People

Pennsylvania-based wholesaler USG Insurance Services has named Jason Holloman as property broker specializing in large commercial and CAT-exposed risks. Holloman most recently served as a wholesale property broker with Swett & Crawford. He has also held positions with Arch and Royal Specialty.

Boston-based specialty insurer ProMutual Group has named Katharine Gould as public relations specialist. Gould will assist with public relations activities including writing, researching and responding to media inquiries. She joins ProMutual Group with three years of experience in public relations and marketing. Most recently, Gould served as an account executive at a public relations agency in Saratoga Springs, New York.

ProMutual Group has also hired Linda Bieber as risk management consultant. Bieber, a nurse, will provided physician office appraisals and risk management services to insured hospitals and emergency department facilities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. She will also provide fee-for-service risk management consultations. She has more than 20 years of experience in risk management, most recently serving as director of risk management at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia.

Virginia-based agency Johnson & Strachan Inc. has named Charlie Venus as a principal and partner. He joined the firm in 2008 from Travelers, where he seerved as managing underwriting director for select accounts in the company’s Washington, D.C. office. He previously retired from The Hartford in 2006 following a 30-year career.

Connecticut-based People’s United Bank has combined all of its insurance agencies into a single business entity — People’s United Insurance Agency — that will be headed by one management team.

The combination of R.C. Knox, Beardsley Brown and Bassett, Chittenden Insurance Group and Bank of Smithtown Insurance Agents and Brokers Inc. was effective Jan. 1. Daniel F. Casey, former president and CEO of Chittenden Insurance Group, will serve as president and CEO of People’s United Insurance Agency. Casey joined Chittenden in 1982, and is oversee all aspects of the People’s United Insurance Agency’s eight offices throughout New England and New York.

Brian Loveless will serve as chief financial officer of People’s United Insurance Agency. He formerly served as bank finance officer for Chittenden Bank, which was acquired by People’s United in 2008. Prior to joining People’s United, Loveless was a senior vice president at National City Corp. in that bank’s institutional asset management area.

Mike Collier, formerly vice president for commercial insurance with R.C. Knox, will become chief operating officer for Southern New England for the People’s United Insurance Agency.

Brian Courcy, currently senior vice president and programs manager for the Chittenden Insurance Group, will become chief operating officer for Northern New England.

Longtime Vermont lobbyist Steve Kimbell will serve as the state’s next insurance commissioner under the administration of new governor Peter Shumlin. Kimbell will head the Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration. The department’s current commissioner, Michael Bertrand, was appointed by former Republican Gov. James Douglas in June.

Massachusetts-based insurer The Hanover has appointed David B. Greenfield as executive vice president and senior finance officer. Greenfield will assume the roles of chief financial officer and principal accounting officer in March. Greenfield most recently served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd., the multi-national insurer based in Bermuda.

Greenfield joined AXIS in 2006, and served as a member of the company’s executive management group. In this capacity, he was responsible for all aspects of the company’s financial operations, including capital management, investments, planning and analysis, actuarial, treasury, and accounting. Previously, Greenfield spent 22 years at KPMG.

He succeeds Steven J. Bensinger, who will be stepping down to return to the New York area. Bensinger will stay on through March, working closely with Greenfield to ensure a smooth transition of financial leadership.

Chubb has inked a consulting agreement with retiring COO and Vice Chairman John Degnan, who will remain as a senior adviser to the New Jersey-based insurer. Degnan, who was set to retire in December, will continue to provide advice and assistance on regulatory issues, trade and corporate association matters, legal and regulatory proceedings, claims and matters. He will remain on the company’s board.

Kevin O’Brien has been named president and chief executive officer of the Inland Marine Underwriters Association (IMUA). O’Brien joins the IMUA from Maran Corporate Risk Associates Inc., of Southampton, N.Y., where he served as sales manager. He has also held positions with Allstate, The Signature Group and Independent Insurance Agents of America, Inc. in New York. He succeeds the retiring Ron Thornton.

Topics New York Agencies Legislation Risk Management