People – Midwest

Appleton, Wis.-based SECURA Insurance promoted Tim Heyroth to the newly created position of vice president-sales.

Heyroth, who has been with SECURA for more than 17 years, will be responsible for developing and implementing sales strategies for property and casualty insurance through independent agents throughout the company’s 12 states of operation.

Heyroth joined SECURA in 1997 and served in diverse roles in IT, agency automation, as a market manager in Missouri and Illinois, and most recently as sales director for Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. He holds the CIC designation.

The company also realigned its sales territories. Regional Vice President-Sales Shane Roh will add Illinois and Indiana to his Wisconsin market; Regional Vice President-Sales Glen Dye will add Kentucky to his Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, and Kansas markets; and Regional Vice President-Sales Harvey Enerson will retain his current Minnesota, North Dakota, Iowa and Michigan markets.

Property and casualty insurance provider Zurich North America, based in Schaumburg, Ill., appointed Peter Hahn as head of predictive analytics.

Hahn comes to Zurich from McKinsey & Company Inc., where he led the underwriting service line for McKinsey’s North America insurance practice, and helped property/casualty carriers apply analytic techniques to improve their risk assessment, underwriting and pricing decisions.

In addition, Zurich Commercial Markets in North America named Patrick Healey head of its real estate division. He will be based in Schaumburg.

Healey joined Zurich in 2011 as the international practice leader for the East and South regions and most recently served as head of international for Commercial Markets where he drove strategy, growth and product development. In his new role, Healey will focus on strategies to increase Zurich’s market share and improve profitability within the real estate industry segment.

Healey began his insurance career more than 10 years ago with ACE USA.

The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) named Tiffany O’Shea as the organization’s director of public affairs.

O’Shea brings 20 years of experience to IBHS, where she will lead media relations efforts, as well as other communications initiatives such as FORTIFIED, a suite of IBHS programs that provide hazard-focused construction standards that can lead to safer, stronger communities.

O’Shea most recently was an independent communications consultant; her clients included IBHS and a variety of other organizations representing smart building solutions, clean energy, technology, flood insurance stakeholders, and commercial development. She previously served as vice president for a high tech public relations agency, Lois Paul & Partners.

As director of public affairs for the American Insurance Association (AIA), O’Shea managed public affairs efforts in the southwest region including Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Wyoming.

The executive committee of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA) presented Mike Wojcik, senior vice president of The Horton Group and chairman of the Big “I” Healthcare Task Force, with the Sidney O. Smith Award.

The Sidney O. Smith Award is bestowed annually by IIABA 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 his work on the Big “I” Healthcare Task Force, Wojcik also co-chairs the Independent Agents of Illinois’ Healthcare Reform Working Group and as a result, has testified several times to legislative committees; written and co-authored several white papers on healthcare reform; and works extensively with the Department of Insurance and the director of outreach as an ambassador for the “Get Covered Illinois” health insurance marketplace advocating for affordable and accessible healthcare.

The Horton Group is a privately held insurance broker based in Chicago.

Portage Mich.-based managing general agency and surplus lines insurance broker, J.M. Wilson, promoted Stephanie Farrell to surety underwriter.

Farrell will be responsible for underwriting commercial and fidelity bonds for new and renewal business. In addition, she will review submissions for accuracy, submit to appropriate markets, issue and invoice new bonds and service existing bonds.

Farrell began with J.M. Wilson as a receptionist in 2006 and was promoted to underwriting assistant in 2009.

The Missouri Department of Insurance named Carrie Couch acting director of the Consumer Affairs Division. The department also announced that William Leung joined the Division of Insurance Company Regulation as life and health actuary.

Couch began her career with the department in 2000 in the legal section. In 2007, she became a special investigator with the Consumer Affairs Division. In 2010, she was promoted to chief of investigations, which gave her the added duties of supervising 13 investigators and support staff.

Leung, an actuarial leader with nearly 30 years of experience, previously served as vice president, financial projects actuary at Scottish Re.

Leung is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He is a certified public accountant and holds the professional risk manager and chartered financial analyst designations. He is also a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

Wisconsin-based M3 Insurance expanded its management team.

Inge Lindeque joins M3 as director of sales, employee benefits, and Brian Meyer is the new director of risk management, employee benefits. Additionally, Tim Cleary and Nezih Hasanoglu were named director of sales, property and casualty, and director of business development, respectively.

Hasanoglu and Cleary are responsible for the direction, performance and management of their respective teams located throughout Wisconsin. Both are M3 shareholders and served as sales account executives since 2004 before accepting their director positions.

Lindeque was most recently employed at PNC Bank, Milwaukee, as corporate banking relationship manager, and brings extensive experience in sales and relationship management to her new role at M3. In addition, Lindeque is a recent graduate of UW-Madison Executive MBA program.

Meyer comes to M3 with 10 years of insurance experience, most recently as the underwriting director at Cigna Healthcare in Phoenix, Ariz. His experience in product development and pricing will be instrumental in helping drive M3’s risk management strategy.

Hasanoglu and Lindeque work out of M3’s Milwaukee office; Cleary and Meyer are in the Madison office.

Property and casualty insurance wholesale brokerage, Insential Inc., appointed Stephen Mileski as senior vice president in its program division in Illinois.

He is responsible for developing P/C program business, structuring insurance for hard-to-place risks and working with the domestic and London insurance marketplace.

With 36 years of insurance industry experience, Mileski has held leadership positions on both the insurance brokerage and carrier sides of the business. Most recently he managed and developed commercial and program business at G.A. Mavon & Co., a managing general agent in Hinsdale, Ill., and previously served as branch manager and expert consultant for American E&S Insurance Brokers, a subsidiary of Acordia Inc. (now Wells Fargo Insurance Services).

Insential has offices in Chicago and Dallas.

Sylvia Perez Edwards joined Align General Insurance Agency LLC as vice president of the specialty commercial division. She is based in Chicago, Ill.

Edwards has over 20 years of general liability and excess surplus lines underwriting experience. She joins Align from Fireman’s Fund, where she served as a casualty underwriting specialist. Prior to her tenure at Fireman’s Fund, she held positions with RLI, RSUI and AIG.

Align Financial Group LLC., which owns Align General Insurance Agency LLC. and Align Claims Services Inc., is headquartered in San Diego, Calif.