People – South Central

February 9, 2015

Keleigh Buchanan was promoted to assistant vice president at Dallas-based independent insurance broker Roach Howard Smith & Barton.

Buchanan has 15 years of experience in the insurance industry. She specializes in offering products and services to high net-worth clients with unique assets including aircraft, yachts, wine collections, vintage cars, fine art and jewelry.

Buchanan is a licensed professional and continues to develop both her product knowledge and leadership skills. She is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a degree in Business Administration and Management. She continues her education with numerous classes and courses with the Independent Agents of Texas.

A member of privately held risk management and commercial insurance brokerage group, Assurex Global, RHSB has offices in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas.

Dallas-based Hotchkiss Insurance Agency announced that both Chandler “Ross” Conner and Ben “Hunter” Ramsey have accepted invitations to become partners of the firm.

Conner, a native of Tyler, Texas, is a graduate of Texas A&M University and built several successful businesses prior to joining HIA in 2009.

Ramsey is a graduate of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Prior to joining HIA in 2007, Ramsey was a sales executive in the homebuilding industry.

Founded in 1975, Hotchkiss Insurance Agency LLC (HIA) also has locations in Houston, San Antonio and College Station, in addition to its Dallas headquarters.

Insurance Technologies Corporation (ITC), a Carrollton, Texas-based provider of marketing, rating and management software and services, promoted Becky Schroeder to vice president of marketing.

Schroeder will oversee the company’s continued growth through marketing and agency, carrier, vendor and partner outreach.

She joined ITC in 2011 as marketing director and has more than nine years of marketing experience. Prior to joining ITC, Schroeder worked as marketing coordinator at Cornwell Jackson, a Plano-based accounting firm and as an associate at Lewis Public Relations in Dallas.

She has a master’s degree in integrated marketing communication from Emerson College in Boston and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Texas A&M University.

Schroeder is a regular contributor to the ITC marketing blog.

XL Group announced the addition of global risk management, construction primary casualty and inland marine underwriting expertise in its Dallas office.

Kristen Hough joins XL Group’s marine underwriting team as senior marine underwriter for the South Central region.

Hough helps brokers and clients in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana address inland marine insurance needs including motor truck cargo, ocean marine, contractors’ equipment and builder’s risk insurance coverages.

With more than 14 years of inland marine underwriting experience, she joins XL Group from Travelers.

Erwin Montoya, senior underwriter in XL Group’s global risk management business, transfers from XL Group’s Los Angeles office to Dallas.

Montoya assists brokers and U.S.-based businesses with primary casualty programs that address their general liability, commercial auto and workers’ compensation insurance needs both domestically and abroad.

Prior to joining XL Group in 2012, Montoya, who has more than a decade of underwriting experience, worked with ACE Risk Management.

Bryan Stevenson joins XL Group as underwriting manager and leads XL Group’s construction primary casualty operation in the region. This operation provides tailored primary casualty insurance programs including commercial auto, general liability and workers’ compensation programs for construction firms.

Stevenson joins XL Group from Old Republic, where he served as senior vice president of its construction program group.

Lindsay Frantz joins XL Group’s excess casualty underwriting team as senior underwriter for the South Central Region.

Frantz helps brokers and clients in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana with umbrella liability and excess liability coverage domestically.

With over 10 years of experience, she joins XL Group from Ironshore and previously Travelers.

Specialty Risk Associates Inc., based in Shreveport, La., announced that Genie Balvin joined the firm as a commercial lines renewal underwriter.

Prior to joining Specialty Risk, Balvin worked as a property/casualty field adjuster, a commercial lines CSR and as an underwriter assistant. She has 13 years of experience in the insurance business and holds an ASLI designation.

Specialty Risk has offices in Shreveport and Baton Rouge, La.; Ridgeland, Miss.; and Fort Worth and Royse City, Texas.