People – East

The Hartford Financial Services Group recently announced the election of Julie Richardson to its board of directors. Richardson will serve on the board’s audit committee as well as the finance, investment and risk management committee.

Richardson currently serves as a senior advisor at Providence Equity Partners LLC. Previously, she was a partner and head of the firm’s New York office and led the firm’s global communications investment practice. Richardson was also vice chairman of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.’s investment banking division and head of its telecommunications, media and technology group.

Robert James has been appointed president of Property and Casualty for QBE North America, which includes the program, middle markets and major broker groups. He is based in New York. James will be a member of the executive management board and will report to David Duclos, QBE North American Operations’ chief executive officer.

James joins QBE from managing directorships at Aon Benfield and Willis Capital Markets & Advisory. Prior to that, he was president and CEO of Grange Insurance Cos. Before Grange, James was president of the Insurance Services Group at Bank of America, where he managed the bank’s consumer insurance, commercial insurance and reinsurance operations.

James has also held leadership roles at Countrywide Insurance Group, CNA Insurance, AIG, Allmerica Property & Casualty, MetLife Auto & Home and Allstate.

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) is expanding its property capabilities to include builder’s risk insurance. It also named Robert Tricamo to head the new specialty property area as vice president, construction. He is based in New York.

In this newly created position, Tricamo will oversee BHSI’s entry into builder’s risk and its ongoing strategy and execution for the product line.

Tricamo comes to BHSI with technical property experience, most recently as product line manager, builder’s risk (CAR/EAR), at Arch Insurance Group. Before that he held a variety of positions in the technical property insurance arena, including vice president, technical risk property, at Quanta US Holdings and supervising underwriter, property and engineered risks, at Swiss Reinsurance America.

Pennsylvania State Rep. Nicholas Micozzie, a veteran member of the state’s House of Representatives and current majority chairman of the House Insurance Committee, said he will retire from the legislature when his current two-year term ends Nov. 30. Micozzie spent 36 years serving as a state representative.

As chairman of the Pennsylvania House Insurance Committee, Micozzie, R-163, of Upper Darby, has introduced a number of key pieces of legislation, including allowing state income tax exemption for those who establish Medical Care Savings Accounts and requiring insurance policies to provide a minimum of 48 hours inpatient hospital care for new mothers and babies. Both measures are now law.

The committee has also conducted hearings on Micozzie’s resolution to find solutions to the problem of uninsured motorists on Pennsylvania highways.

FM Global promoted Nicholas Batten to vice president, manager of global services at the company’s Johnston, R.I., headquarters. In his new role, Batten serves as a key resource to FM Global’s operations worldwide in helping structure comprehensive global programs for multinational clients.

Batten previously was assistant vice president, international practice leader for the company. He joined FM Global in 2000 as a client service representative in the company’s Windsor, UK, office and then served as an account manager for several years in Stockholm, Sweden. He has held a variety of roles within the company since.

Philadelphia Insurance Cos., a Bala Cynwyd, Penn.-based property/casualty insurance company for niche markets, announced the promotion of John Doyle to senior vice president of underwriting. In his new role as senior vice president, he will oversee the company’s public service and human service underwriting divisions.

Doyle began his insurance career at Philadelphia Insurance Cos. in 1989. He transferred from the claims department to the underwriting department in 1996, first in a product development role and then as an underwriter.

He was promoted to underwriting manager in 1999, assistant vice president in 2003, and vice president in 2006. In January of 2013, he took leadership responsibility for the company’s public service underwriting division.

Clark Insurance, an employee-owned independent insurance agency with offices in Maine and New Hampshire, announced Bret Cote has been promoted to vice president. Cote is based in the Manchester, N.H., office. Cote has served with the agency’s business insurance department for seven years and most recently served as sales manager for the state of New Hampshire.

Founded in 1931, and currently with over 100 employees, Clark Insurance is one of the largest insurance agencies in Northern New England.