Industry Veteran Clyde H. Fitch Jr. to Lead State Auto Sales Effort

COLUMBUS, Ohio--The State Auto Insurance Companies today named industry veteran Clyde H. Fitch Jr. to lead the company’s sales and field operations.

Fitch, who most recently served as senior vice president of distribution and enterprise development for Travelers in Hartford, Conn., has more than 30 years of experience with Aetna and Travelers, where he led the development of field and sales organizations for both small commercial and personal lines. From 1996 to 2006, he was Travelers’ president of independent agency operations, overseeing personal lines sales, national distribution, marketing, and field human resources. Fitch also has considerable experience in managing merger and acquisition integration.

Joining Fitch as vice president of sales is John M. Petrucci, who had served as State Auto’s vice president of agency/industry relations. He joined State Auto as agency development specialist in 1996 after 11 years in claims and sales positions with Allstate. Petrucci has since served State Auto as branch manager and director of corporate sales.

“Clyde has first-hand experience building high-performing field and sales operations, and I’m confident he will bring that same passion for success to State Auto,” said State Auto Chairman and CEO Bob Restrepo. “He and John will lead a sales operation that is responsive to our independent agency partners and builds on the tremendous progress we’ve made over the past 18 months. At the same time, they’ll position us well to produce both underwriting profits and accelerated growth in the months and years to come.”

The State Auto Insurance Companies, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, are engaged primarily in writing personal and business insurance products exclusively through approximately 3,200 independent insurance agencies in 29 states and are proud to be a Trusted Choice® company partner. The State Auto Insurance Companies include State Auto Financial Corporation , and State Automobile Mutual Insurance Company, which is one of only 14 companies rated A+ (Superior) by the A.M. Best Company every year since 1954. Additional information can be found online at StateAuto.com.