State Auto Western Region Reports Additions, Promotions in Texas

State Auto Western Region has announced the following staff additions and promotions in Texas:

Steve Harmon has joined State Auto as a business insurance account executive. In this role, Harmon will have responsibility for achieving sales and underwriting results in the Dallas-Fort Worth market. He will report to Jim Simpson, sales manager for the Texas/Oklahoma business insurance markets.

Harmon brings more than 28 years of insurance industry experience and has held leadership roles with Aetna Life & Casualty, Travelers, Hanover Insurance Co. and more recently Zurich Small Business. He is a graduate of Texas Tech and has earned the CIC, CFC, CPCU and CLU designations.

Dori LaCaille joined State Auto as a business insurance underwriter. She brings more than 15 years commercial insurance underwriting experience. LaCaille has deep ties to the Austin/San Antonio market. Prior to joining State Auto, LaCaille served in underwriting specialist and supervisory capacities with Association Casualty Insurance Co. and the former Texas Workers’ Compensation facility (Texas Mutual).

Kristy Sowl relocated from Jacksonville, Fla., to join the business insurance underwriting team located in Austin. In her new role, she will have underwriting responsibility for the North Texas market.

Sowl brings more than 14 years of commercial lines experience. She was previously employed by Zurich Insurance Services, Zurich Small Business and, more recently, Farmer’s Insurance Group. Sowl has earned the CISR and CIC designations and will be taking her sixth course towards a CPCU designation. In 2009, she was awarded the Educational Achievement Award from the National Association of Insurance Women.

Norah Linder brings more than 30 years of multiline underwriting experience to State Auto. A veteran of the Texas market, Linder is viewed as a disciplined technician who understands how to win in a competitive marketplace. She is known for going the extra yard to close a deal.

Linder previously was employed by Columbia Insurance Co. as a supervisor of underwriting operations. Prior to Columbia’s acquisition of Association Casualty, she was a senior underwriter. She has also worked for Bunker Hill Insurance Agency and American Indemnity.

Stacey Florence has more than 25 years of industry experience working with several well recognized insurance agencies. She has also served as a multiline underwriter with a large managing general agency. Committed to continuing education and professional excellence, Florence has earned her ACSR and CISR designations. She also maintains both her MGA and Surplus Lines licenses. Florence has underwriting responsibility for West Texas.

Eric Hampshire relocated from Cleveland, Ohio, to the Western Region headquarters to serve as a business insurance underwriter. Hampshire started his career with State Auto as a personal lines specialist in 2003. Having made a strong commitment to learn the commercial side of the business, he was trained as a commercial underwriter and built a sizeable business insurance portfolio in the Cleveland office and received the President’s Circle Award in 2008. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance from Ohio University and has completed INS-21, 22 and 23.

Terah Casey has been promoted to an underwriter associate and will receive an underwriting territory upon completion of the State Auto Middle Market (SAMMI) underwriting training program. Casey, who has more than 14 years of industry experience and has earned the Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR) credential, has brought a wealth of sales and underwriting support to SAMMI’s Austin operation. Her responsibilities have ranged from rating support to marketing our large account capabilities.

Casey received her associate degree in 2007 from Temple College and is heavily involved with the Federation of Insurance Women of Texas (FIWT) as well as the Austin Association of Insurance Professionals (AAIP). She will continue reporting to Todd Richardson, regional vice president of middle markets.

Steve Warring has joined State Auto’s risk control services division as a loss control specialist. He brings more than 30 years’ experience serving in technical consulting and loss prevention roles with Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. In his new role, Warring will be responsible for providing consultative services to business insurance and middle market customers.

Warring holds a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial safety with minor in manufacturing and construction from Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, Mo. He has earned the Certified Safety Professional and Certified Fire Protection Specialist (NFPA) designations. He is also working on his ARM certification and is an active member of the National Fire Protection Association as well as the American Society of Safety Engineers. Warring is based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and reports to Western Region Loss Control Manager Larry Hoffman.

Ford Burdett joins the loss control training program as an associate. Burdett has more than six years of business and field safety experience. He previously worked in the construction industry where he served as a commercial site field superintendent and project engineer.

Upon completion of the State Auto training program, he will join the Western Region loss control service team, reporting to Loss Control Manager Larry Hoffman. Burdett is a 2004 graduate of Baylor University.

Scott Leggett will serve as a property general adjuster, bringing more than 27 years experience in the property claims adjusting field, specializing in catastrophe assignments including residential and commercial large loss claims.

He has also worked in the construction industry in roles including new construction, restoration, reconstruction, remodeling, multi-family, large industrial, commercial business, historic preservation, and mold and asbestos remediation. Leggett has served in leadership roles for Belfor USA, Protech Inrecon, St. Paul Insurance Co. and the Stephenson Consulting Group.

Source: State Auto Western Region

Topics Texas Auto Underwriting Training Development Construction