People & Places
Hilb Rogal and Hobbs Company, headquartered in Glen Allen, Va., has appointed Michael Crowley to the position of president. In that role, Crowley will have overall responsibility for profit and loss, revenue growth, trading relationships and executive management of HRH’s more than 120 retail insurance operations.
Crowley joined HRH as executive vice president and national director for property and casualty in 2004. He has been instrumental in developing HRH’s strategies for risk management and middle-market property and casualty accounts, attracting and retaining top industry talent and maintaining strong relationships with national and regional insurance companies.
Prior to joining HRH, Crowley was president, chief operating officer and ultimately vice chairman of Palmer and Cay Inc. During his 13-year tenure at Palmer and Cay, the company grew from a small regional firm to a Top 20 U.S. brokerage company. His career began in 1974 with Johnson and Higgins, where he served in several senior management positions including senior vice president, Virginia operations.
Paul K. Furlong, FCII, has been appointed Southern California president of Fullerton, Calif.-based Armstrong/Robitaille Inc. Most recently, Furlong served as acting president for the Los Angeles area of Armstrong/Robitaille after that firm merged with Knight Insurance Agency in 2003. Furlong joined Knight in 1982, becoming a partner in 1986 and then president 10 years later. Prior to his tenure with Knight, Furlong worked for Norwich Union, a major insurance company in London, England, beginning in 1972. He obtained a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Insurance qualification there before moving to the brokerage side of the business in 1980. During his career in California, Furlong has chaired the Firemans Fund Producer Council, been a member of the President’s councils of SAFECO, Unigard and Golden Eagle. He was president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena, and he chaired the Tri City 1-Day in 1986. Furlong also served as a director of the IBA West from 1998 to 2001 and has served on several committees for that organization.
Jim Howey has recently joined Denver-based G.E. Young & Company as chief operating officer. Howey, who holds more than 16 years of insurance and risk management experience, was brought on board to drive process and strategy implementation for the company, according to CEO James Young. He leads the company’s workers’ compensation, liability, property, human resources and IT departments. During the past 16 years, Howey has served InsGroup in Denver, ITT Hartford in Los Angeles and Chicago, the Maryland Insurance Group in Baltimore, and Lloyd’s Brokerage CE Health in London. Most recently, he co-owned and operated a human resources administration company in Denver, handling risk management, human resources, employee benefits and payroll functions for its clients. He recently sold the company.
Chatsworth, Calif.-based The Harry W. Gorst Co. has promoted Brian Collins to commercial lines underwriter. In his new role as underwriter, he will concentrate on commercial risks. Collins joined the Harry W. Gorst Company right out of college as a junior underwriter. He specializes in personal lines and commercial lines underwriting.
Oksana Lysak has been hired by Cambridge General Agency as an underwriter/broker. Lysak will be responsible for building the Personal Lines Business Division in the Rancho Cordova, Calif., office. With nearly 10 years experience in the industry, she will specialize in providing coverages for hard to place Homeowners (including in home businesses), Dwelling Fire, COC, Personal Lines Umbrellas and Stand Alone Liability. Prior to joining Cambridge General, Lysak was with McFall General Agency in Portland, Ore., where she was responsible for the increasing production in the Surplus Lines Homeowner and Dwelling Fire division.
Integro hired three former Marsh senior vice presidents for its San Francisco office. Charles Shay Jr. will serve as managing principal, management risk solutions; Tim Candy has signed on as principal, management risk solutions; and John Kim has accepted the position of principal, environmental brokerage solutions.
Shay has more than 13 years of experience in D&O liability brokerage, with a focus on technology, life science and telecom risks. He began his career at American International Group before moving onto Marsh, where he most recently served as senior vice president, national technology/telecom D&O practice leader.
Candy has been in D&O liability insurance for more than 12 years, focusing on manufacturing, transportation, retail and mining risks. Before joining Integro, he served with Marsh since 1993, most recently as senior vice president, Marsh FINPRO commercial D&O placement leader for the Western U.S.
Kim has more than nine years of experience structuring and negotiating environmental insurance programs. He most recently served as senior vice president and environmental practice leader for Marsh’s San Francisco office, and has held underwriting positions with Kemper Environmental and ESC Inc. (currently XL Environmental).
NAS Insurance Services has appointed Melvin Osswald as assistant vice president from her position as underwriter for NAS’ EPLI and Tenant Discrimination Liability Insurance coverages. Osswald has 10 years experience in underwriting and marketing with NAS and other insurance organizations.
San Francisco-based Woodruff-Sawyer & Co. announced that William Dougherty has joined the firm as an Account Executive with its Directors & Officers practice. In this role, Dougherty will consult with clients on their D&O liability insurance programs and develop new business opportunities for the organization. Before joining Woodruff-Sawyer, Dougherty was the regional vice president for Zurich North America in San Francisco.