People – Midwest
Hastings Mutual Insurance Co., a regional property/casualty insurer based in Hastings, Mich., has welcomed new President, CEO and Chairman Joseph J. Babiak Jr.
Babiak joined Hastings Mutual in 2001 as the chief financial officer. During the past three years, Babiak has served as senior vice president of Insurance Operations.
He has more than 30 years of industry experience and worked as a senior manager at Arthur Andersen LLC prior to joining Hastings Mutual. He holds the CPA designation.
Hastings Mutual operates in the six Midwestern states of Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio and Wisconsin.
MJ Insurance added Andrew Howard in its Indianapolis headquarters as IT engineer and IT department manager for MJ’s Indianapolis and Phoenix locations.
Howard has more than 15 years of information technology and project management experience. Most recently, he served as owner and IT Director of Kittif LLC, a professional services company focusing on IT audits, architecture cost analysis, eMarketing and custom software solutions.
He also serves as a part-time adjunct professor at Ivy Tech Community College.
Aon expanded its Indianapolis, Ind., office with the addition of three professionals.
Frank “Skip” Treco joined the office as senior vice president and Danielle Calahan as director of data analytics for Aon Risk Solutions, the global risk management business of Aon PLC. Bob Boyer also joined the Indianapolis office as senior vice president and central region practice leader for Aon Hewitt, the global human resource solutions business of Aon PLC.
Prior to joining Aon Risk Solutions, Treco served as president and CEO of Hylant Group’s Indianapolis office.
Calahan previously served as a financial analyst at Raytheon Technical Services.
Before joining Aon Hewitt, Boyer was the Midwest regional health and benefits leader at Mercer.
Illinois-based insurance brokerage, Assurance, has added Avi Lev to its property/casualty insurance team as a vice president.
Lev brings more than five years of experience in the insurance industry with a special focus in real estate. He holds Commercial Lines Coverage Specialist (CLCS) designation.
Prior to joining Assurance, Lev owned and was managing partner of a boutique insurance brokerage specializing in P/C coverage for health care and real estate companies, as well as personal lines coverage.
Assurance maintains office locations just outside of Chicago, Ill., and St. Louis, Mo.
Columbus, Ohio-based insurer, SafeAuto, has named Ron Davies as chief executive officer of the company.
This is the first time SafeAuto has gone outside the company to hire a CEO.
Founders Ari Deshe, chairman and CEO, and Jon Diamond, president and chief operating officer, are stepping away from the day-to-day management of the company. They will remain in a leadership capacity as chairmen of the board of directors.
Davies is an experienced business leader at all levels. Most recently, he served as senior vice president of operations for Allstate Insurance Co.
SafeAuto Insurance Co. is licensed in 19 states and employs nearly 1,000 associates in four offices around the country. SafeAuto provides state minimum auto insurance coverage in 16 states including Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Georgia, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Illinois, Missouri, Arizona, Oklahoma, Kansas and Virginia and Texas.
James E. Davenport has joined Stevens Point, Wis.-based Sentry Insurance as executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Davenport previously was a partner at the accounting firm KPMG LLP in Minneapolis, for 15 years.
Sentry Insurance, a mutual company founded in 1904, provides property and casualty insurance, life insurance, annuities and retirement programs for businesses and individuals.
Specialty insurer RLI Corp., based in Peoria, Ill., has promoted both Jennifer Klobnak and Chris Randall to vice president, Risk Services Group.
The group provides underwriting, pricing, reserving and risk modeling solutions and support to RLI product divisions.
Klobnak will be responsible for property and personal lines products and ceded reinsurance. Randall will handle commercial casualty, packages and financial products.
Klobnak and Randall will report to Craig Kliethermes, senior vice president, Risk Services.
Klobnak has 12 years of experience working at RLI and began her career with the company in 2000 as a treasury analyst. Most recently, Klobnak served as assistant vice president, Risk Services, where she supported the Excess and Surplus Property and Reinsurance divisions.
Randall has more than 18 years of insurance industry experience and joined RLI in 2002 as a reserving actuary. He most recently served as assistant vice president, Risk Services, where he supported new products and the Transportation and Marine divisions.
Lockton Omaha named Shane Jacobsen vice president and producer on its health and welfare team in Omaha, Neb.
Most recently, Jacobsen was co-owner of Maximum HEALTH Solutions, an Omaha-based wellness company. Jacobsen’s team of nurses and consultants also joined Lockton Omaha to continue educating and motivating employees to become involved in, and responsible for, their health.
Willis North America, a unit of Willis Group Holdings, named Mark Dull as a client advocate in Willis of Michigan Inc.
Dull has more than 10 years of experience on the brokerage side. Prior to Willis, he was vice president at the Hylant Group in Troy, Mich., and before that he was vice president at Marsh USA Inc.