Definity announces leadership moves, transitions to Guidewire cloud solution

Definity Financial Corporation has announced the formation of two new business units – expanding the roles of several of its leaders to accommodate the new segments – and the transition of its core insurance platform to the Guidewire Cloud solution.

The insurer has established the new personal insurance & digital channels unit and has tapped Paul MacDonald to lead it. MacDonald will assume the newly expanded role of executive vice president, personal insurance & digital channels, while Donna Ince has been promoted to senior vice president, chief underwriting officer of personal insurance. Ince has been a member of the company since May 2021, and has been instrumental in the “overall improved performance” of the personal insurance business for all regions in Canada; she also oversaw Petline Insurance.

Definity has also expanded its commercial insurance & insurance operations to accelerate its growth. Fabian Richenberger has been appointed executive vice president, commercial insurance & insurance operations, to build on the company’s “positive momentum” in commercial insurance, a release said. He will also oversee claims and sales & distribution for both commercial and personal insurance through his expanded role. Meanwhile, the company has also promoted Obaid Rahman to senior vice president, chief underwriting officer of commercial insurance. Rahman joined Economical Insurance – a Definity company – in 2018 and has played a key role in reshaping its commercial insurance portfolio.

“Definity has a strong leadership team that has successfully enhanced operations, delivered significant business improvements, and set a solid foundation as a public company,” said Definity president and CEO Rowan Saunders. “We’ve begun the next phase of our growth and are confidently evolving our organization for the future.”

In addition to the appointments, Definity also announced that it has successfully transitioned the Economical digital broker offering, Vyne, and the digital direct platform Sonnet to the Guidewire Cloud. In a release, the company said it is the first P&C insurer to have its core insurance platform utilize Guidewire Cloud’s capabilities.

“At Definity, we are focused on being Canada’s leading digital insurer poised for sustainable growth and profitability,” commented Definity SVP and CIO Tatjana Lalkovic. “Modernizing our core infrastructure brings opportunity for agility, scale, and innovation alongside Guidewire’s partner ecosystem.”