People
Hull and Company, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., promoted Tim Ramsey to vice president, national personal lines. Ramsey joined Hull and Company in 1998 as manager of the company’s newly formed Charlotte personal lines department. In that role, he oversaw the development of the company’s personal lines business in the Carolinas to an operation generating more than $20 million in gross premium. In 2001, Ramsey was promoted to national personal lines manager and has assisted all of the company’s branch personal lines departments in the continued development of their programs and business.
The Allstate Corporation, of North-brook, Ill., elected Thomas Wilson president and chief operating officer. In this position, Wilson will be responsible for all of Allstate’s insurance operations, including those of Allstate Protection and Allstate Financial. Wilson is currently and will remain president of Allstate Protection, which combines the Allstate and Encompass property and casualty offerings through Allstate and Independent Agencies, respectively.
He was chairman and president of Allstate Financial from 1999 to 2002, where he spearheaded that business unit’s drive into the design and distribution of an expanded range of financial products aimed at meeting the retirement needs of Allstate customers.
Prior to Allstate Financial, Wilson served as Allstate’s chief financial officer. Wilson joined Allstate in 1995 from Sears, Roebuck and Co., where he had been vice president of strategy and analysis, responsible for strategic planning, financial planning and analysis, and special projects for the corporation.
Thomas R. Gerlach a 35-year veteran of the insurance industry and a specialist in transportation risks, has moved to Swett & Crawford’s Clearwater, Fla., office from its Atlanta office.
Gerlach’s career began at Empire Fire & Marine in Omaha as an underwriter. He was promoted four years later to assistant vice president where in addition to underwriting and managing a $32 million book in transportation, he oversaw all underwriting for their midwest region. In 1984 he moved to the Omaha office of John H. Crowther, a division of Swett & Crawford, to manage business development and production in Nebraska.
Gerlach moved to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in 1986 to become manager, Commercial Transportation at Hull & Company for its Florida headquarters office and eight branches. In 1989 he was hired by Preferred Programs Inc., (formerly Delta General Agency) to run their Metairie, La., office, but went on to manage all the day-to-day operations for the company as its president. Over a decade-long tenure there he developed transportation accounts, amassing a $12 million book of business.
In 1999 Gerlach returned to Swett & Crawford as vice president of the Howden Transportation Unit in Atlanta where he has been responsible for underwriting and producing truck risks for fleet accounts that seek liability, physical damage, cargo and general liability coverage.
Dean Wooten has been named the “Young Agent of the Year” by the Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina during meetings in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Scott Evans, chairman of the IIANC Young Agents Committee, presented the award.
The Young Agent of the Year award recognizes the North Carolina agent who demonstrated commitment and performance for his/her agency, association, industry, community and family. Wooten has been extremely active in the state association. He has served on the Legislative, PAC and Young Agent committees within IIANC. Wooten has attended numerous young agents’ conferences, National Legislative Conferences and the young agent’s sales boot camp. According to IIANC, he devotes much of his time to improving the insurance industry in North Carolina. Wooten has been a vocal advocate for the state and national political action committees. He is president of Wooten Insurance in Statesville, N.C.
Ron Sachs and Ron Sachs Communications, a Tallahasse, Fla.-based public relations firm known for its break-through ideas and aggressive pursuit of ink and airtime, has just joined forces with the Florida Association of Insurance Agents to launch a campaign to drive awareness of the Trusted Choice brand among the insurance-buying public and to create media opportunities for FAIA members in their own communities.
The firm will help FAIA build a broad-based coalition to reform Florida’s property insurance marketplace. It also will help FAIA promote its legislative agenda, framing legislative issues and building support for legislative issues in the court of public opinion.
Ron Sachs, who served two Florida governors in senior policy and communications roles, spent the first 20 years of his career as a journalist during award-winning stints as government reporter for The Miami Herald, on-air commentator for Miami’s ABC affiliate, WPLG-TV, and as editor of South Florida Magazine. The 10-year-old Sachs Communications is ranked among the Top 100 PR firms in American, according to PR Week magazine, and counts among its clients Eli Lilly pharmaceutical company, Volvo Cars of North America, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill and the Florida League of Cities.
Liberty Mutual Group announced that Roger Jean, president of its Regional Agency Markets operations and an executive vice president with the company, will retire in early 2006. In anticipation of Jean’s departure Liberty Mutual will create a new strategic business unit. Gary Gregg, presently Liberty Mutual Group’s executive vice president and manager of Commercial Markets, will become president of the newly formed Liberty Mutual Agency Markets business unit. Gregg has held executive positions within Liberty Mutual’s commercial insurance operations since joining the company in 1989 from KPMG, the international accounting firm, where he was a partner.
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