People – Southeast

SIAA (Strategic Insurance Agency Alliance) has named Steve Tombarelli to the newly-created position of national director of Business Insurance Advantage.

“We recognize that small commercial lines are becoming the new focus for independent insurance agents and a continued focus for our strategic partner companies. Creating this internal division and bringing Steve onboard reflects SIAA’s commitment to member agents’ success with this target market,” said Matt Masiello, SIAA executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Tombarelli’s career has been concentrated in the insurance industry, most recently with Travelers Insurance where he was regional sales director of Select Commercial Business, responsible for small commercial business lines throughout New England. He had been with Travelers since 2008; prior to that, he maintained responsibility for small commercial business sales throughout most of New England for The Hartford from 2005 through 2008.

Tombarelli will be based in SIAA’s headquarters in Hampton, New Hampshire.

Boca Raton, Florida-based Century Risk Advisors (CRA), has hired insurance industry veteran Katherine Turk as vice president/private client manager of the company’s Private Client Division.

Turk brings 35 years of risk management and insurance experience. She will be responsible for developing customized programs for clients who have high value homes, multiple locations, high performance automobiles, recreational vehicles, yachts, jewelry, fine arts, wine collections and other collectibles.

Prior to joining CRA, Turk most recently served as assistant vice president, account executive for USI Insurance Services, LLC. Turk began her professional experience with The Hartford in New Hartford, New York and in 1977, she relocated to Florida and joined Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. as a commercial sales representative. After her years at Liberty Mutual, she joined a national brokerage firm as its marketing manager. She then joined Century Financial Services in 1993 as an account manager in the company’s Commercial Insurance Division. In 1995, she was promoted to assistant vice president of the Commercial Lines Division, and later became a group leader. In January, 1997, she served as the practice leader of Summit Global Partners’ Personal Risk & Insurance Division.

Ron Reshefsky, chairman of CRA, launched the new agency recently with his son, Gary Reshefsky, a principal with the firm.

Privately-held global insurance broker Lockton has added long-time Nashville financial services executive Kristin Dixon to its team. Dixon has been named assistant vice president-account executive. She will be responsible for financial services insurance program development, negotiation, placement, and service for corporate clients.Dixon comes to Lockton from insurance broker Marsh where she spent 18 years, the last eight years as senior vice president spearheading the Financial & Professional Insurance Products operation in Tennessee and was the Healthcare Industry resource for the Southeast.

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) has elected Duff Wallace, president and chief executive officer of Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co., to its board of governors.

Wallace assumed the responsibilities of president/CEO of Southern Farm Bureau Casualty in January. Although new to this position, Wallace has spent his entire 30 year career with the Southern Farm Bureau family.

After graduating from LSU with a degree in accounting, he was hired by Louisiana Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. as a staff accountant in January of 1984. While in that position he obtained his CPA and was promoted to senior accountant.

In 1990 the Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company of Arkansas Inc. named him accounting manager. Wallace served in that capacity until 1998 when he was then appointed vice president and general manager of the insurance operations for the state of Arkansas. In May 2013 he was chosen as the president/CEO-elect of Southern Farm Bureau Casualty and assumed full responsibilities in January 2014.

PCI is composed of more than 1,000 member companies writing $195 billion in annual premium, 39 percent of the nation’s property/casualty insurance.

Micah Paul Dunford has been appointed a personal lines sales agent for homeowners and personal auto coverage at BB&T-Oswald Trippe and Co.

Dunford, who has 20 years of experience in the industry, will be based in the company’s Holmes Beach, Florida office.

Dunford will maintain personal lines book of business, research opportunities to cross-sell and grow the book of business throughout BB&T.

BB&T-Oswald Trippe and Company has offices in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Holmes Beach, Miami, Naples, Ocala and Weston, Florida. It operates more than 100 insurance agencies in Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and California.