People

Alternative market insurance provider, Safety National in St. Louis, Mo., promoted Senior Vice President John Csik to the position of chief financial officer and treasurer.

Csik takes over these positions from Duane Hercules, who will continue in his position of chief operating officer. In his new role, Csik will oversee and manage all financial matters concerning the company.

Csik joined Safety National in 1986 and most recently was responsible for financial reporting and managing the Accounting and Excess Workers’ Compensation Premium Audit departments.

Safety National also elected Executive Vice President Steven Luebbert to the company’s board of directors. Luebbert joined Safety National in 2007 and currently heads Safety National’s business development, marketing and risk control functions.

IMA Inc., an independently owned retail insurance broker, announced that Susan Johnson joined its Wichita, Kan., office as commercial lines claims manager. She will manage the commercial lines claims department and act as a liaison between clients and insurance carriers.

Johnson comes to IMA with eight years of experience as a claims supervisor. Prior to joining IMA, she handled large, complex litigated files, mentored claim representatives, and was responsible for all legal education in Arkansas, Colorado and Utah.

Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Jay Bradford named Lowell Nicholas special projects director for the Arkansas Insurance Department and John F. Morris deputy commissioner/general counsel.

Nicholas will advise the commissioner on a variety of topics, especially those relating to the implementation of provisions contained in the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Morris will oversee the department’s Legal Division. He comes to Arkansas from the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, where he was responsible for implementing policy decisions made by the commissioner on all issues relating to insurance and securities.

Kara Altenbaumer-Price joined USI Southwest in Dallas as director of complex claims and consulting. Altenbaumer-Price comes to USI Southwest from the Corporate Compliance, Investigations and Defense group at Andrews Kurth LLP.

Altenbaumer-Price will work with Steve Campo, MPS Practice Leader in the Management and Professional Services Department, and focus primarily on public and pre-IPO private clients in managing complex claims. She will consult with them on corporate governance and risk issues surrounding directors and officers liability, and other executive liability coverages.

Altenbaumer-Price will also provide boardroom consulting and education, and law firm education, on best practices and procedures to avoid and handle claims, as well as insight into developing trends in securities litigation, regulatory issues and other claims.

San Antonio, Texas-based IAS Claim Services opened a Midwest regional office and hired industry veteran Steve Bowers to oversee all client development and operations in the region.

Bowers brings 25 years of adjusting experience to IAS with specialized training in major loss property claims, catastrophe, casualty and personal lines claims.

The Woodlands Financial Group Inc. (TWFG), a retail and managing general insurance agency, opened a new branch location in Beaumont, Texas. Bobby Counts manages the new location.

Counts joins TWFG with more than 20 years of sales, finance and marketing experience in the automotive and insurance industries. During the past seven years, Counts built a successful insurance agency with Allstate, producing more than $2 million in premium.

Texas-based TWFG has more than 160 exclusive branch office locations and 950 independent agencies across 17 states.