People and Places

Barney & Barney LLC, a San Diego-based risk management consulting and insurance brokerage firm, promoted John Niedernhofer and William Peartree to ownership status within the firm.
Niedernhofer heads the firm’s Executive Risk Practice specializing in directors and officers liability and employers professional liability insurance. Peartree is director of the firm’s Retirement and Wealth Management Services division.
Niedernhofer is a member of the firm’s Executive Risk practice. He is recognized for his in-depth analysis of executive liability issues and serves as a frequent author and public speaker on issues surrounding that area. He also has worked extensively with life sciences, technology, healthcare and manufacturing sector clients. He has managed more than 100 public company directors and officers programs. He serves on the Board of Directors for Corporate Directors Forum.
Peartree is director of the firm’s retirement and wealth management services division. He has been helping businesses design competitive qualified and non-qualified retirement plans since 1989. He is a registered investment advisor and is involved in both civic and industry associations including, Profit Sharing Council of America, American Society of Pension Administrators, National Institute of Pension Administrators, Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce and North County Personnel Association.

Hub International Ltd., a Chicago-based brokerage named Jonathan Axel senior vice president of the Kagan-Kozberg Division at Hub International of California Insurance Services Inc., a subsidiary of the insurance brokerage. Axel will be based at the Culver City, Calif., office.
Axel has more than 18 years experience in middle market insurance services, having most recently served as client executive and senior vice president with Marsh Risk and Insurance Service’s middle market practice. He was formerly the Pacific Southwest practice leader for political risk and trade credit, as well as a client advisor for the Japan Client Services practice within Marsh.

CIGNA HealthCare hired Kelly Dill as senior vice president of national accounts for the western region. In that role, Dill will lead CIGNA HealthCare’s national account management and sales teams for Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.
Dill has strong background in employee benefits with more than 17 years of health plan experience. Prior to joining CIGNA, Dill was vice president of national accounts sales and service for Aetna in Southern California, serving large, national customers who require a high level of sophistication, dedication and support. During her tenure with Aetna, she managed national sales and account service for eight counties, growing revenue and sales across all business lines, as well as managing a team of 27 sales professionals.
In addition to her work with Aetna, Dill’s background also includes leadership positions in sales, case installation and service development with Prudential Health Care. She will be located in the company’s Glendale, Calif. office.

SullivanCurtisMonroe Insurance Services LLC, Irvine, Calif., appointed Bob A. Williford vice president specializing in the construction industry. Williford has 12 years of insurance industry experience, most recently with Willis Insurance Services. Prior to that, he was employed by Federated Insurance.
The company also opened an office in San Diego and appointed Igor Vido senior vice president and managing director of that office. Vido has 23 years of experience.
The office will serve construction, trucking and manufacturing firms, and educational institutions, among other businesses. The office is located at 7676 Hazard Drive, Ste. 500, San Diego, CA 92108. For more information, contact (619) 497-2531.

Following a nationwide search, Steve Cant was named to lead the workplace safety and health division of Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries (L&I). Cant will build on recent workplace-safety partnerships with the Washington State Farm Bureau and the state chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business.
Cant has been acting assistant director of L&I’s Washington Industrial Safety and Health division, commonly known as WISHA, for eight months. He has been with L&I since 1975, most recently as the agency’s principal liaison to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Cant currently is chairman of the Occupational Safety and Health State Plan Association. He is a certified industrial hygienist and a native of Everett who now resides in Olympia, Wash. He is a 2004 recipient of the Governor’s Distinguished Management Sustaining Leadership Award.

Networked Insurance Agents, a professional account placement organization headquartered in Grass Valley, Calif., promoted Jeannette Riley territorial sales vice president for Nevada. Riley will soon move to Las Vegas and brings 28 years of experience with her. She will share Networked Insurance’s resources with small and mid-size insurance agencies to help them grown more quickly and to improve their over all profitability.
Riley has been a manager at Networked Insurance for almost six years, most recently as affiliate services manager for commercial lines. She has both carrier and independent insurance agency experience.

Aon Construction Services Group appointed Cary White managing director. He will be responsible for producing and managing insurance accounts for both contractors and homebuilders, and be based in San Francisco.
White joins Aon from Heffernan Insurance Brokers, where he served as senior vice president in the company’s construction practice. He also has held positions with ABD, CIGNA and Allianz.

Cambridge General Agency is saddened to announce the passing of one of its long-time employees, Howard Mitchell.
Mitchell worked for Cambridge General Agency since February 1989. He was responsible for opening the company’s Stockton and Rancho Cordova, Calif., offices and managed those offices in addition to the San Francisco office while underwriting his own book of business. Prior to joining Cambridge, Mitchell worked for Golden Bear, Sayre & Toso and for The Argonaut.

