People

Markel Corp. has promoted Henry Lopez to president for Markel Midwest. Lopez has served as executive vice president for the Midwest region since November 2008. He joined Markel in 1995 as a financial analyst and has held a variety of leadership positions within the underwriting, sales and marketing areas, including vice president, director of business development; vice president, marketing services; and vice president, underwriting administration. Prior to joining Markel, Lopez worked at Allstate Insurance as a senior financial analyst.

State Automobile Mutual Insurance Co. and State Auto Property & Casualty Insurance Co., based in Columbus, Ohio, has two new assistant vice presidents.

Lawrence (Larry) A. Adeleye joined State Auto in July as director of treasury and finance. He has more than 25 years of experience and most recently served as director of treasury operations for the Liberty Mutual Group/Ohio Casualty Insurance. He has also served in finance management roles with Tellabs, CNA Financial and Galileo International.

Scott A. Jones was elected an assistant secretary in 2005 and currently serves as portfolio manager. Jones joined State Auto as a personal lines underwriter. He held various underwriting positions prior to joining the financial accounting department in 1996 and the investments department in 2002.

John O’Mara has joined FinSecure as vice president of Sales Midwest. FinSecure, a member of the W. R. Berkley Corporation, provides financial institutions with customized property and casualty insurance products and underwrites on behalf of several W. R. Berkley member insurance companies.

O’Mara was previously with Chubb Insurance for 17 years, most recently serving as vice president – Department of Financial Institutions and Midwest Zone.

Colemont Insurance Brokers promoted Kevin Zinter to broker in the company’s Chicago office. Zinter joined Colemont in 2005 and specializes in the brokerage of financial services products. He is responsible for the placement of directors and officers, employment practices liability, fiduciary, crime, errors and omissions, and medical malpractice coverage. Niche specialty areas include architects and engineers, lawyers professional liability, real estate and allied healthcare, including staffing.

Bill Strout has joined Westrope’s home office in Kansas City, Mo., as vice president of its workers’ compensation unit. Strout began his career with Zurich and Hartford and then progressed to handling large risk management workers’ compensation accounts for Liberty Mutual. For the last several years, Strout was a successful producer with a regional independent agency.

Seattle-based Safeco Insurance, a Liberty Mutual Agency Markets company, has added to its management team in the Central Region.

Scott McPherson is now director of marketing for the Central Region. He is responsible for marketing, communications and agency management best practices for the region. He started his insurance career with Safeco in 1992, holding positions in claims and field underwriting. Most recently, McPherson was regional sales director for Travelers Insurance.

Ray Jimenez has joined Safeco as South Texas regional manager for the Central Region. He will oversee day-to-day field operations as they pertain to personal lines, agents and territory managers. Jimenez previously was a territory manager for America First Insurance in South Texas. He also has served as regional marketing vice president and branch vice president for Royal & SunAlliance, in addition to having experience on the agency side of the industry.

The IMA Financial Group Inc. announced that Rodney Paddock and Scott Reeder have joined IMA in Kansas City as part of the company’s expanded focus on surety and the construction marketplace.

Paddock began his insurance career in 1988 and developed a specialty in bonds and surety. He previously managed the executive liability, bond and financial products division for a national insurance carrier.

Reeder brings to IMA a strong sales background servicing national accounts. He has expertise in real estate and facilities management as a member of the Building Owners and Managers Association and the Kansas City chapter of the International Facility Management Association. Reeder previously held a leadership and sales position for a global manufacturing company.

The Chicago West Suburban Chapter of the CPCU Society has a new board of directors in place for the 2009-2010 year. Joseph Harrington is the new chapter president, succeeding Elizabeth Lupetini, who will become a district governor for several chapters in Illinois and Iowa.

Harrington is director of corporate communications for the American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS), a national advisory organization based in Wheaton, Ill.

Lupetini is vice president of compliance in the Chicago office of Unitrin Direct.

Peter Quirk a national accounts sales consultant in the Lisle, Ill., office of the Insurance Services Office (ISO), succeeds Harrington as vice president.

The Ohio Department of Insurance has added Melissa Kuhn Wheeler to the agency’s policy department. Wheeler has five years of experience working with the Ohio General Assembly. Most recently, she served as Legislative Liaison for the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction services.