People

The Texas Surplus Lines Association Inc. elected new officers and directors at its 51st Annual Meeting held Nov. 12, 2007, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin:

The new officers are: President Lana Parks, president of The Parks Group Inc., Arlington; Vice President Paul Rainey, president of RSI International Inc., Arlington; and Secretary/Treasurer Monte Stringer, executive vice president of U.S. Risk LP, Dallas.

New TSLA directors are: Jack Huff, Hull & Co. Inc.; Joel Reed, AUI Inc.; Robin Stough, PWIB Texas; Tim Martin, The Burlington Insurance Co.; and Andrea Nash, Essex Insurance Co.

During the TSLA business meeting, the “President’s Award” was presented to Mike Berry, chair of the Legislative Committee and Susan Hancock, chair of the Host Committee.

The “Don King Committee Member of the Year” award was presented to Gerry Averitt, J.H. Blades & Co., for his service on the Regulatory Liaison Committee. This award is given out each year in memory of past member and friend, Don King.

The Avrohm Wisenberg scholarship recipients were Shanna Sutton, Arcana Insurance Services, and Joshua Taylor, PWIB. Taylor received a CIC scholarship and Sutton received a CISR scholarship. In addition, both recipients will receive a cash prize of $100 once their course is completed. The scholarships are donated to TSLA each year by The National Alliance.

PLUS Inc. won the full ACSR scholarship donated to TSLA by the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas.

Karl Hauenstein has been tapped to lead Houston-based Markel Global Marine & Energy Inc.’s (MGME) new Onshore Energy Casualty Department. The department will be open January 2008.

Hauenstein recently joined the company as associate vice president, and is instrumental in the department’s start-up. Hauenstein has over 30 years of insurance and reinsurance underwriting and broking experience, most of it devoted to casualty insurance coverages for energy related operations.

MGME’s new Onshore Energy Casualty Department will provide primary and excess liability coverages to clients involved in the following areas: oil and gas exploration and production; chemicals and petrochemicals manufacturing and marketing; power generation and distribution; specialty contractors; specialty tools and equipment manufacturing, sales and leasing; petroleum products storage, marketing and distribution; mining and quarrying.

MGME also recently opened a department to handle ocean marine. R. Matt Sternenberg was appointed director of Marine Underwriting and will head MGME’s new Ocean Marine department.

Sternenberg has spent more than 15 years in the marine and energy insurance field, where he gained experience in risk management, brokerage and underwriting.

Markel Global Marine & Energy’s new Ocean Marine Department is designed for clients that are involved in or supporting the brownwater marine industry, as well as those in the import or export of goods by vessel or aircraft.

Phil Ballinger, Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas executive director, was presented the Dana Roehrig/Past President’s Award by Lawrence “Mac” Wesson, Jr., U.S. Risk Insurance Group, during the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices business meeting in New Orleans in October.

This award is presented to a committee person who has performed outstanding service to the industry and to NAPSLO. Ballinger was honored for his work on NAPSLO’s Education Committee, including teaching at NAPLSO’s schools.

The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services named Scott Kipper administrator of its insurance division. Kipper replaces Joel Ario, who left in July to become insurance commissioner of Pennsylvania.

Kipper is deputy commissioner, Office of Health Insurance, for the Louisiana Department of Insurance, where he directs regulation and enforcement of health insurance laws in the state. His accomplishments in Louisiana include coalition building to create, implement and enforce emergency rules to ensure continuation of health insurance coverage after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Kipper’s career has focused on insurance and regulatory issues. He served as senior regional director, state affairs, for America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), where he managed legislative and regulatory activities in eight states. As government relations manager for General Electric Capital Assurance Co., Kipper worked with state and federal agencies on legislation affecting the long-term care industry. He also worked as health analyst for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and spent 10 years in Wyoming state government and industry, including serving as legislative liaison for the Department of Insurance.

Kipper’s appointment is effective Dec. 27. In his new role, Kipper will lead the 90-employee insurance division, which helps ensure the financial soundness of insurers, the fair treatment of consumers, and the affordability and availability of insurance products in Oregon.

Louisiana Medical Mutual Insurance Company (LAMMICO), recently awarded academic scholarships to four medical students enrolled at the following medical schools: Tulane University, the Louisiana State University Medical School in both New Orleans and Shreveport and the LSU Dental School in New Orleans.

The respective institutions award the scholarships based upon merit criteria established at each medical school. The 2007 recipients are:

Tulane University Medical School: Jeffrey Freyder, a native of Kenner, La., is a graduate of Archbishop Rummel High School in Metairie and Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., where he majored in biology.

LSU Medical School — New Orleans: Ashley Kay Haddad, from Mandeville, La., graduated from the University of Notre Dame, where she majored in psychology. Haddad is bilingual and has a strong interest in psychiatry.

LSU Medical School — Shreveport: Kristopher Mulray Katira of Crowley, La., earned an undergraduate degree in biological sciences from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. While at ULL, he volunteered at the Lafayette Community Health Care Clinic which provides medical and dental services to uninsured workers.

LSU Dental School — New Orleans: Eric C. Hebert, a native of Metairie and current resident of Bush, La., graduated from St. Paul High School in Covington, La. in 2001. He was an honors student at LSU, majoring in history.

Since the 2000-2001 academic school year LAMMICO has awarded full tuition to students from the state schools and a partial award to one Tulane University medical student. The scholarships are awarded for one year to incoming freshmen from the state of Louisiana.

The Education Foundation of the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) has awarded academic scholarships to 15 students at Baylor University, the University of North Texas and the University of Texas at Austin, the insurer trade group announced.

The Baylor scholarship recipients are: Ralph de la Garza, Ian Nelsen, Nathan Lloyd, Hannah Sprague and Justin Bannister.

The University of North Texas scholarship recipients are: Lauren Sandlin, William Hamilton, Josh Crawford, Tiffany Craiker and Wes Edison.

The University of Texas at Austin scholarship recipients are: Jing Ai, Justin Bryant, Michael Kujovic, Sijia Li and Yinglu Deng.

ICT’s Education Foundation was created this year to administer both academic and achievement awards that are now provided to seven Texas universities. The universities include Baylor, North Texas, UT Austin, UT San Antonio, UT Pan American, Huston Tillotson and Texas Southern.

Since the scholarship program began in 2002, ICT has awarded $155,000 in scholarships to 121 students studying insurance and risk management.

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