Assurant CEO turns focus to phones after employee-benefits exit

(Bloomberg) — Assurant Inc. Chief Executive Officer Alan Colberg is betting on growing demand for mobile phones and tablets and struck a deal with Google Inc. after agreeing to sell an employee-benefits unit.

The insurer introduced coverage that offers two-year protection against accidental damage of the Nexus phones by Google, whose parent company is Alphabet, the New York-based insurer said Monday in a statement. Colberg said on a July conference call that mobile coverage accounts for about a third of profits at Assurant Solutions, the unit that covers cell phones and computers as well as major appliances.

“We see great opportunities in the U.S. market,” Colberg said Monday in an interview in New York, adding that the insurer also has expanded its reach into Europe and Latin America. “We’re going to benefit from growth just as consumers across these economies use more devices and as these devices get more connected and more complicated.”