SunTrust Insurance Head Wants Channel Change

By Matt AckermannMarch 26, 2009Steven Turtz, the new president of SunTrust Insurance Services Inc., said he was hired to "significantly" expand the SunTrust Banks Inc. unit by increasing distribution within the bank."This is a business that is ready to explode," Turtz said in an interview last week. "We have critical mass and we have proven that insurance products can be delivered through SunTrust. Now, we just have to take it to the next level."Turtz, who succeeded David Sweigart, said there are a lot of ways to expand distribution through the Atlanta company's bank and wealth management channels.SunTrust Insurance currently offers its products and services almost exclusively to the bank's high-net-worth customers; if it can offer insurance products to all of