Markel’s President-Chief Operating Officer Resigns

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December 23, 2009 Wednesday 11:30 AM EST

270 words

Markel's President-Chief Operating Officer Resigns

Meg Green

RICHMOND, Va.

Specialty property/casualty insurer Markel Corp. said its president and chief operating officer, Paul W. Springman, has resigned after 25 years with the company.

Springman, who has been on a leave of absence since late October, has resigned effective Jan. 1, 2010, "to pursue other interests," the company said in a statement.

Springman was named president and COO in May 2008. Before that, he had served as an executive vice president since 2002, and as president of Markel North America from January 2000 to August 2002, according to the company's Web site.

Attempts to reach the company for additional comment were not immediately successful.

When Springman's leave was announced in October, company spokesman Bruce A. Kay said the company didn't know how long Springman would be gone, but said, "We should have a better sense when we release our third-quarter results." Nothing more could be said about Springman's leave "out of respect for confidentiality," Kay said at the time (BestWire, Oct. 26, 2009).

In November, Markel reported net income of $59.1 million for the third-quarter, an improvement over a net loss of $142.3 million for the same period a year ago. The company's combined ratio for the 2009 third quarter improved to 96 from 124 for the third quarter in 2008.

Insurance subsidiaries in the Markel Corp. Group, including the Markel North America Insurance Group, currently have a Best's Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent).

Shares of Markel Corp. (NYSE: MKL) stock were trading at $335.10 on the morning of Dec. 23, down 0.98%.

(By Meg Green, senior associate editor, BestWeek: Meg.Green@ambest.com)

December 24, 2009

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