People

McQueary Henry Bowles Troy named Senior Vice President Brad Van Stavern to lead the new property/casualty practice in its Austin office.

Van Stavern brings experience in the health care industry, where he held positions with Pfizer and Boston Scientific. Most recently, Van Stavern was a partner at Texas Associates Insurors, an independent insurance agency. Van Stavern is also active in the community with past involvement in the Greater Austin Chamber, Seton Forum, Real Estate Council of Austin, Homebuilders Association, American General Contractors Association and the Independent Insurance Agents of Austin.

State Auto Insurance Companies appointed industry veteran Gerald F. Ladner to lead its new State Auto Middle Market Insurance (SAMMI) unit in Texas. Ladner will serve as vice president of SAMMI’s new southwestern zone office in Austin, Texas.

Ladner’s 25-year career includes a number of management and senior management roles with CG/Aetna, CIGNA and Zurich. Ladner also served as president and chief operating officer of an Atlanta-based independent insurance agency. He was most recently regional vice president of the Austin unit of Zenith Insurance.

In addition to serving on the committee of the Glen L. Taylor Endowed Chair in Insurance at the University of North Texas, Ladner has also served on the boards of the Texas Medical Liability Joint Underwriting Association, Texas Property and Casualty Guaranty Association, the Independent Insurance Agents of Dallas Agency Company Committee and Allen Community Outreach (a United Way agency).

The company said SAMMI, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, was created in early 2004 in response to agent requests to expand the size and scope of its commercial lines business to include larger commercial risks, usually those with at least $100,000 in annual premium. SAMMI has offices in Naperville (Chicago), Ill., Peoria (Phoenix), Ariz., and Hunt Valley (Baltimore), Md.

Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corp. (LWCC) promoted Mark Bellue to claims manager of large accounts and U.S. Longshore and Harbor accounts. Kathy Otts was promoted to claims manager of small and medium accounts.

Bellue joined LWCC in 1995 as a senior claims representative, and he was promoted to claims team leader in 1999. Prior to joining LWCC, Bellue worked for Richard & Associates as a multi-line claims adjuster and adjuster-in-charge in California, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas.

Otts has been a claims team leader at LWCC since 1993. She came to LWCC from Liberty Mutual, where she worked as a claims adjuster and claims supervisor for nine years.

Texas-based Higginbotham & Associates added commercial property/casualty broker and management liability expert Kevin McBride to its Energy Division.

McBride has worked with on-shore and off-shore contractors and operators, pipeline owner/operators and integrated oil companies in underwriting and broker capacities during his 20-year career in insurance and risk management. He has joined Higginbotham’s Energy Division, acquired by the agency in 2000 and led by Managing Directors Robert Carson and Phil Luebbehusen, to assess risk and place coverage for drillers and operators throughout Texas and the Gulf of Mexico.

McBride also has concentrated experience designing and placing directors and officers (D&O) programs and related executive liability coverage, including employment practices liability, fiduciary liability, kidnap and ransom, and commercial crime. He will serve as an expert resource in placing these coverage lines for Higginbotham’s clients.

McBride’s practice is the culmination of insurance company operations and commercial brokerage. He was an underwriter with American International Group (AIG); managed reinsurance placement and underwriting integrity/operations management programs for TIG Insurance Company; and was founder and owner of Stonebridge Insurance Services Inc., a managing general agency for Lloyd’s of London. His brokerage experience includes positions with Energy Insurance International, Johnson & Higgins and most recently with Carpenter Moore Insurance Services.

Louisiana-based wholesaler/managing general agency Ark-La-Tex Underwriters Inc. announced that Chris Weego has joined the firm as a commercial underwriter/marketer.

Weego is experienced and has good knowledge of the Louisiana territory. He holds a Louisiana property/casualty license and graduated from Louisiana Tech University/Ruston with degrees in Speech Communication and History.

Colemont Insurance Brokers – Texas has added Phil Barrow as senior underwriter in the MGA division. Barrow is responsible for marketing and servicing commercial insurance products to retail agents in Texas through Colemont’s new admitted market access to Travelers. He will also be handling new business partnerships currently in development.

Barrow brings over 30 years experience in the insurance industry, having held positions in commercial underwriting, marketing, and management on both the retail and wholesale side.

Matt Berry of the William Gammon Agency in Austin, Texas, and former president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas, has received the Woodworth Memorial Award, the highest honor the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) bestows upon an individual.

The Woodworth Award is awarded annually to the Big “I” member who best demonstrates outstanding service to independent insurance agents and the entire insurance industry.

Berry has contributed to the independent agency system at the state level on the board of directors of the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas for 13 years, serving as its president in 1991. In 2002, Berry received the Drex Foreman Award — the Texas association’s highest individual honor.

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