People

AVRECO, a wholesale insurance brokerage based in Chicago, has announced the appointment of Marcia Gloppe as an underwriter in the professional liability underwriting department, headed by Linda Deiss.

Gloppe began her insurance career in 1978 with Warner Insurance. She has extensive experience as both a company underwriting manager and executive underwriter. She has also underwritten and brokered business for such organizations as Cigna, AIG, Transamerica, Coregis, Dann Insurance, and Euclid Managers.

AVRECO also appointed Jody Oster to its Chicago-based casualty team. Oster has almost five years of insurance experience and works with manager Mark Senkbeil placing various lines of casualty business.

In other moves, Ken Karsted, a 35-year veteran of the insurance industry and former naval officer, has retired from AVRECO, where he has spent the last seven years as a property broker specializing in non-standard and specialty lines.

Property broker Trent Iliff will take over his book of business. Iliff specializes in primary, excess property, and inland marine coverages. He also recently received his Certificate in General Insurance and is currently working toward earning his Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters designation.

AVRECO, founded in 1962 with offices in Chicago and New York City, is one of the largest independent insurance wholesalers in the United States, with access to more than 100 insurance companies. AVRECO specializes in niche business, including medical malpractice and professional liability insurance, non-profit and for-profit D&O, employment-related practices insurance, property for both large accounts and packages, general casualty, and excess liability.

St. Paul Travelers Companies Inc. has announced that Chief Financial Officer Jay S. Benet has been promoted to the position of vice chairman and chief financial officer. The appointment is effective immediately.

Benet joined Travelers Property Casualty as the chief financial officer in 2002 and continued serving as CFO when the company merged with The St. Paul in 2004. Previously, he served 12 years in various executive positions with Citigroup and with Travelers Life & Annuity.

Winterthur U.S. Holdings Inc. (WUSH), the parent company of General Casualty Insurance Companies, recently named Mike Bauer vice president of human resources.

Bauer’s professional affiliations include the Executive Roundtable in Chicago, the Human Resources Management Association of Chicago, and the Society of Human Resources Management. He holds a bachelors’ degree in business administration/industrial relations from State University of New York in Buffalo, N.Y., and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. He also holds an SHRM designation from the Society of Human Resources Management.

Winterthur, based in Sun Prairie, Wis., specializes in property and casualty insurance through two regional operating companies: General Casualty (Sun Prairie) and Unigard (Bellevue, Wash.).

WellPoint Inc. has named Alan Spiro, M.D., vice president and chief medical officer of its national accounts business unit. He will lead the development and delivery of care management programs for employers with more than 5,000 eligible employees.

Spiro was most recently principal and national clinical practice leader for Towers Perrin, where he worked with Fortune 500 companies to develop and evaluate health care and benefit programs for their employees.

Prior to joining Towers, Spiro was chief medical officer for Utilimed Inc., senior vice president and medical director for ConnectiCare and vice president and medical director for Celtic Life Insurance Company.

Indianapolis, Ind.-based WellPoint Inc. is a commercial health benefits company and an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Assurance Agency Ltd., Rolling Meadows, Ill., recently appointed Dan Klaras as vice president of property and casualty business, reporting directly to Assurance President Anthony Chimino.

Klaras was formerly field vice president at Fireman’s Fund Insurance where he was responsible for 200 agencies generating business across five Midwestern states. In previous employment, he held vice president positions at Kemper Insurance Cos.and Safeco Corp.

LeRoy Brungardt, director of agents and licensing for the Kansas Insurance Department, has been appointed to serve on the executive committee of the Society of Insurance Licensing Administrators (SILA).

SILA was established in October 1990 to bring together licensing experts whose occupations encompass all aspects of licensing.

The Revere Group, Chicago, recently appointed David Greenwell as vice president and national practice leader. In his new position, Greenwell is responsible for establishing vendor alliances and partnering with executives to maximize their investments in technology. Greenwell is a former vice president at Capgemini.

National Interstate Corporation has promoted David Michelson to executive vice president and chief operating officer. In this newly created position, Michelson will lead all business operations and achieve the corporation’s written premium and underwriting profit objectives.

Michelson joined the corporation in 1992 and will continue to report to Alan Spachman, National Interstate chairman and president.

National Interstate also promoted Terry Phillips to senior vice president. In his expanded role, Phillips will oversee claims and reinsurance and be responsible for agency programs and the new alternative transportation programs business units. Phillips, who joined the company in 1999, will report to Michelson. National Interstate Corporation, founded in 1989 and based in Richfield, Ohio, is a specialty property and casualty insurer with a niche orientation and focus on the transportation industry.

Topics Agencies Underwriting Property Property Casualty Casualty