s US general property division, while he began his insurance career at XL Catlin.

Having joined GuideOne, Simeoni will report into recently appointed Nicholas Batten.

The Insurer revealed last week that GuideOne had brought in long-time FM Global executive Batten as vice president of its specialty property business.

Batten was most recently vice president and manager of global services Americas at FM Global and had been at the industrial insurance giant since 2000, initially in the UK before a move to Sweden in 2005 and the US in 2008.

Simeoni’s arrival at GuideOne is the latest move the company has made as part of its specialty expansion under CEO Jessica Snyder since the former Citizens, Rockhill Insurance and State Auto executive joined in mid-2017.

GuideOne expanded into specialty lines E&S late in 2019 following the hiring of Mark Groenheide from HDI Global as part of its strategic plan to grow in niche businesses and diversify its offerings, while remaining committed to profitable growth in its church niche and other core products. It has also been building out its book of program business.

As part of its evolution, earlier this month GuideOne confirmed it had reorganised its corporate structure to a mutual holding company to allow it to generate greater operating efficiencies and flexibility, including the ability to raise and use capital more efficiently as it continues to grow.

“By becoming a mutual holding company, GuideOne can better respond to future needs and opportunities by providing increased financial flexibility with the ability, for the first time, to raise funds through the issuance of traditional debt,” Snyder said at the time.