People and Places

Schaumburg, Ill.-based commercial lines insurer Zurich North America announced that Thomas Bradley will become chief operating officer of finance and administration and chief financial officer of its North American commercial operations. John McCartney, the current CFO, will retire on May 30. Bradley will start in mid-April, pending completion of his duties as executive vice president and CFO for the St. Paul Cos.

Allmerica Financial Corporation in Worcester, Mass. revealed that Marita Zuraitis has been named president of Allmerica’s property and casualty companies. As president, Zuraitis will be responsible for the personal and commercial lines operations at Citizens Insurance Company of America, The Hanover Insurance Company and their affiliates. Zuraitis also will serve as a member of the company’s operating committee.

Zuraitis comes to Allmerica from St. Paul Travelers, where she played a key role in the formation of the company through the merger of The St. Paul Companies and Travelers Property and Casualty. Since 1998, she served as president and chief executive officer of St. Paul’s commercial lines division, responsible for the company’s small commercial, middle market, and large property and casualty solutions business units, including field operations. From 1993 to 1998, Zuraitis held senior positions at United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company (which merged with The St. Paul Companies in 1998), in field and home office leadership roles in both of the company’s personal and commercial lines segments.

In addition, The Citizens and Hanover Insurance Companies announced that Vincent Nieroda has been named president for its Massachusetts personal lines operations. Nieroda will manage all aspects of personal lines business in the state, including claims, underwriting, and field and home office operations. Nieroda has worked in the industry for more than 30 years, including in senior executive positions over a 15 years at Plymouth Rock Companies.

David Malloy has joined PMC Insurance Group as a sales executive. A former regional sales manager for AIG and employee with Marsh, Inc,. Malloy will concentrate on expanding PMC’s workers compensation presence in New England. PMC Insurance Group is a national workers’ compensation wholesaler based in Needham, Mass.

William D. Fabri has joined the Beverly, Mass.-based agency, Appleby & Wyman, as chief operating officer. In this newly-created position, Fabri will be responsible for mergers and acquisitions and operations for all offices. Fabri was formerly New England regional manager for Utica National Insurance Group, where he worked for 29 years. Appleby & Wyman employs 40 people in four regional offices.

ACE USA, the U.S.-based retail operating division of The ACE Group of Companies, has appointed Vince McGeehan as senior vice president of marketing for ACE USA Professional Risk, which provides management liability, professional liability, surety and medical risk products. Based in New York City, McGeehan will be responsible for business development, including sales and marketing. He will focus on growing key account and brokerage relationships in the U.S. and assisting with the coordination of management and professional liability capacity at a global level.

ACE USA also announced the appointment of John Alfieri as regional executive for its New York region, which comprises the metropolitan New York City area and parts of northern New Jersey. Alfieri joins ACE USA with more than 23 years experience in the insurance industry. Most recently, he was with Willis North America.

The SAN Group, the network of independent insurance agencies in the Northeast, announced that Richard Vaughan is its new vice president for the states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. He will be working to develop new SAN members in these states. He will also work with existing SAN members on business development. Vaughan brings to SAN Group over 20 years of insurance experience, both as a company marketing representative and as a producer for several locally-owned agencies.

Treiber Agency Group in Garden City, New York has named Ross Burhouse territorial marketing manager responsible for expansion into the lower Hudson Valley, western Connecticut and the surrounding counties of Westchester, Rockland and Putnam in lower New York. He comes to Treiber Group with more than 30 years of industry background, including with AIG, where he was a marketing manager.

Mishell K. Magnusson has been named recipient of the 2004 Professional Insurance Agents National Customer Service Representative of the Year award. The PIA award was sponsored by Zurich North America Small Business. Magnusson was honored for her outstanding professionalism in her capacity as a customer service representative for the Bailey, Haskell & LaLonde Agency in Oneida, New York.

Selective Insurance Group, Inc., in Branchville, New Jersey has made several promotions including: Jamie Ochiltree, III, has been promoted to senior executive vice president for insurance operations. In this position, Ochiltree has responsibility for Selective’s property and casualty insurance activities, including corporate underwriting and claims, the company’s regional offices and field strategy and the Selective Service Center.

Edward F. Drag, II, has been named senior regional vice president of Selective’s New Jersey region. Drag joined Selective in 1972 and has been a regional manager for 15 years.

Thomas S. Purnell has been promoted to vice president and manager of Selective’s northeast region, overseeing the company’s operations in New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Purnell joined Selective most recently managed underwriting in the Chesapeake region.