Westfield has named Henning Haagen (pictured above) as chief underwriting officer, effective Septe. 2. Haagen will be based in the company’s New York City office and will lead the development and execution of Westfield’s enterprise underwriting strategy across its global portfolio.
Haagen’s responsibilities include overseeing standards and governance for personal, commercial, surety, and specialty lines. He will chair the Enterprise Underwriting Portfolio Strategy Committee, manage risk appetite and aggregation, and focus on underwriting quality and talent management.
His role also covers enterprise ceded reinsurance strategy and providing strategic insights to support profitable growth and return on equity.
Haagen joins Westfield from HIVE Underwriters Limited, where he served as chief development officer and board member. Before that, he held executive roles at Allianz Commercial in Munich, London, and New York. At Allianz, he led global sales and distribution, multinational underwriting, and claims operations across several regions, managing nearly 1,800 professionals.
During his tenure at Allianz, Haagen led a transformation of a non-performing portfolio, focusing on aligning risk appetite with enterprise objectives and enhancing multinational capabilities. His leadership included defining both regional and global underwriting strategies.
“Henning brings deep expertise and leadership that will strengthen our enterprise underwriting strategy and portfolio management capabilities,” said Ed Largent, CEO and board chair of Westfield.
Largent added that Haagen’s experience in global underwriting leadership and portfolio performance will support Westfield’s goals for disciplined growth and underwriting excellence.
Westfield’s parent company, Ohio Farmers Insurance Company, recently entered into an agreement to sell Westfield Bancorp to First Financial Bancorp for $325 million. The deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, will be paid 80% in cash and 20% in stock.
Westfield’s leadership has indicated that this transaction is part of a broader strategy to focus on core property and casualty operations and reinvest in profitable underwriting, with Largent noting that the sale will enable the company to prioritize investments in its P&C businesses and strengthen specialty insurance capabilities.
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