People

Medical liability insurer Medicus Insurance appointed Jason Muesse as Southwest Regional Market manager. He will work out of Medicus’ Austin, Texas, office.

Muesse will take on the new responsibility of business development in the Southwest region after having worked at the company’s headquarters in Austin since its inception. Muesse boasts a strong understanding of the medical marketplace having spent his early career at a trauma center hospital.

Medicus also retained Jeff Weigl in July to serve as vice president and chief underwriting officer. Weigl joined Medicus after most recently serving as vice president of Underwriting for Pro Assurance in Washington D.C. office.

Medicus currently insures doctors in Illinois, Texas, Missouri, and Nevada. The company strives to provide physicians the ability to care for patients without worrying about their professional liability coverage.

Higginbotham & Associates hired property and casualty broker C. Adam Smith, who relocated from Springfield, Mo., as a commercial account executive at the agency’s Austin, Texas, office.

With more than 12 years in sales, seven of which in insurance brokerage and risk management, Smith was most recently an account/sales executive at Empire Insurance in Springfield. He has also worked in sales at Rabsamen Insurance and Barker Phillips Jackson Insurance, both Springfield-based agencies.

At Higginbotham, Smith will build a commercial property and casualty book of business with a focus on construction and transportation accounts.

InVEST announced three new members to the business-education partnership’s national board: David H. Moore, Patty Padon and Peggy P. Porter.

Moore is assistant vice president of marketing for The Hartford, where he has worked for the last decade overseeing marketing programs and communications for the Property & Casualty Operation.

Padon is senior benefits consultant for Manuel Lujan Agencies in Albuquerque, N.M. She has worked in a variety of agency positions since beginning her career at her father’s agency in 1977, including 20 years as the life and employee benefits manager for Gerding McMahon Padon & Koller.

Porter is executive vice president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Kentucky (IIAK), where she oversees all aspects of the association and serves as its primary legislative contact in the state capital. Prior to joining the IIAK in 1997, Porter held top government relations posts with United HealthCare of Kentucky, Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Missouri Department of Transportation and the Associated General Contractors of Missouri.

Zurich North America named Marcus Cooper regional executive for its South Central Region, which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. Cooper will be based in Zurich North America Commercial’s Dallas, Texas, office.

Before joining Zurich, Cooper was assistant vice president and branch manager with Crum & Forster, where his responsibilities included developing successful marketing strategies and implementing effective cross-selling initiatives.

Prior to that, he held key management roles with AIG in sales, business development, national accounts, claims and underwriting.

Liberty International Underwriters (LIU), a division of Liberty Mutual Group, has expanded the lines of insurance available in Texas and the Southwest region by offering primary general liability products and umbrella/excess liability products out of its Dallas office.

Heading up the Dallas operation’s primary general liability office is Vice President Jeff Goldade, who has spent his 25 years in the insurance industry, all in the Texas area.

Vice President Russ Champiny heads up the Dallas umbrella/excess liability operation. Champiny has over 40 years experience handling umbrella/excess liability coverage and has worked with producers in the Southwest market place since 1978.

Liberty International Underwriters has had a presence in Dallas through its marine, energy and engineering operations. The new casualty insurance endeavor will serve producers in Texas, as well as the remainder of the Southwest. Goldade will help producers place non-admitted, difficult business, including products liability, habitational occupancies, contractors and oil and gas classes. Champiny will underwrite umbrella and excess liability.

BMS Intermediaries announced that Marie Wilkins has joined the company as senior vice president and director of Technical Broking. She will be based in BMS’ Dallas office. Her primary responsibility will entail overseeing the technical broking division.

Wilkins formerly was a team leader with Benfield and has also worked at Sedgwick and Wilcox/Guy Carpenter.

CAIC Holding Company Inc. tapped Sterling Emens III to head the new Texas surety division of subsidiary Commercial Alliance Insurance Company (CAIC). Emens, who was named of vice president of CAIC, is a 27-year veteran of the surety industry.

He most recently served as the senior underwriter for United Fire Group where he was responsible for producing and managing the surety program within Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Emens gained his underwriting and management experience with a number of nationwide surety markets including, The Trinity Companies, The St. Paul, Universal Surety of America, Western Surety, CNA and Texas Bonding Company (ACIC).

CAIC Surety initially will specialize in small contract surety bonds in Texas.

Commercial Alliance Insurance Company is a Texas domiciled company that specializes in writing non-resident (Mexico), private passenger and commercial automobile insurance since 1998.

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