People – East

The MEMIC Group, a Portland, Maine-based workers’ compensation carrier, has announced the promotion of Eileen M. Fongemie and Deborah E. Lander.

Fongemie has been named director of finance. In this capacity, she will be responsible for planning, direction and management of the company’s financial information under the direction of the chief financial officer. She joined MEMIC in 2007 as a senior accountant. In 2010, she was promoted to financial reporting manager.

Lander, who works in MEMIC’s disability management unit of the company’s claims department, has been appointed to unit manager. In addition to her duties as liaison to business partners and overseer of the company’s prescription and utilization review programs, she will supervise MEMIC’s disability management consultants in territories along the Eastern seaboard. Lander began her career at MEMIC in 2003 and was promoted to team leader last April.

The MEMIC Group holds licenses to write workers’ compensation in 46 states plus the District of Columbia.

Clark Insurance, an employee-owned independent insurance agency with offices in Maine and New Hampshire, promoted G. Jeffrey Shaw to executive vice president from vice president. He will also continue as the sales manager for the entire agency.

Founded in 1931, Clark Insurance has offices in Portland, Saco, Windham and Gorham in Maine as well as a branch in Manchester, N.H.

Markel Corp. announced that Troy Williams has joined the medical malpractice team as director of Medical Professional Liability. Williams is based in the Deerfield, Ill., office; his responsibilities are countrywide.

Williams is an experienced medical malpractice underwriter, having worked at CNA and St. Paul Companies most recently. He will report to Fran O’Connell, managing director of Markel’s Medical Product Line, which O’Connell said will be expanding.

The Professional Insurance Agents of Connecticut Inc. (PIACT) elected officers during the association’s annual convention last month.

Following are the new officers who will lead PIACT in the 2014-15 administrative year:

• President: Peter Frascarelli, chief operating officer for the Peter M. Bakker Agency Inc., in Avon, Conn.
• President-elect: Teri Walsh, president of Sachs Walsh Insurance in Westport, Conn.
• Vice president: Marissa Barbera, president of Charter Oak Agency in Darien, Conn.
• Vice president: Loretta Lesko, vice president of operations for the DiMatteo Group in Shelton, Conn.
• Treasurer: Mary Kay Andrews, vice president of operations for the Ion Insurance Corp. in Naugatuck, Conn.
• Secretary: Ken Distel, vice president of The Distel Group in Farmington, Conn.
• Augusto Russell will serve as immediate past president. Russell is a partner at May, Bonee & Walsh Inc. in East Berlin, Conn.

PIACT is a trade association representing independent insurance agencies and their employees throughout the state of Connecticut.

SMP Consulting Group, a premium audit consulting firm based in Bay Shore, N.Y., has appointed Gary A. Sandford to the position of director of premium audit. Sandford previously served as chief auditor and vice president of administration and finance with the New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board (NYCIRB).

Sandford advanced through various positions of increasing responsibility during his 34-year career with the NYCIRB, a non-profit, unincorporated association of insurance carriers that serves as an advisory rate service organization for workers’ compensation in New York State.

SMP is a premium audit consulting firm, specializing in areas of workers’ compensation insurance – from risk ratings to experience and employee classifications.

Engle-Hambright & Davies Inc. (EHD), an independent insurance brokerage based in Lancaster, Penn., recently hired D. Michael Facciolo, Jr. as an account executive in its employee benefits services division. Based in EHD’s Exton, Penn., branch office, Facciolo will be responsible for managing client benefits and developing new business in the Delaware Valley, Penn., region, as well as in Delaware and southern New Jersey.

Prior to joining EHD, Facciolo was senior vice president of Chesapeake Insurance Advisors in New Castle, Del.

Chevy Chase, Md.-based auto insurance giant GEICO appointed Andrea Bradley as assistant vice president of underwriting in the Virginia Beach, Va., office. Previously, she served as assistant vice president of centralized services in GEICO’s Macon, Ga., office.

Bradley began her career in GEICO’s Woodbury, N.Y., office in 1991 where she served as an examiner before taking on supervisor roles in liability claims and personal injury protection (PIP). In 2004, she was promoted to PIP manager and was named the liability director in 2006. In 2010, Bradley was selected to participate in GEICO’s executive assistant program.