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St. Louis, Mo.-based Safety National Casualty Corp., an excess workers’ compensation provider and a writer of multi-line large casualty business, announced that Matthew Hartmann has joined the company as regional underwriting manager in the large casualty department. He will be based in Safety National’s new Chicago regional office.

With more than 15 years of insurance industry experience, Hartmann has a strong large casualty background. He previously served as the national accounts business development director at The Hartford, where he was responsible for key Midwest broker relationships, new and renewal business development and underwriting in the large casualty marketplace. He also served in positions with AIG and ACE.

Coinciding with Hartmann’s arrival, Safety National is opening its fifth regional office in Chicago. Other regional office locations include New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Atlanta, with corporate headquarters located in St. Louis, Mo.

Inland Marine Underwriters Association (IMUA) announced that Swiss Re America Senior Vice President Peter Opinante is taking over as chairman of the board. Opinante, who served as deputy chair, fills the seat vacated by Sophia Philips who is resigning for personal reasons.

Opinante will now serve for an additional four months in addition to his two-year term. Over the years, he has served in a number of key positions and has been instrumental in the creation of new strategic planning efforts, IMUA said.

Michelle Hoehn, vice president of inland marine product and underwriting at Travelers, will serve as deputy chairperson and Bill Rosa, vice president at XL Group, will serve as vice chairman.

Founded in 1930, New York-based IMUA serves as the collective voice of the U.S. inland marine insurance industry.

The Prairie State Insurance Cooperative (PSIC), based in Itasca, Ill., has appointed two new board members, growing the board from seven to nine members.

Dr. Julie Ann Fuchs, assistant superintendent for business at the Kaneland Community Unit School District #302, and Thomas Akers, superintendent at Cambridge Consolidated Unit School District #227, have accepted the two newly created positions with PSIC.

PSIC is a self-insurance risk management program administered by Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services Inc. It is a specialized insurance and risk management program for public school districts in North, Northwest, Central and Southern Illinois.

The board expansion was in line with the goals set out by the PSIC board once it reached the 100-district-member benchmark, which occurred in September 2011.

Fuchs has been responsible for business and operations at Kaneland CUSD #302 for the past three years and a PSIC member district since 2009.

Akers’ career spans 20 years in education as a principal in Rock Falls, Ill., and for the last five years as the superintendent of the Cambridge Consolidated Unit School District #227.

A former director of Missouri’s insurance department has been named acting director of the Kansas City regional office of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Jay Angoff is taking over the position following the resignation of Judy Baker, a Democrat who has announced her candidacy for Missouri lieutenant governor.

Angoff already was part of President Barack Obama’s administration, serving most recently as a senior adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Angoff led what was then called the state Department of Insurance from February 1993 to October 1998 under former Gov. Mel Carnahan. The department was later combined with other agencies under reorganization.

Topics Casualty