Michael DeHetre, Senior Vice President, Underwriting and Product for Preferred Mutual Insurance Company, New Berlin, NY. (Submitted photo)

NEW BERLIN — Michael (Mike) DeHetre has joined Preferred Mutual Insurance Company (“Preferred Mutual”) as Senior Vice President, Underwriting and Product. DeHetre will be responsible for providing leadership and strategic vision to the underwriting function, product development initiatives, as well as agency partnership development.

DeHetre brings 29 years of underwriting service experience, and operational and leadership knowledge with considerable time in commercial lines underwriting. Most recently, he was Chief Underwriting Officer for Berkley Life Sciences, in addition to holding several leadership roles in underwriting services with national carriers.

Prior to joining Preferred Mutual, DeHetre focused on driving profitable growth strategies and product development, process improvement and automation design, improving customer service and agency interactions, establishing an underwriting and sales culture that emphasized the importance of the independent agent, and establishing underwriting processing efficiencies.

“As Preferred Mutual continues to develop and implement strategic initiatives that enhance our position in the marketplace, we will look to Mike to identify, develop, and implement best practices to make our underwriting processes and mutual appetite opportunities with our agency partnerships more efficient and effective,” shared Benedikt Sander, President and Chief Executive Officer.

“Mike will play a key role in providing long-term product solutions for our policyholders, as well as continue the relationship-focused, solution-oriented approach our agency partners have come to appreciate and expect from Preferred Mutual,” Sander concluded.

Preferred Mutual Insurance Company provides property and casualty insurance coverage to more than 232,000 individual and business customers through a network of more than 500 independent agents located throughout New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

In business since 1896, Preferred Mutual is rated “A” by AM Best Company for 20 consecutive years, and is headquartered in New Berlin, New York. Learn more at www.preferredmutual.com.

- Information provided by Preferred Mutual