People and places

Members of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners elected 2007 officers during the group’s winter meeting in San Antonio.

Alabama Insurance Commissioner Walter Bell was named president, Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger was chosen as president-elect, New Hampshire Insurance Commissioner Roger Sevigny was elected vice president and West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Jane Cline was elected secretary-treasurer.

Bell became Alabama commissioner in January 2003. He began his insurance career as a financial professional with The MONY Group in 1983. He served as their national director of emerging markets from 1996 until 1999, at which time he became vice president of corporate diversity in New York City, until his retirement in 2002. His career also includes a stint with the Urban League in Indianapolis.

Praeger was elected Kansas’ 24th commissioner in 2002, and was re-elected in 2006. She previously served three terms in the Kansas Senate and one term in the Kansas House of Representatives. She also has served as mayor of Lawrence, Kan., and was a member of the Lawrence City Commission.

Sevigny was appointed as New Hampshire commissioner in 2003. He previously held the position of assistant commissioner and he also worked at Travelers Insurance for more than 30 years.

Cline was named West Virginia commissioner in January 2001. Prior to her appointment, she operated a government consulting firm. From 1989 to 1997, she served as Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles. Prior to her DMV appointment, she served as deputy commissioner for the Division of Highways.

The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies has named Nancy Grover as its new media relations director. Grover, who will be based in NAMIC’s Washington, D.C. office, will promote the positions of the organization and the member companies it serves to key target audiences. Grover has been a journalist for two decades, serving most recently as managing editor for a newsletter devoted to workers’ compensation. She has also been an account representative for MetLife.

Hanson and Ryan Inc. in Totowa, N.J., has hired Jennifer Stalgaitis-DiMasi as an account executive. DiMasi will specialize in risk management for the agency’s business clientele, focusing on small and medium size businesses. DiMasi comes to Hanson and Ryan following three years at Automatic Data Processing where she served as a senior customer service representative. Prior to that, she was employed by CMP Media, a publishing firm in New York City

Colemont-Hartford has promoted Jennie Foster to the position of broker. Foster will be focusing on developing the Hartford office’s primary auto book of business, as well as selling all casualty lines. Foster joined Colemont in 2001 as an associate broker. Prior to joining Colemont, she was the commercial lines manager at a large local retail agency.

The American Institute of Marine Underwriters recently elected Richard J. Decker, president of AIG Global Marine, as chairman. He succeeds Robert V. Huffert, senior vice president and manager of the ocean marine department and a vice president of Munich Reinsurance America (formerly American Re-Insurance Co.).

Decker joined AIG Global Marine in April 2006 and is responsible for the commercial marine portfolio globally. His experience in the insurance industry dates to back to 1969. Previously he served as senior vice president for ocean marine at ACE USA, and before that, worked Royal Insurance Co.

S.H. Smith & Co., a national excess and surplus lines insurance broker, announced that Derek O’Gorman has joined the firm as vice president. O’Gorman’s responsibilities will include the placement of general liability, umbrella, environmental and property excess and surplus lines coverages. He has 20 years experience in the industry, beginning with AIG Risk Management and General Star as a casualty underwriter. He then spent 10 years with Marsh & McLennan. O’Gorman will be based in the Boston area office.

Laurie Ross has joined Rose and Kiernan Inc., a regional insurance agency based in East Greenbush, N.Y., as a client manager in the Employee Benefits Management Group. She will work from the agency’s Pawling office. Ross most recently was with Adirondack Trust Co. in Saratoga Springs.

USI Holdings Corp. has promoted Andrew Catapano to president of the Northeast office. Catapano joined USI in 2005 as regional chief sales and marketing officer from Marsh and McLennan in New York City where he was a managing director. Catapano will be based in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., and will continue to report to James M. Butler, regional CEO of the Northeast region.

John Latham has been promoted to senior vice president in operations for Markel Corp. Latham will work with CEO Tony Markel and executive vice president Paul Springman in the direction of Markel’s worldwide insurance company operations. Most recently, Latham has served as Markel’s chief information officer. Prior to that, Latham was chief operating officer of Markel Re. Prior to that, he had been president and CEO of Colony Insurance Co.

A new Office of Business Development comprised of Letha Heaton, Brenda Phillips, and Jeff Lamb will also report to Latham, who will focus on business development.

Also at Markel, David Egbert, currently chief technical officer, has been promoted to chief information officer and will report to Latham in his new role. Egbert joined Markel in March 2006 as chief technical officer. He had previously been chief information officer at Viasystems Technologies.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners presented Robert Wake, staff attorney for the Maine Bureau of Insurance, with the Robert Dineen Award, the association’s most prestigious individual honor. Wake drafted the NAIC’s Market Analysis Handbook, a handbook that is the foundation for market analysis techniques being implemented by state insurance departments. Also, he provided legal counsel to the Interstate Compact National Standards Working Group on the preparation of bylaws, and he prepared the 2002 NAIC Report on Employee Leasing and Professional Employer Organizations.

Topics New York Virginia Kansas West Virginia