Gerald Arnold Stepping Down At Lawyers Mutual

Article Date: Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Gerald Arnold

Gerald Arnold will retire from his position as president of Lawyers Mutual Liability Insurance Co. of North Carolina effective Dec. 31, the company announced today. Arnold has served with Lawyers Mutual since 1998 following his retirement as Chief Judge of the N.C. Court of Appeals.

 

He previously served as senior vice president and since Feb. 1 as president of the company, succeeding Carl Younger.

 

Effective Jan. 1, the new president and chief executive officer of Lawyers Mutual will be Daniel M. Zureich, senior managing director of Aon Benfield, an international reinsurance intermediary and consulting firm serving the insurance industry.

 

Zureich, who is currently based in Minneapolis, has broad experience with insurance companies similar to Lawyers Mutual and brings with him a wealth of knowledge of the industry, company officials noted. He holds undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Missouri.

 

"Judge Arnold has been a wonderful leader and an important resource for Lawyers Mutual, and we appreciate all that he has done for the company," stated Glen Hardymon, chairman of the Lawyers Mutual Board of Directors, in a company press release. "Judge Arnold will continue to serve as a consultant for the company to assist Mr. Zureich as he makes his transition to Lawyers Mutual.

 

"We are very excited that Dan Zureich has agreed to join our company," Hardymon continued. "Lawyers Mutual is fortunate to have attracted such an experienced and knowledgeable person to lead us into the future. We look forward to our clients meeting and getting to know Dan. He will be an asset to the company and the state of North Carolina."

 

"As I think about retiring, I do not have any message of leave-taking or farewell," Arnold stated in the release, "but I do have strong feelings of gratitude for those with whom I have worked and what we have done together. Nothing could be more satisfying than being a part of something that is greater than you are.

 

"Lawyers Mutual was formed by the lawyers in this state who were left hanging by an insurance market in which no carrier provided reliable and continuous service. For 31 continuous years now, Lawyers Mutual has solved that problem, and provided reliable service to thousands of wonderful mutual policyholders.

 

"And I am blessed to have been here for 11 of those years. I do not, however, always want to be looking back. I would like to retire while I can still look forward to retirement, and hopefully I might be able to give something back."

 

Arnold concluded his remarks in the release with a statement regarding his successor.

 

"I have gotten to know Dan Zureich in his capacity as reinsurance broker for Lawyers Mutual," Arnold said. "He may have the freshness of an outsider, but I can think of no one who knows more about this company than Dan. He has worked hand in glove with so many of us, held our hands and walked us through highly technical areas. I cannot imagine a person more uniquely qualified to become CEO of this company.

 

"I think the board has hit a grand slam in Dan Zureich."

 
Lawyers Mutual is a mutual insurance company that provides professional liability insurance to the lawyers of North Carolina. The company was formed in 1977, when other sources of professional liability insurance had virtually disappeared for North Carolina lawyers, and estimates that it currently insures over half of the state's practicing lawyers.