People – Southeast

Global broker Aon Plc named Eric Andersen head of the Aon Benfield reinsurance operation and Mike O’Connor to lead the Aon Risk Solutions unit.

Both will report to Steve McGill, group president of Aon and chief executive officer of the company’s Risk Solutions segment, the London-based company said.

Andersen was most recently CEO of Aon Risk Solutions Americas, while O’Connor was chief operating officer of the risk business.

Aon also said Bryon Ehrhart will be CEO of Aon Benfield in the Americas.

Andersen is taking a role that was previously split between Dominic Christian and Mike Bungert, said David Prosperi, a spokesman for the company. Some the O’Connor’s new duties were previously handled by McGill.

Bungert will become chairman of the reinsurance unit with a focus on the Americas, and Christian will be executive chairman of Aon Benfield International.

Willis North America has appointed Eric Joost as chief operating officer. Joost has been serving as chief executive of Willis North America’s Specialty Practices since 2009.

He will report to Todd Jones, CEO, Willis North America.

In this newly created role, Joost will lead Willis North America’s growth and operational strategies. Joost will continue to lead the North American Specialty Practices.

New York-based, Joost joined Willis in 2006 and has 25 years of experience in the insurance industry as a specialist broker and underwriter. Prior to joining Willis he held leadership positions at Allianz and Aon.

Springfield, Ill.-based Horace Mann Educators Corp. announced that Marita Zuraitis has been named president and chief executive officer and elected to Horace Mann’s board of directors.

Former President and CEO Peter Heckman has resigned from the board but will remain available to the company as a consultant for the remainder of the year.

Zuraitis joined Horace Mann on May 13, 2013, as president and chief executive officer-elect. She came to Horace Mann from The Hanover Insurance Group.

Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has filled a pair of key positions.

Jennifer Montero will become Citizens chief financial officer. Montero, a certified public accountant who has served as interim CFO since June, has been with Citizens and its predecessor organizations in various capacities since 1999.

Also, former Citizens Board of Governors member John Rollins will become Citizens chief risk officer. Rollins, appointed by Gov. Rick Scott in 2011, resigned from the board.

This marks Rollins’ return to Citizens, where he served as director of analytics from 2006 to 2007. In his new position, Rollins will oversee Citizens’ enterprise risk management, actuarial, analytics and product development when he begins his duties Oct. 14. The newly-created position comes in response to an ongoing organizational review by KPMG last year.

Most recently, Rollins was president of Rollins Analytics Inc. and vice president for public risk services at AIR Worldwide Corp, a provider of risk modeling and consulting services.

Montero’s career at Citizens includes positions as assistant controller, director of accounting/controller, senior director of accounting/controller and deputy CFO.

Among her new duties, Montero will oversee Citizen risk transfer program, which has transferred $1.85 billion in risk to private investors.

Florida law requires policyholders to pay assessments if Citizens exhausts its ability to pay claims following major storm activity.

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