A leadership change is coming at The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE: THG), the Worcester, Massachusetts property and casualty insurer. Jack Roche, who serves as president and chief executive officer, told the board of directors he plans to retire at the end of 2026. Richard W. Lavey, currently chief operating officer, has been named CEO-elect.
What a succession plan actually signals
A CEO succession plan is a formal, board-approved process that identifies the next chief executive before the outgoing one leaves. CEO-elect means Lavey holds the confirmed appointment but has not assumed the role yet. For a publicly traded company, that distinction matters. Investors watch succession closely because leadership uncertainty can unsettle a stock and, in insurance, can concern reinsurance partners and commercial clients that write multi-year policies.
Announcing the handover months in advance gives the market time to assess Lavey before he formally takes the chair. It also gives Lavey room to work in an expanded capacity while Roche is still present. That overlap is a deliberate feature of a planned succession, not an accident of timing.
Lavey's current role is chief operating officer. The COO runs daily operations, which in a property and casualty insurer covers claims handling, underwriting execution, and distribution. He is an internal appointment.
The business Lavey will run
Property and casualty insurance, commonly called P&C, covers losses from physical events: accidents, property damage, and liability claims. Unlike life insurance, which prices risk across a person's lifetime, P&C policies typically renew annually and reprice with the market. A single bad year for storms or fires can push a P&C insurer into an underwriting loss even when premium volume is rising.
The CEO shapes the two decisions that most directly determine whether a P&C company is profitable: where to write business and how to price risk. Those choices compound. They define the company's exposure when large losses arrive.
Roche's retirement is set for the end of 2026. The announcement came from Worcester on July 15, 2026.