People

New Jersey-based Selective Insurance Group Inc. appointed six new executives. Dennis L. Barger has been appointed senior vice president, underwriting officer for Mid-Market & Large Accounts. Barger joined Selective in July after serving as senior vice president and president of field operations for CNA Insurance. Andrew S. Becker has been named senior vice president, director of Commercial Lines Pricing and Research. He previously served as vice president of Commercial Lines Pricing. Becker joined Selective in April 2001 as managing actuary for Selective Risk Managers, the company’s large account operation. Cyndi Bennett has been named to vice president, Compensation. She previously served as assistant vice president, compensation manager. Bennett joined Selective in 2006. Gail L. Petersen has been named vice president, director of Communications. Petersen joined Selective in September 2008. Prior to that, she was director of communications for D&M Holdings. Andrew B. McCray has been named assistant vice president, underwriting manager for Selective’s Southern region. McCray joined Selective in July 2009. Prior to that, he served as vice president of underwriting for RLI Corp. Stephen C. Petzold has been named assistant vice president, safety operations manager for Selective’s New Jersey region. Petzold joined Selective in July 1994 as a loss control manager. Prior to that, he served as a loss control and premium audit manager for American Reliance Insurance Co.

Mary Landen has been named Educational Institutions Program Manager at S.H. Smith & Co. Inc. in Hartford, Connecticut. In her new role, Landen will manage educational institutions programs, which provide umbrella and excess Liability coverage for private schools and colleges, as well as charter, trade and vocational schools. She most recently served as vice president of Riggs, Counselman, Michaels and Downes.

David Dickson has been appointed to the New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board’s (NYCIRB) Fraud Task Force. Dickson has served on the NYCIRB since last year, and originally was named to the committee as the appointee of the AFL-CIO of New York State Inc. He will assist in identifying and reviewing fraudulent activity on behalf of New York state citizens. He brings more than 35 years of experience in the insurance industry. Dickson is a member of Bailey, Haskell and LaLonde Inc. in Oneida, and formerly served as president of the Professional Insurance Agents of New York in 2006 and 2007. Dickson also has served as an industry consultant on privacy and regulatory issues, and is an experienced, authorized workers’ compensation safety-group manager.

Karen Stakem Hornig has been promoted to deputy insurance commissioner of the Maryland Insurance Administration. She was appointed associate deputy insurance commissioner in June 2008. She serves as the Commissioner’s designee for quasi-judicial hearings, heads the agency’s administrative unit and leads a variety of special projects for the Commissioner. Prior to her appointment at the MIA, she served in the Baltimore City Law Department as chief legal counsel. She has also held previous positions with law firm Brown & Sheehan, College of Notre Dame of Maryland, and the Office of the Attorney General for Maryland.