People – Midwest
Cincinnati, Ohio-based American Financial Group Inc. promoted Kyle W. Ketabchi to assistant vice president.
Ketabchi will continue to manage the corporate marketing and branding functions for Great American Insurance Group and American Financial Group, and will assume strategic oversight for branding within the company.
Ketabchi joined the organization in 1998 and most recently served as divisional vice president within the company’s insurance operations. She previously held positions at Deaconess Hospital and the E.W. Scripps Co.
Through the operations of Great American Insurance Group, AFG is engaged primarily in property/casualty insurance, focusing on specialized commercial products for businesses, and in the sale of fixed and fixed-indexed annuities in the retail, financial institutions and education markets.
Westfield Insurance, a super-regional property and casualty insurance carrier based in Westfield Center, Ohio, hired James Merz to the new role of group actuarial and analytics leader. Merz will assume overall responsibility for the company’s Analytics Resource Center and the Actuarial department.
Merz joins Westfield from Hanover Insurance Group where he served as vice president and chief actuary. Prior to that, he held a series of actuarial positions at Nationwide Mutual Insurance Cos. and Great American Insurance Co. In all, he brings 25 years of actuarial, financial and leadership experience to his new position.
Merz is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) and member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He possesses the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Associate in Reinsurance (ARe) designations.
Merz currently serves on the actuarial advisory panel of the Insurance Service Organization and the education policy committee of the CAS.
Western National Insurance Group, based in Edina, Minn., hired Jeffrey W. Post as vice president of Commercial Lines.
Post joins Western National from QBE North America where he most recently held the position of chief operating officer, Middle Markets. He spent the last 11 years with QBE (formerly known as General Casualty Insurance Cos.) in a variety of field territory management roles.
Post brings more than 25 years of property/casualty underwriting and claims experience to Western National.
Western National Insurance Group provides personal and business coverages plus surety in 19 states across the Midwestern, Northwestern and Southwestern U.S.; and surety-only in another seven states.
Midwest Employers Casualty Company (MECC), which specializes in excess workers’ compensation, has hired Dr. Fernando S. Branco as medical director.
Branco leads a team of six medical management consultants who work with third party administrators to implement interventions to improve medical care and control losses.
Prior to joining MECC, Branco was the director of The Rosomoff Comprehensive Rehabilitation Center in Miami, Fla., specializing in treating patients with chronic and complex pain.
NAS Insurance Services has expanded its Specialty Reinsurance and Programs team with the addition of Joe Reitzel in Minneapolis, Minn. Reitzel will serve as senior vice president of the division.
NAS Insurance, based in Encino, Calif., is a specialty insurance underwriting manager that provides product development, underwriting, marketing, risk management, and claims handling services for a broad range of specialty insurance products.
Peoria, Ill.-based specialty property/casualty insurer RLI Corp. promoted two leaders within the claim department.
Andrea Dean, assistant vice president, Claim counsel, has been promoted to vice president, Claim counsel.
Dean will continue to be responsible for managing claim-related litigation against the company arising from casualty, property, personal umbrella policy and commercial package product claims, as well as providing legal advice and counsel to the claim department.
Dean joined RLI in 2000 as senior claim examiner and was promoted to assistant vice president, Claim, in 2005. Prior to joining RLI, she was an attorney with Tressler LLP law firm in Chicago.
Kevin Horwitz, assistant vice president, Claim, has been promoted to vice president, Claim. He is responsible for the successful handling and resolution of RLI casualty central, executive product and transportation product claims, as well as supervising RLI corporate claim administration.
Horwitz joined RLI in 2010 as claims director and was promoted to assistant vice president, Claim, in 2013. Prior to joining RLI, he was an attorney with Cassiday Schade LLP law firm and later a claims consultant with CNA in Chicago.
RLI is a specialty insurer serving diverse, niche property, casualty and surety markets.