People

Kate Westover, vice president of Alternative Risk Financing at Innovative Captive Strategies, has received the 2009 Distinguished Service Award from the Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA). Based in Colchester, Vermont, Westover has 20 years experience in the captive insurance industry and has published two books on the subject. At ICS, she consults on captive structuring for clients, brokers and reinsurers. Innovative Captive Strategies, based in West Des Moines, Iowa, specializes in captive insurance and alternative risk management programs.

Boston-based insurance industry analysis firm SMA Inc. has named Karen Furtado as partner. Furtado has more than 25 years of technical and business experience within the insurance industry, and has specific areas of expertise include application development, complex system implementations, vendor selection processes, project management, and business process outsourcing and technical outsourcing. SMA, formerly Smallwood Maike & Associates, is a strategic advisory firm offering a unique blend of research, advisory and consulting services to insurance companies.

Timothy Russell, a Sandy Hook, Connecticut insurance agent, has been picked as Agent of the Year by the Professional Insurance Agents of Connecticut Inc. Russell, a senior member of the Russell Agency in Southport, Connecticut, received the award during the PIACT’s annual convention earlier this month. The award is given to an agent who has demonstrated excellence and achievement in insurance marketing and service, shown a personal commitment to professionalism and has contributed to PIA and the community. Russell is an active member of PIACT, and will serve as vice president for 2009-10, after having served as treasurer last year. He has also served as past president of the Southern Connecticut Chapter of the Charter Property and Casualty Underwriters Society.

James Guerin and George Lagos, two insurance industry veterans, have partnered to launch a new insurance and consulting firm in Bow, N.H. called GL Insurance Partners. The new firm will focus on specialty commercial program business issues, and offers services such as due diligence, operational audits and reviews, compliance management, program development, dispute resolution and litigation support for and on behalf of reinsurers, primary carriers, Lloyds underwriters and program administrators.

New York-based specialty insurance firm Valiant Insurance Group has named Kevin J. Cawley as senior vice president and chief actuary. Cawley, who will be based in New York, most recently served as chief actuary for Liberty International Underwriters – North America, At Liberty, he oversaw the actuarial staff in the United States and Canada, and provided actuarial support for General Liability, Umbrella/Excess Casualty, Environmental, D&O Liability, Professional Liability, Marine, Energy, Workers Compensation, Commercial Auto and Alternative Risk Management Programs. Prior to his work at Liberty, Cawley was a consulting actuary with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and has also held previous positions with Allstate Insurance Co. and Continental Insurance.

Bermuda-based Everest Re Group has appointed Mark Herman as president of its newly created Everest Specialty Underwriters. The new division is based in New York and will focus its attention on the professional lines markets, specifically directors and officers and errors and omissions products for the primary insurance market. Herman joins Everest from Valiant Insurance Group, where he served as non-executive chairman. Prior to that he was co-president of Ariel Holdings Ltd., where he was instrumental in building the operation from its formation in 2005. Before assuming this role, he spent nine years with ACE Ltd. as president and chief executive officer of ACE Bermuda.

Aon Global Risk Consulting has appointed Graham Heath as director of Risk Control UK. In this role, Graham will help UK corporate clients to improve their business performance through effective management of their risks. Heath will support the firm’s retail broking teams in promoting and delivering risk management services as a key component of Aon’s overall proposition for clients. Heath has over 20 years of management experience within the insurance industry. He was previously managing director of his own company, Calculated Risks Limited. Prior to that, he was also responsible for setting up Norwich Union Risk Services.

Elizabeth Demaret, managing director of Arthur J. Gallagher, has been appointed chairwoman of the World Federation of Insurance Intermediaries (WFII), an international association representing intermediaries from around the world. Based in Chicago, Demaret is one of six WFII World Council members from North America and a member of The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers. Demaret will serve a one-year term as chairwoman, and another year as outgoing chair. Demaret follows David Harari, director of IFEBO in France, as chair of the WFII.

Insurance industry veteran Bruce MacDougall has joined independent insurance brokerage William Gallagher Associates in Boston as a senior vice president. MacDougall will develop relationships and serve as a resource for clients in all areas of property and casualty insurance and risk management consulting. MacDougall has more than 24 years of insurance experience, most recently serving as a senior member at Mazonson. Prior to that, he was involved in commercial lending with Bank of New England.