Robert Zeman

Allstate Regional Counsel Robert Zeman has been elected to serve as chairman of the board of directors of the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT). His term began Jan. 1.

Zeman has served on the ICT board of directors since 2007, most recently as vice chair.

He is corporate counsel in the Government and Industry Relations of the Law and Regulation Department for Allstate, and supervises legislative, regulatory and legal affairs for the insurer in the western United States. He also represents Allstate before the National Association of Insurance Commissioners

The board also elected Tom Fitzpatrick, senior vice president/branch manager of the Chubb Group of Insurance Cos., as vice chairman; John Stuckemeyer, Texas state counsel, State Farm Insurance, as treasurer; and David Lavergne, regional president of the South Central Region with Travelers, as secretary.

Bo Gilbert, assistant vice president of Government Industry Relations with USAA, is immediate past chair.

The other members of the ICT board of directors and their representatives are: Farmers Insurance Group, Frank Galitski; The Republic Group, Thomas Greenfield; Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Cos., Mike Gerik; Kemper Services Group, Dorothy Langley; State Farm, John Stuckemeyer; Union Standard, Keith Mitchell; State Auto Insurance Cos, Greg Rose; United Fire Group, Joe Johnson and CNA Insurance Group, John Schramm.

Signature Select LLC has expanded into Texas by establishing a presence in Austin and Dallas.

In Dallas, Shelly Floyd and Cliff Layfield have been hired for the Dallas operation and Patrick Datz was added as a producer in Austin.

Signature Select, an insurance brokerage focused on offering insurance products and services to individuals and small businesses, is a subsidiary of IMA Inc.

The two new Texas markets add to Signature Select’s locations in Wichita, Denver, Kansas City, Emporia and White Plains, N.Y.

Texas Associates Insurors, headquartered in Austin, added John Paul Novak in its commercial risk and insurance division as an advisor, specializing in construction and hospitality risks.

A native Texan, Novak’s career has included oil and gas contract acquisitions, as well as retail and distribution. He joins Texas Associates Insurors with a background in identifying and minimizing risks in his focused industries.

Texas Associates Insurors was founded in 1954, and offers insurance, employee benefits and risk management services. The group has offices in Austin and Smithville, and its affiliate NewFirst Insurors operates in El Campo, Victoria and Rosenberg.

Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission Chairman Robert Gilliland reappointed Louis Pippin to the commission’s Self-Insurance Guaranty Fund board.

Pippin, of Oklahoma City, fulfilled the remainder of an unexpired term over the past year and will now serve a three-year term ending in November 2018. He will be serving as a licensed claims adjuster affiliated with an approved group self-insurance association.

He is the vice president of Midlands Claim Administrators Inc., and has his Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Insurance Claims Adjuster License.

Topics Texas Oklahoma