Jonathan Hooven has spent 22 years in the insurance industry focused exclusively on small business customers.
Throughout his career he has overseen the profitability of more than $3bn of long-tail casualty premium, representing $100s-of-billions in risk transferred (limit of insurance / claim exposure) from millions of customers.
Jonathan’s entire career has been focused on insuring and providing risk management for small business owners.
He commented: “The most enjoyable part of the past two decades has been leading diverse teams to create long-term stability of coverage for millions of policyholders."
BACKGROUND & PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
First Insurance & Risk Management
Your small business is our first priority. First partners exclusively with independent insurance agents and brokers to provide insurance protection that includes a tailored risk management plan. Whether a startup or an established operation, grow your business with peace of mind.
Hiscox USA
Jonathan joined Hiscox USA in 2020 when he was appointed senior vice president and practice leader with P&L responsibility for c. $400 million of micro and small-medium-enterprise (SME) premium revenue. He served as head of casualty and head of underwriting for the Digital Partnerships and Direct (DPD) business unit.
He led the underwriting team and engagement with actuarial, claims, coverage counsel, operations, marketing and distribution to address areas of opportunity for course correction and targeted growth. The successful collaboration resulted in tens of millions of dollars in hard benefit, creating long-term stability of coverage for hundreds of thousands of policyholders.
Atlas General Insurance Services (now RPS / Gallagher)
Head of underwriting and P&L responsibility for the small business workers compensation portfolio. Grew small business, the most profitable segment, to the largest share of the book by implementing data-driven, rules-based portfolio underwriting tools. Steered business requirements in operations and technology when implementing industry-leading digital distribution platforms (DuckCreek & Guidewire).
Previously head of underwriting and operations for the new-at-the-time commercial division, responsible for Atlas’ diversification beyond middle-market workers compensation by leading development of the general liability and business owners policy (BOP) products. Served as subject matter expert to finance, operations, and distribution to successfully service the new lines of business.
The sustained growth in micro and SME workers compensation and expansion into other P&C lines were key to their national expansion and a more resilient strategy focused on small business insurance. Responsibilities included head of distribution and leading the day-to-day operations in the workers compensation division.
Appalachian Underwriters (now Acrisure)
Jonathan led the San Diego branch office as well as operations and distribution for the 13-state western region, including underwriting oversight and P&L responsibility for the workers compensation and general liability products.
Previously held the position of regional manager and head of the Miami, FL office. Prior to that, was head of the inside marketing department in their Tennessee-based home office.
Answer Financial (acquired by Allstate)
Jonathan began his career when he was recruited as a bi-lingual insurance agent for the largest personal lines agency in the U.S., and pioneering insuretech, which is now a sister company to Esurance. Both organizations have since been acquired by Allstate. While in the frontline role, Jonathan rose to the top 10% of sales agents by developing consultative, solutions-based approaches.
He was soon promoted to sales coach and manager of the homeowners and ancillary lines team. There, the team piloted and successfully implemented the transition from DOS-based to first-of-their-kind web-based policy administration platforms for: Progressive, The Travelers, The Hartford, Safeco, Fireman’s Fund, and Chubb.
Volunteer Work
Jonathan is bi-lingual (English / Spanish), having lived in Nicaragua from 1998 to 2001 participating in volunteer education projects and assisting with disaster relief work.
Since c. 2013 Jonathan now visits Guatemala most frequently, volunteering and supporting non-profit organizations focusing on cleft palate treatment (Tess Unlimited), down syndrome (Fundación Margarita Tejada), and sponsoring scholarships for children with disabilities (Brillo de Sol).
Hobbies
ART
A self-taught artist, Jonathan often works beyond the boundaries of conventional medium.
He primarily paints with acrylic on media as varied as glass, plaster, wood, metal, and repurposed canvas to create heavily layered, highly tactile pieces that invite the viewer’s emotional connection.
At other times he paints using a minimalist palette that evokes a sense of calm with clean lines and softer, graduated pigments.
100% of profits from the sale of Jonathan’s art is donated to causes that work to cure global source issues of inequality.
PERFUME MAKING
Jonathan enjoys the creative and scientific process involved in formulating aromatic compounds into perfumes and fine fragrances.
His goal is to create scents inspired by the power of imagination and a desire to capture moments in time: the best memories.