Pacific Specialty Insurance Co., Menlo Park, Calif., promoted Tim Summers to chief operating officer.

Summers will continue his duties as executive vice-president and corporate secretary, overseeing the product development and underwriting operations. He is also a member of the PSIC board of directors.

Summers joined the McGraw Group of Companies as legal counsel in July 1987. In 1990, he was instrumental in forming PSIC. He was named vice-president of government relations at McGraw in December 1996, after serving as deputy commissioner for industry and consumer programs at the California Department of Insurance.

Nevada-based Employers Insurance Group reorganized the corporation to position the group of companies for expansion in commercial property and casualty.

CEO Douglas Dirks promoted Martin Welch to president and chief operating officer of the organization’s insurance operations.

EIG’s new operating structure incorporates three strategic business units serving the Western Region, Pacific Region, and a newly established Strategic Markets Region.

The Western Region will be led by Region President George Tway, and will market and underwrite business produced through EIG’s independent agent relationships in Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Colorado. Workers’ comp business will be marketed and produced through company offices in Reno, Nev.; Henderson, Nev.; Boise, Idaho; and Denver, Colo. Tway will be assisted by Regional Vice President of Underwriting Patrick Maxwell, and Regional Vice President of Marketing Shayla Mulder.

The Pacific Region will market and underwrite business in California through company offices in San Francisco, Fresno and Glendale. A soon-to-be-appointed Pacific region president will be assisted by Regional Vice President of Marketing Gil Hubbell, and a vice president of underwriting, who will be appointed at a later date. Marketing representatives and managers will report directly to Hubbell, and underwriting managers will report directly to the new vice president of Underwriting. Welch will serve as acting region president until such time as the new president is named.

The new and separate Strategic Markets Region will focus on strategic partnerships formed through non-traditional production sources led by Region President David Quezada, and assisted by Regional Vice President of Marketing Patrick O’Brien and Regional Vice President of Underwriting James Konewko,.

ACE USA, the U.S.-based retail operating division of The ACE Group of Companies, appointed David Patterson president of Philadelphia-based ESIS Inc., the risk management services subsidiary of ACE USA.

Patterson most recently served as executive vice president, ESIS Claims and Account Management, where he was responsible for leading the network of claims centers including field operations and heading up account management, throughout the U.S.

W.R. Berkley Corp., based in Greenwich, Conn., has named Robert C. Hewitt and Peter L. Kamford senior vice presidents in its specialty segment, and Robert D. Stone senior vice president of its alternative markets segment.

Hewitt now serves as senior vice president for excess and surplus lines division, and was previously senior vice president for alternative markets operations.

Kamford joined the company as senior vice president for specialty products division with more than 25 years experience in property casualty insurance, most recently managing director of Guy Carpenter & Co.

Stone, presently managing director of Berkley Capital LLC, assumed oversight responsibility for the company’s alternative markets operations.

Markel Re, Richmond, Va., named Peter Dunn vice president, division manager Markel Re Excess and Scott Beall, former vice president Markel Re Facultative, to vice president division manager Specialized Markel Alternative Risk Transfer.

Beall joined Markel in January 2003 to develop Markel Re Facultative, a new Markel operation. He has more than 20 years of reinsurance experience.

Dunn joined in February 2003. He has more than 25 years of insurance experience, including service as product line manager for the SCOR casualty facultative business.

Nevada Commissioner of Insurance Alice A. Molasky-Arman has appointed Cliff King as Nevada’s chief administrator of captive programs.

King joined the Division in 1998, as chief of the property and casualty section. Most recently, he was chief insurance assistant and was responsible for oversight of the property and casualty, life and health, licensing and captive sections, as well legislative issues. In his new role, King will be devoted to the captive program and work directly in concert with the commissioner.

Unigard Insurance Companies, a Bellevue, Wash.-based property and casualty insurer, announced two new appointments and a promotion. Harris Clarke joined the company as assistant vice president of personal lines product management. He is responsible for personal lines products and pricing in multiple states. He has more than 14 years of experience in insurance systems and product implementation.

Joe Muller was promoted to assistant vice president of personal lines product management. He also will work with company field staff and oversee product and pricing decisions in several states. Muller has been with the company for 14 years and has a background in underwriting and product management.

Christy Niemann was named assistant vice president of personal lines underwriting. She has 22 years of prior industry experience.
Members of the Association of California Insurance Companies (ACIC) in Sacramento have re-elected their officers for a one-year term.

Cinda Smith, senior counsel with Geico, was re-elected chair of the board of directors; Carry Cheldin, president of Crusader Insurance Co., vice chair; Sam Sorich, president; Jeffrey Fuller, secretary; and June Holmes, treasurer. Holmes is chief operating officer of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), of which ACIC is an affiliate.