Southwestern Insurance Information Service elected Lyndell Haigood, regional vice president of State Auto Insurance, as chairman of the board; David Lacefield, executive vice president, National Lloyds Insurance, as vice chairman; and Ron Lawson, vice president-industry affairs, Republic Group, as secretary-treasurer.
SIIS is a non-profit insurance trade association of property and casualty insurers doing business in Texas and Oklahoma.
Workers’ compensation provider Texas Mutual Insurance Co. announced that its board of directors elected two new officers — Linda Foster-Smith of Georgetown and Jay Eisen of Beaumont.
Foster-Smith has been appointed as the new vice chair of the board. Foster-Smith is retired from AT&T, where she worked for 37 years.
A board member since 2008, Eisen has been re-appointed as secretary. He is president of Sampson Steel Corp. in Beaumont and a longtime Texas Mutual policyholder.
IMA Inc. added Matt Brand as a business development executive for IMA Benefits in Dallas. Brand has worked on both the brokerage and carrier sides of the industry.
IMA, an independently owned retail insurance broker, is part of the IMA Financial Group Inc., a diversified financial services company specializing in insurance, asset and risk management with 450 employees and offices in seven markets across the nation. IMA has offices in Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Topeka and Wichita, Kan.
The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) elected Joe Johnson chairman of the board of directors. Johnson is vice president and regional manager of the United Fire Group. Johnson has served 35 years in the insurance industry in various positions with companies in Texas and Arkansas.
Robert Gilbert, assistant vice president of government industry relations with USAA, was elected vice chairman. Robert Zeman, corporate counsel for Allstate, was elected treasurer. Lyndell Haigood, regional vice president of State Auto Insurance, was elected secretary.
Craig Sparks, president of Union Standard Insurance, will serve as immediate past chair president.
The other members of the ICT board of directors and their representatives are: Chubb Group of Insurance Cos., Tom Fitzpatrick; Farmers Insurance Group, Frank Galitski; Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., Lee Ann Alexander; The Republic Group, Richard Mayer; Kemper Insurance, Dorothy Langley; Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Cos., Mike Gerik; Travelers, David Lavergne; and State Farm, John Stuckemeyer.
Advocate Reinsurance Partners LLC, a privately owned reinsurance intermediary firm headquartered in Dallas, has added Cory Anderson as a partner.
Anderson has worked in the reinsurance sector for more than a decade. He was most recently with Aon Benfield in Dallas. Anderson began his career with E.W Blanch in 1998 where he progressed through several roles with the corporate finance department before taking a position as a reinsurance broker in 2001.
Risk Sciences Group, a provider of risk management information systems (RMIS) and related analytics services, named Cal McCalister national sales executive in its Dallas, Texas, office.
McCalister has been working with data analytics for more than two decades. While at Travelers Insurance and then at The Hartford, she developed and implemented RMIS solutions based on client business objectives.
Plano, Texas-based wholesale broker and managing general underwriter (MGU), Insential Inc., added Tom Dowd as director of financial services.
Dowd has an extensive background in the property/casualty insurance industry including more than 30 years of experience in the management liability sector. Dowd began his career with AIG, underwriting directors and officers liability, and related coverages.
In addition to Plano, Insential has offices in Chicago and New York City.
The Woodlands Financial Group Inc. (TWFG), a retail and managing general agency headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, announced new branch locations.
Chad Luitwieler opened a new office in Brea, Calif. Luitwieler comes to TWFG with four years of experience in the insurance industry.
LaResa Banks opened a new branch location in Houston. Banks has more than 20 years in the insurance industry. She is licensed in Texas and Louisiana.
Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, announced Texas House appointments to the Joint Interim Committee to Study Seacoast Territory Insurance.
Chairman John Smithee (Amarillo) will serve as co-chair of the committee. The committee members include Rep. Craig Eiland (Galveston), Chairman Todd Hunter (Corpus Christi), and Rep. Kenneth Sheets (Dallas).
The committee will examine alternative ways to provide insurance to the state’s coastal region, which is currently served by the quasi-governmental Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA).
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