People – South Central
Austin, Texas-based Combined Agents of America LLC (CAA) elected Roger Luttrell, president of Benton Luttrell Co. in Van Alstyne, Texas, as its chairman for 2015/16.
Other members of the newly elected 2015-16 CAA management committee include: Executive Vice President Trent Richmond, partner and vice president of Business Development of Keller Leopold Insurance, Garden City, Kan.; Second Vice President Mack Purifoy, owner of Purifoy & Company Insurance, Temple, Texas; Secretary Robert Porter, president of Porter Insurance Agency, Brownwood, Texas; Treasurer Pete Bibby, managing partner of Bibby, Brilling & Associates LLP, Dallas, with another location in Ennis, Texas (dba Arden Insurance Agency); and Past Chairman Bill Kliewer, managing partner of BKCW Insurance Agency, Killeen, Texas
Each CAA management committee member is elected to serve a staggered two-year term and is selected by its board of members based on their leadership abilities and contributions to the organization.
CAA has 52 members based in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.
The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) elected Bill Kliewer, managing partner at BKCW in Killeen, to serve as chairman for 2015-2016.
Kliewer has more than 35 years of insurance, financial and management experience, Kliewer is among the leaders in his field.
In addition to serving on IIAT’s board, Kliewer has also served as former president of the IIA of Central Texas, former chairman of the CIGNA for Texas Agents Advisory Council, and former member of the CIGNA National Agency Automation Council.
Peter Lauve, a partner at CBS Insurance LLP in Abilene, will serve the association as chair-elect. Rick Dudney, managing partner of TCOR Management in New Braunfels, was elected vice chair.
IIAT also elected four new directors for three-year terms each: Cynthia Cabaza with Shepard Walton King in McAllen; Matt Frierson with Pierson-Fendley Insurance Agency in Paris, Texas; and Travis McDavid with GSM Insurors in Rockport.
Robert K. Nitsche with the Nitsche Group in Giddings was elected for a one-year term.
All terms begin Sept. 1.
Drew Raetzman joined Texas-based Roach Howard Smith & Barton as vice president of Employee Benefits.
Prior to joining RHSB, Raetzman worked with MHBT where he provided employee benefits consulting to a wide range of employers. He has a solid record of accomplishment in providing solutions to various employers for over 20 years.
MarketScout hired Kirt Thompson as its new claim services manager. Thompson is based in the corporate office in Dallas.
Thompson previously served as the corporate workers’ compensation manager for one of the world’s largest plastic manufacturers. In his new role, Thompson is responsible for the implementation of MarketScout’s Claim Services and Cost Management Platform.
MarketScout also expanded its specialty high net worth underwriting and brokerage practice with the addition of Lindsey Worlitz as an underwriter for the Private Client Solutions Division Non-Admitted.
Prior to MarketScout, Worlitz was a personal lines underwriter and producer for Burns & Wilcox. In her new role, Worlitz will focus on underwriting a diverse national portfolio of high net worth admitted and non-admitted products, which include homeowners, excess flood, builders risk, valuables, auto, personal liability and umbrella.
San Diego, Calif.-based ICW Group Insurance Cos. named Gina Douglas branch manager in Texas. Based in Austin, she will oversee business development, agent outreach and workers’ compensation underwriting in the state.
Douglas has more than 20 years of insurance industry experience in Texas, in both underwriting and workers’ compensation. Prior to joining ICW Group, Douglas served as underwriting director at Employers, a monoline workers’ compensation carrier. Douglas also has served as an expert witness on workers’ compensation cases and testified at the Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings.
Douglas is a member of the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) Society, and holds AU, AIS, AIM, AINS and APA certifications.
The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) named William “Doug” Wallace as a fraud prosecutor in the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office to combat insurance fraud.
Wallace, an attorney, has two decades of insurance industry experience and has focused much of his professional career on special investigations and fraud, as well as insurance defense, coverage and subrogation. He spent four years at Nationwide Insurance Trial Division and also served as general counsel of US Lloyds Insurance Co.