People – Midwest
David L. Kaufman has been confirmed as CEO of Columbus, Ohio-based The Motorists Mutual Insurance Co. and affiliated companies.
Former CEO John J. Bishop previously announced his retirement as an associate of Motorists Mutual. He will remain chairman of Motorists’ board of directors.
The selection of Kaufman as CEO has been part of a long-term succession plan. Kaufman was elected president of Motorists Mutual in 2012.
Bishop, who has served as the group’s CEO since 2001, has been with Motorists Mutual for more than 40 years.
Director John M. Huff announced that John Rehagen, Mary Kempker, Molly White, Jeana Thomas and Tamara Kopp will assume new roles in the Missouri Department of Insurance. Chris Cline was also recruited as the department’s communications director.
Rehagen was promoted to deputy division director of Insurance Company Regulation. Previously, Rehagen served as the department’s Captive Program manager before holding positions as a financial examiner and a financial analyst. Rehagen has been with the department since 2003. He holds a Certified Financial Examiner designation from the Society of Financial Examiners.
Cline comes to the department from the Missouri Department of Corrections, where he served as the communications director for two years. Prior to that, Cline was a reporter at the Daily Journal in Park Hills, Mo., for 10 years.
Kempker was promoted to manager of the life and health section within the division of Market Regulation. Kempker most recently served as the manager of the property/ casualty section in the division of Consumer Affairs.
Kempker has more than 12 years of experience working at the department. She recently received her Accredited Insurance Examiner designation from the Insurance Regulatory Examiners Society, and also holds a Fellow, Academy for Health Management designation.
White has been promoted to manager of health insurance reforms initiatives within Market Regulation. Previously, she served as manager of the life and health section within Market Regulation. White has been with the department since 1999.
Thomas was promoted to manager of the property and casualty section within Consumer Affairs. Thomas has served for more than 11 years in the division as a consumer services specialist, and brings insurance claims experience into her new position.
Kopp was promoted to receivership counsel/supervisor. Kopp has been with the department since 2006, and previously served as senior counsel within the legal section of the department, where she handled enforcement cases against insurance agents and agencies licensed by the department.
USG Insurance Services Inc., a national wholesaler and MGA, has expanded operations in its New Brighton, Minn., office with the addition of Jeff Olson as a producer/broker.
Olson began his career in the insurance industry 11 years ago, and most recently was a senior account manager and commercial lines broker at Ramsgate Insurance in Minneapolis. He previously held many sales positions with State Farm Insurance, including lead customer service rep, lead marketing support, and head coordinator of the financial products line. Olson also served as a surplus commercial lines underwriter at Markel.
USG Insurance Services Inc. has 15 offices across the country.
Chicago-based wholesale insurance brokerage and managing general agency, Worldwide Facilities Inc., has added James F. Langan as vice president. He will be responsible for promoting the casualty products available from Worldwide Facilities’ many markets.
Langan began his career in 1986 at Transamerica as a commercial P/C underwriter. A second-generation insurance professional, he then moved into the position of vice president/partner with his father’s firm, Langan & Co. Most recently Langan comes to Worldwide from Risk Placement Services. During the 15 years at RPS, he was recognized as a top producer in 13 of those years. Additionally, he has served on the board of directors, Association of Lloyds Brokers, Illinois.
The Horton Group, based in Orland Park, Ill., has expanded its construction practice with one new hire and one promotion in its construction practice.
The company added Patrick White as a sales executive and promoted Kris Retusnic to the same position. Both are responsible for new business production in the construction practice.
White formerly was a producer at Kamm Insurance. Retusnic previously was an account executive specializing in surety business.
Signature Select LLC, an IMA company, has added Greg Rasby as the Kansas City market leader.
Rasby joins Signature Select from Gallagher, where he had several years of experience prospecting, marketing and servicing a variety of accounts from small commercial to large national risks.
Rasby was previously a property and casualty producer and team leader in the national accounts division of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in Kansas City. He has extensive experience in small and middle market organic growth, business development and effectively marketing clients’ risk transfer programs to the insurance marketplace.
Illinois agent Brian McSherry is the 2012 recipient of the Sidney O. Smith Award from the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (IIABA or Big ‘I’) for his work on behalf of crop insurance agents.
This award is bestowed annually by the Big “I” and the Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia upon an individual agent or broker for outstanding service to his or her peers and the national association in the field of government affairs. It is named in honor of an IIABA past president and Georgia agent who was instrumental in focusing the association and its members on legislative advocacy.
In addition to testifying at a House Agriculture Committee hearing on the detrimental impact of the SRA on crop insurance agents across the country, McSherry has met with Risk Management Agency officials numerous times.
He pushed to include an anti-rebating clause in the 2013 Crop Insurance Document Standards Handbook. It was finally adopted by the RMA and included as a mandatory part of the handbook. McSherry will address the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) Board later this year. This is the first time a Big “I” agent has presented at an FCIC meeting.