People

Dallas-based Colemont Insurance Brokers promoted Su Young to vice president in Colemont’s Texas office.

Young joined Colemont in 2001 as part of the Texas financial services team and is located in Houston. She specializes in D&O, employment practices, fiduciary, crime and professional liability/E&O coverage placements for all classes.

Prior to joining Colemont, Young worked for 19 years at various retail agencies in all areas of coverage, eventually specializing in financial services placements.

Crump Insurance Services’ Houston office has hired Mike Driscoll as vice president broker.

His duties include specialty wholesale property placements in the excess and surplus marketplace and via Crump’s network of carrier binding authorities.

Driscoll formerly was executive vice president of the property and casualty division at London American Risk Specialists.

Dallas-based Bridge Insurance Partners, a national commercial property and casualty agency, announced three executive leadership positions.

Jeff Turner was named managing principal, and Tommy Saxon and Ryan Perry have been designated principals.

All three formerly held leadership positions in Higginbotham and Associates’ Dallas office. Turner most recently served as the managing director for Higginbotham.

Bridge Insurance Partners provides property and casualty, directors and officers, errors and omissions, risk management and personal coverage, along with employee benefits, retirement plans and life and disability insurance to middle market firms operating in the United States.

Insurance wholesaler McClelland and Hine promoted Cynthia Pompa to marketing representative for the firm’s Dallas branch office.

Pompa has been with the company since 2006 as an underwriter and has 13 years’ experience in the industry.

McClelland and Hine, a managing general agent and excess and surplus lines broker with offices in San Antonio, Houston and Dallas, has been serving Texas since 1982.

Specialty Insurance Managers Inc. CEO Frank R. Berry and President Diana G. Berry are retiring. Mike Berry becomes the firm’s new chairman and CEO; Sherri Hendricks, president; and Kim Morrison, chief operating officer.

Mike Berry joined Specialty in 1991 and has held various marketing and underwriting positions within the agency before most recently serving as executive vice president.

Sherri Hendricks has been with Specialty since 1981 with the primary responsibility of expanding the commercial auto book. She has and will continue to play a vital role in this area in addition to her executive duties.

Kim Morrison began working for Specialty in 1981 during her senior year in high school. Since then, and after a brief absence, she has worked closely with various departments within the organization, in addition to the markets and customers, to help ensure service standards are being met.

The Central Texas Chapter of the CPCU Society (Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters) has elected officers for 2008-2009.

Newly elected chapter officers are: President Kim Kimball, Underwriting Support Services supervisor at State Farm Insurance; President-Elect Michelle Kologinczak, Leadership Development associate at State Farm Insurance; Vice President Meredith Hilverda, Commercial Lines manager at Superior Access Insurance; Secretary Rich Berthelsen, director of Content Development for the American Institute for CPCU; and Treasurer Chris Grunska, Finance supervisor at State Farm Insurance.

Ryan Bowles, a vice president in the property and casualty group of McQueary Henry Bowles Troy’s Dallas office, recently received the Charlie Sammons Service Leadership Award from the Independent Insurance Agents of Dallas.

Bowles has been a member of the IIAD since 2000, most currently serving as the past chairman of the Young Agents Leadership Committee.

Originally given for the first time in 2000 as the Young Agent of the Year Award, in 2005 the name was changed to the Charlie Sammons Service Leadership Award in honor of Sammons for all of the outstanding contributions he gave during his professional career to young agents.

To earn the award, nominations are narrowed down to three candidates by the IIAD Young Agents Committee, which currently has more than 50 members. The winner is selected by a subcommittee comprised of the previous year’s winner, the current committee chair and IIAD’s executive director. Bowles is the eighth recipient of the award.

Bowles has 10 years of experience in the insurance and risk management industry. He joined MHBT in 2000 as the third generation of Bowles family members to serve MHBT’s clients.

Thomas F. Motamed, vice chairman and chief operating officer for The Chubb Corp., will become chairman and chief executive officer of CNA Financial Corp. in June 2009.

Motamed worked at Chubb for 31 years, beginning in 1977 as a claims trainee, and has held numerous positions in the field and home office. His retirement from Chubb was effective June 6, 2008.

Topics Texas Agencies Excess Surplus Property Property Casualty Casualty Human Resources Professional Liability