GeoVera names John Forney as CEO

GeoVera Insurance Holdings, a provider of specialty residential property insurance, has appointed John Forney as chief executive officer and a member of its board of directors.

Forney takes up his post on July 1, 2020, and succeeds Kevin Nish, who has served as GeoVera's president and chief executive since November 2005.  Nish will continue to serve as a member of GeoVera's board.

Forney joins GeoVera with 20 years of experience advising and leading catastrophe insurance entities. He was most recently at UPC Insurance, where he spent eight years as chief executive, growing its top line by over $1 billion.

Chris Ackerman, managing director of Flexpoint Ford, GeoVera’s financial sponsor and majority shareholder, said Forney will build on the legacy established by his predecessor “of applying sophisticated underwriting techniques to consistently achieve attractive returns in the catastrophe exposed property insurance market."

Nish pointed to Forney’s proven track record in the specialty property insurance market and his experience with a range of strategies. "His extensive background in catastrophe insurance markets will provide valuable insights to the company,” he said.

Forney said: "I look forward to working with the employees of GeoVera to continue to serve the company's customers and distribution partners with unique insurance solutions for catastrophe exposed property risks."