Bengtson and Zierke will serve in vice president roles

Society Insurance welcomes James Bengtson, vice president – chief actuary and Chad Zierke, vice president – chief claims officer to its executive team.

In his role as vice president – chief actuary, Bengtson works closely with Society’s teams to balance profitability and growth through product and rate changes, the reinsurance program, reserve estimates, data and predictive analytics. Previously, he served as vice president, chief actuary at Armed Forces Insurance, with leadership responsibilities in pricing, analytics, reserving, compliance and reinsurance.

Bengtson holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a master of business administration (MBA) degree, both from Emporia State University. He is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS).

“James brings a variety of multidisciplinary experience to his new role at Society,” said Heather Boyer, Society Insurance president & CEO. “He will contribute to all aspects of our actuarial operations and will work closely with our products and underwriting teams to ensure a prudent risk profile and competitive pricing that reflects the risks we insure.”

As he and his family relocate to Wisconsin, Bengtson plans to become active in his new community through volunteer work and church activities.

Serving as vice president – chief claims officer, Zierke oversees all operations within Society’s three claims departments: property/auto/liability claims, workers compensation claims and claims services. In his previous executive claims roles at Nationwide Insurance, Zierke managed commercial claims operations and claims shared services including system innovation, process automation, predictive analytics and modeling to realize claims efficiencies.

Zierke earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Northern Iowa. He holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Associate in Claims (AIC) designations from The Institutes.

“Chad will lead our claims operations as Society’s first chief claims officer,” said Boyer. “Working with our outstanding claims departments, Chad will oversee strategic alignment and create new synergies as all claims employees operate within a unified framework.”

Community involvement is a passion for Zierke, who has shared his time and talents with Boys & Girls Club, United Way and Feeding America.

ABOUT SOCIETY INSURANCE: Headquartered in Fond du Lac, Wis., Society Insurance has been a leading niche insurance carrier since 1915. Society focuses on the small details that make a big difference to its policyholders while offering top-notch insurance coverage, service and competitive pricing to businesses in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Tennessee, Colorado, Georgia and Texas.