People
Jennifer McPhillips has been promoted to senior director of federal government affairs for the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) and will serve as one of the association’s Democratic lobbyists on the group’s bipartisan Capitol Hill team. McPhillips previously served as senior director of political affairs in charge of the group’s grassroots program and assisting with the management of the Big “I” political action committee, InsurPac. She first joined the Big “I” team in 2006 after working for Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa) and has moved up through the ranks.
The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) has named Jeffrey Junkas its new regional manager, state government relations. Junkas brings to PCI 15 years of public affairs experience, including six in the property casualty insurance industry. He will be responsible for government relations outreach in Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Junkas served as director of public affairs, Midwest region, for the American Insurance Association from 2004-2010, with previous stints at TransUnion LLC, LaSalle Bank and the MWW Group. He also founded JLJ PR, Inc., an independent communications consultancy, in 2005. He also made his first run for public office in 2010, when he won a contested primary for an Illinois state House of Representatives seat; he fell short in a close general election race against a 13-year incumbent. In that race, he managed all grassroots aspects of the campaign, including fundraising, policy development and staff.
Florida-based insurance agency Brown & Brown Inc. has named a regional vice president in Florida. Anthony M. Grippa is the profit center leader of the Daytona Beach, Florida office of Brown & Brown of Florida, Inc., and has oversight responsibilities for operations in Brevard County, Jacksonville and Tallahassee. He joined Brown & Brown in 2005 as leader of the operations of Public Risk Insurance Agency in Lake Mary and Tallahassee. Prior to that, he was president of the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association for two years while concurrently serving as executive director of the Florida Workers’ Compensation Insurance Guaranty Association Inc. for more than eight years. He began his insurance career with the Florida Department of Insurance.
BB&T Insurance Services has promoted David Owen to director of commercial lines at its Fort Myers, Florida office. Owen will also continue as the branch manager of BB&T’s Cape Coral office and will oversee all commercial operations of the agency’s offices in Fort Myers, Holmes Beach, Miami, Naples, Ocala, Sarasota and Weston, Florida. Owen is president of the Lee County Association of Independent Insurance Agents.
Don Mills, president of the North Carolina-based SIA Group, announced that Angela Edwards has been named employee benefits account executive in the agency’s Jacksonville office. Edwards will be responsible for cost-benefit consulting, plan implementation and customer service.
Insurance broker Willis North America appointed Jeff Elliott as director of operations. He will be based in Charlotte, N.C. Elliott will help refine Willis North America’s target operating model and oversee its major technology initiatives. In addition, Elliott will develop quality service standards and policies. He will report to Todd Jones, president, Willis North America. Prior to joining Willis, Elliott served as senior vice president, Outsourcing and Offshoring for the Wealth, Brokerage and Retirement Group at Wells Fargo. His background also includes management roles at Wachovia Corp. and Wachovia Securities Inc.