People – South Central
LevelFirst, a wholesale broker and managing general agency based in Dallas, Texas, announced that Brett Biskup has joined the firm as senior vice president.
Biskup brings more than 21 years of insurance experience, most recently serving as underwriting manager for a national firm.
In addition to Dallas, LevelFirst has offices in Austin and Houston.
Courtney Woodruff has been promoted to vice president of commercial client services at Texas-based insurance brokerage, Roach Howard Smith & Barton (RHSB).
Woodruff joined RHSB in 2007 as an account executive leading one of the agency’s largest commercial units. With her promotion to vice president of commercial lines, Woodruff’s responsibilities have expanded to include managing the new business marketing unit and all the commercial client services units in the Dallas office.
Prior to joining RHSB, Woodruff served as an account executive for Travelers Insurance Co. for eight years, specializing in underwriting and marketing of executive management liability products.
Woodruff has earned her Certified Insurance Counselor designation and is in the process of completing certification as a Certified Risk Manager.
RHSB has offices in Dallas and Fort Worth.
Linda Hummel and Andrew Grove have joined SWBC in San Antonio, Texas.
Hummel, a healthcare industry veteran, joins SWBC as CEO of the executive benefits consulting division. She will be responsible for the direction and oversight of the operations, sales and marketing efforts to employee benefits clients and prospects.
Hummel has nearly 24 years of health benefits experience. Before SWBC, she was president of the employer group division for Humana – Texas.
Grove joins SWBC as vice president of sales for the employee benefits consulting division. Before joining SWBC, Grove was the large group practice leader for Humana’s South Texas Market.
Wholesale insurance broker Swett & Crawford added Zach Burdine as a broker in its casualty and property practice groups in Dallas, Texas.
Burdine brings his extensive background in wholesale and retail insurance to Swett & Crawford. He was most recently a risk analyst in the environmental casualty department with AIG. In previous years, Burdine held key positions with AmTrust North America, as well as Bass Underwriters.
The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC) announced that Kerry D. Sullivan joined the agency as deputy commissioner for hearings, effective Sept. 3.
Prior to joining the TDI-DWC, Sullivan spent most of his professional career with the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH), where he served as general counsel and as an administrative law judge. Sullivan was also appointed SOAH’s first master administrative law judge and held other management positions at the agency.
Acting Deputy Commissioner for Hearings Dan Barry will return full-time to his role as head of the TDI-DWC Appeals Panel.
Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) announced that the former CEO of the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission, Alan McClain, would be joining WCRI as a regional director.
McClain is a past president of the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards & Commissions (IAIABC).