People and Places

Zurich Financial Services Group has appointed Maine Insurance Superintendent Alessandro A. Iuppa as head of Government and Industry Affairs for General Insurance, and as chief government affairs officer, North America. Both appointments are effective Jan. 15, 2007. Based in Washington, D.C., Iuppa will represent Zurich with various governmental and industry bodies at the federal and state levels in the U.S., as well as globally for general insurance.

Iuppa currently is Maine Superintendent of Insurance, where he has been an active participant on insurance issues at both the national and international levels. He is just ending a term as president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Iuppa also serves as chair of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), representing the U.S. Within the NAIC, Iuppa also served on the International Insurance Committee.

Schamburg, Ill.-based Assurance Agency has named Michael Mann as its new executive vice president. In his new role, Mann will be responsible for managing and directing one of Assurance’s property and casualty production teams. He will also serve as a member of the company’s executive management team reporting directly to Assurance President Anthony Chimino.

Prior to his new appointment, Mann was regional marketing officer for Willis North America’s Central Region. In that role he was responsible for implementing the firm’s corporate marketing objectives, managing the region’s carrier relationships and overseeing the brokerage and placement of middle market and large account property and casualty business. Mann’s experiences at Willis also included the role of national marketing director from 2002 to 2004. Mann joined the Willis organization in the fall of 2000.

Prior to joining Willis, Mann was senior vice president at Near North Insurance Brokerage where he served as the national director of marketing from 1994 through 1999. Mann began his career as a D&O underwriter for CNA Insurance Cos. in 1987. He worked at CNA for two years before moving to Rollins Burdick Hunter (Aon) where he gained experience as a large account/risk management casualty broker.

Lansing, Mich.-based Accident Fund Insurance Company of America named Stephan Cooper vice president of Claims Operations. In his new role, Cooper directs Accident Fund’s workers’ compensation claims division.

Cooper joins Accident Fund from Chicago-based Specialty Underwriters Alliance, where he launched the workers’ compensation claims operations. Cooper’s background also includes leadership positions at General Electric, Metropolitan Life and Travelers.

Integro Insurance Brokers announced that Lynn Ambrose has joined the Chicago office as a principal in the Management Risk Practice. Ambrose has 15 years of experience in directors and officers, employment practices liability, fiduciary and crime. She joins Integro from Marsh, where she served as a senior vice president and National EPL Co-Practice leader. Integro, through its subsidiaries, is an insurance brokerage and risk management firm that serves the insurance and risk management needs of large or complex institutional risks.

Columbus, Ohio-based State Auto Financial Corp.appointed Steven E. English to the position of vice president — chief financial officer. English had previously served as vice president — director of corporate development and planning, overseeing capital management, investor relations and the development and analysis of management operating plans and reports, as well as interaction with rating agencies and insurance departments.

Previously English was CFO and treasurer of Meridian Insurance Group of Indianapolis when it was acquired by State Auto in 2001. Prior to joining Meridian in 2000, English was vice president of planning for Conseco, having begun his career with Coopers & Lybrand in 1982.

Ohio-based National Interstate Corp. announced that effective Jan. 1, 2007, Alan R. Spachman will become its chairman and chief executive officer and David W. Michelson will be promoted to the position of president and chief operating officer. National Interstate Corp said the changes support the continuation of the company’s efforts related to its executive management structure that were started in 2005.

Spachman is the company’s founder and has served as president since 1989 and chairman since 2004. As chairman and CEO Spachman will focus on continuing an orderly transition of his responsibilities related to the daily operations of the National Interstate to Michelson. The transition is expected to take place during the next 12 months.

Michelson has served as the company’s executive vice president and chief operating officer since 2005 and has held several other key positions since joining National Interstate in 1992. He has more than 27 years of insurance industry experience and since 2005, has overseen the company’s insurance operations including new business development, underwriting and claims.

Burns & Wilcox, the Farmington Hills, Mich.-based national specialty insurance wholesaler, underwriter and managing general agent, announced the addition of Buzz Harrison, who joins the company’s new Greensboro, N.C., office as a broker. Harrison has 30 years of experience in commercial lines. He specializes in brokering commercial insurance products for hard-to-place risks. At the Greensboro office, Harrison will concentrate on commercial lines and Burns & Wilcox focus coverages including directors and officers, errors and omissions, property coverages, environmental, products liability, contractors and umbrellas.

Previously, Harrison worked for Delaware Valley Underwriters Agency in Greensboro, where he served as vice president.

The newly opened Greensboro office will initially concentrate on commercial lines and will open up the market in northern North Carolina, as well as in Virginia.