People – Midwest

State Auto Financial Corp. appointed Melissa A. Centers as senior vice president, secretary and general counsel. She succeeds Jay Yano, who passed away in September.

Her in-house legal practice focuses on information technology, employment, corporate governance and other transactional matters.

Centers has held executive leadership and consulting roles at various companies including Nationwide Insurance, Worthington Industries, JP Morgan Chase (formerly Bank One) and Verizon Wireless.

Accident Fund Insurance Company of America promoted Mike Seling to vice president of Business Development/Regional Operations.

Seling, a 13-year veteran of Accident Fund, began his career in the Finance department and has spent the past eight years in business development with the organization.

In his new role, Seling will manage business development activities in Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota Tennessee and Texas.

Seling is a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC). He has also earned the Certified Authority on Workers’ Compensation (CAWC) designation.

Managing general agency, J.M. Wilson, added Amanda Witkowski as assistant transportation underwriter in its Arlington Heights, Ill., office. Witkowski will work with independent insurance agents in Illinois and Wisconsin.

Prior to joining J.M. Wilson, Witkowski was a VIP fraud investigator at a bank, as well as a consumer loan and mortgage professor/assistant underwriter at a credit union. She also has worked as a doctor technician manager for an optical office.

She is a notary public and holds the NMLS (Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System) license.

Chicago-based Alper Services LLC added Robert Moyer as an account manager in its Commercial Lines Division.

With eight years of experience in the insurance industry, Moyer has worked on both the underwriting and brokerage sides, and most recently was a client service manager at a major insurance broker.

As a risk management specialist, he has managed a billion dollar commercial REO program. As an underwriter, Moyer maintained a profitable book of business while focusing on commercial auto and general liability risks.

Global specialty insurer and reinsurer Brit Ltd. (Brit) appointed Nick Pozzebon to lead its existing Chicago-based U.S. property facultative team for Brit Global Specialty USA.

Pozzebon brings more than eight years of sector expertise and joins from Ascot.

Earlier this year the company launched a new general liability team and appointed Kent Stepanishen as senior vice president to lead the new inland marine unit.

Brinck Insurance Group in Springfield, Mo., hired Roni Burns as an agent. Burns, who is a private pilot, will specialize in aviation insurance, as well as property/casualty insurance.

Prior to joining Brinck, Burns served as a department head at various companies, focusing on complex liability and workers’ comp insurance issues. He previously was in the medical equipment field where he worked on creating safe handling techniques for patient transfers.

Founded in 2013, Brinck Insurance Group specializes in business, personal and life insurance.

Brinck Insurance Group is a member of Valley Insurance Agency Alliance (VIAA), a family of nearly 100 independent insurance agencies in Missouri and Southern Illinois.

Hudson Insurance Group (Hudson) appointed Ronald Honken to a newly created position as senior vice president of all commercial auto business. He is based in Hudson’s Indianapolis office and will direct the underwriting for the company’s auto-related business.

Honken has 30 years of commercial auto experience and most recently served as senior vice president at Berkley Fleet Services.

Prior to this, he was employed for 23 years in positions of increasing responsibility at Great West Casualty, including executive vice president. He began his career as a commercial lines underwriter at Tri-State Insurance of Minnesota.

National insurance broker and risk management firm, Risk Strategies Co., added Alan G. Harder in its Chicago office as vice president.

Harder brings an extensive background in risk consultation with specialties in property, manufacturing and private equity due diligence review. With Risk Strategies, Harder will focus on new business and client development within the Midwest Private Equity arena, and the financial services and manufacturing sectors.

Born in Colombia and fluent in Spanish, Harder is licensed in property/casualty as well as life/health insurance.