The election took place at the July 27th Meeting of the CAR Governing Committee
As previously reported in Agency Checklists, at the CAR Governing Committee’s mid-June meeting the then current Chairman David Cochrane announced that he would be stepping down from his post. Mr. Cochrane, a Senior Vice President of Insurance Operations at MAPFRE, announced that said he decision to step down is due to his impending retirement.
According to CAR rules, upon notification of the departure of the Chairman of the Governing Committee, the following process occurs:
According to Rules 4.C.1. and 24.C.1. of CAR’s Rules of Operation, when the Chairman is unable to complete his term, the Vice- Chairman becomes Chairman, “at which time the Committee shall elect a new Vice-Chairman.” Accordingly, as the Chairman is now a producer, the Governing Committee will elect a new Vice- Chairman who is an insurer member of the Committee.
As a result, current Vice Chair John Olivieri of the J.K. Olivieri Agency returned to his former position of Chairman and elections for a new vice chairman were called. At the special meeting held on July 23, 2015, the Governing Committee unanimously voted to elect James S. Hyatt, Arbella Insurance Group, as Vice Chair.
Arbella’s James Hyatt, the new Vice Chair of the CAR Governing Committee
Mr. Hyatt is the Senior Vice President of Personal Lines at Arbella, a position he has held since the beginning of this year. Prior to that, he served for the previous five years as a Vice President of Personal Lines with the Quincy-based insurer. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Mr. Hyatt has been a well-respected and accomplished Massachusetts insurance industry professional over the past three decades. In addition to his positions with Arbella, Mr. Hyatt has also held various leadership positions with other major insurers including The Hanover, Chubb and The Hartford.
Effective immediately, Mr. Hyatt will assume his new position of Vice Chair of the CAR Governing Committee. As well as the CAR Governing Committee, he also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting Association and on the board of the Isenberg Leadership Board at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst’s Isenberg School. From 2001 until 2014, he was a member of the Board of Directors of The Insurance Library Association of Boston.
