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Harleysville Insurance of Pennsylvania has named Jonathan Young senior vice president and chief claims officer. Young will oversee all claims activities for the Harleysville organization, which includes oversight of the company’s home office central claims unit and its four regional claims service centers. Before joining Harleysville, Young was the managing partner of the New York office of Sills Cummis & Gross, and a member of the firm’s litigation practice group. Prior to that, he was the managing partner of Reed Smith’s New York office, and a member of the firm’s executive committee. He began his law career as a clerk to the Honorable Caleb Wright in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

Tim Schott has been named deputy superintendent of the Maine Bureau of Insurance. Schott has been a county attorney in Webster County, Iowa since 2002, and has over a decade of prosecutorial experience – felony and misdemeanor cases – as well as experience representing government personnel in civil matters.

Ramani Ayer, chief executive officer and chairman of The Hartford Financial Services Group will retire by the end of the year. Ayer, who became CEO in 1997, joined the company in 1973, after receiving a PhD from Drexel University, and undergraduate studies at the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay. His replacement has not been named.

The Navigators Group Inc. has opened a Pittsburgh office of Navigators Management Co. Inc., its principal underwriting agency subsidiary. The office, which will be headed by Robin Betza, will serve western Pennsylvania, western Maryland, Ohio and West Virginia and will initially be staffed with underwriters handling Directors & Officers liability, Excess Casualty, and middle market property casualty products, coordinating with underwriters in other Navigators offices to access products including Environmental Casualty, Marine insurance, Onshore Energy, Life Sciences and other specialty products. Betza She most recently held the same position at AIG/AIU Holdings where she spent the last 21 years of her career.

ACE Limited has named Brian Dowd as vice chairman, ACE Ltd. and ACE Group Holdings. He currently serves as chief executive officer of ACE’s North America division. Dowd will assume corporate-wide executive responsibility for the ACE Group’s global product underwriting boards and the strategy and purchase of the company’s reinsurance programs. Dowd joined ACE in 1995 and has held a number of senior management positions with the company including president and chief executive officer of ACE Westchester, president of ACE Specialty P&C Group, and, most recently, chairman and chief executive officer of ACE USA.

The Swiss Re Group appointed Rudolf Flunger as head of Insurance & Specialty, the company’s division responsible for commercial insurance, industrial insurance, large corporate risks and specialty re/insurance. Flunger succeeds Agostino Galvagni, who was recently named Swiss Re Group’s chief operating officer. In his new function, Flunger will focus on growing Swiss Re’s insurance and specialty operations and innovative product offerings in the mid-size and large commercial insurance market.

Teresa Long, has become director of Agency Services for the Institute of WorkComp Professionals (IWCP).. Long will be working with IWCP member insurance agencies and their workers’ compensation claims processing and injury management procedures, helping agencies arrange medical clinic relationships, developing back-to-work programs, conducting seminars for employers and providing training for the IWCP’s nearly 1,000 Certified WorkComp Advisors. Long was most recently vice president of Risk Management for Sarasota, Fla.-based Unisource Administrators, Inc., a managing general agent and third party claims administrator, where she was responsible for client services.

Westbrook, Maine-based Acadia Insurance Co. has named Kevin Seth as assistant vice president of Field Services. Seth will be responsible for providing service to branch offices including document management, policy issuance, rating and other operational areas. He will also create a continuous improvement culture through developing and implementing best practices. He joins Acadia with a unique work experience having been associated with insurance carriers, agencies and his own consulting practice.

In addition, Acadia has also named Paul Strohfus as its new senior vice president for Claims and Legal Services. Strohfus will oversee the development of claim operations for Acadia, work to maximize government relations efforts and ensure legal matters continue to be handled with best practices. He most recently served on the leadership team at Universal Underwriters and then Zurich American Insurance Co. Strohfus is a former defense counsel in the U.S. Navy Jag Corps and has also held previous positions with Fireman’s Fund in California.

New York-based insurer Arch Insurance Group has named David McElroy to its executive management team. He will serve as president of the newly created Financial and Professional Liability Products Group of Arch Insurance’s U.S.-based operations. McElroy, who is a 25-year insurance industry veteran, most recently headed The Hartford’s Specialty Financial division which included Hartford Financial Products and Hartford Bond. Arch Insurance Group is owned by Arch Capital Group Ltd.