People – West

Cypress, Calif.-based UCA General Insurance Services Inc. has named Frank Stipati president of the firm.

He will be responsible for day-to-day operations and the profitability of UCA. Stipati has held various positions within UCA for the past 26 years.

UCA provides commercial property/casualty package markets for brokers throughout the western United States.

SDS General Insurance Services Inc. in California has named Pauline Bareno vice president of marketing.

Bareno began her career at an insurance carrier, moving to the retail side at John Burnham Insurance, International Facility and most recently Maverick Insurance as a senior workers’ compensation broker specialist.

SDS is a wholesale operation specializing in workers’ comp insurance with offices in Fullerton and Long Beach.

LP Insurance Services Inc. has named Matthew Morris to its Phoenix, Ariz., team.

Morris is responsible for maintaining and servicing client relationships. His areas of expertise include professional services, real estate, technology, manufacturing and construction among others.

Morris, formerly of CNA, has been in the insurance industry for more than 11 years.

Reno, Nev.-based LP Insurance is a risk management and commercial insurance brokerage firm.

Lockton’s mountain west operation in Denver, Colo., has named Greg Winter an employee benefits producer.

Lockton’s pacific operation has named Suzy R. Betterly as a vice president, and consultant in San Diego, Calif.

Winter was with Assurant Employee Benefits prior to Lockton. He was with Enterprise Fleet Management as a senior account executive before that.

Betterly, who will be responsible for delivering solutions to clients’ benefits programs, has more than 17 years of experience in data analytics, consumer-driven approaches and flex pricing strategies.

Betterly was a senior account executive at Intercare/HUB International prior to Lockton. She also served in executive positions and as a senior analyst for benefits consulting firms including Willis, Mercer Human Resource Consulting, and Marsh & McLennan

Kansas City, Mo.-based Lockton is a privately held insurance broker.

Burnham Benefits Insurance Services in California has named Denise Feldman vice president.

Feldman has experience in the healthcare industry, regulatory compliance and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

Prior to Burnham Feldman was vice president of Keenan Healthcare, and before that was president of California Healthcare Consulting Inc. She was previously director of the Los Angeles Global Human Resource Solutions practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Burnham Benefits is an employee benefits consulting and brokerage firm headquartered in Irvine, Calif.

EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants has added Trish Drew to the firm’s Northern California construction practice.

Drew will be based in EPIC’s Concord, Calif., office and will report to Curt Perata, regional director of property/casualty.

Drew has more than 35 years of experience, and has focused on the risk management and insurance needs of the construction industry, both as a risk manager and as an account and client services executive.

EPIC is retail P/C and employee benefits insurance brokerage and consulting firm.

LP Insurance Services Inc. has hired Ryan Krauser on its Northern Nevada sales team.

Krauser, formerly of Edgewood Partners Insurance Center in Reno, has been in the insurance industry throughout for more than six years.

His areas of expertise include group captives, cyber liability/data breach, unmanned aerial vehicle and medical marijuana.

Reno-based LP Insurance Services is a risk management and commercial insurance brokerage firm.

Barbara Richardson has been appointed as commissioner of the Nevada Division of Insurance.

The appointment comes after a long nationwide recruitment to fill the vacancy after the resignation of Scott Kipper in July 2015.

Amy Parks, who served as acting commissioner during the interim, will resume her duties as the chief insurance counsel at the division.

Richardson was the director of operations and fraud for the New Hampshire Insurance Department for the past 11 years. In that capacity was a state representative at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Previously, she was an adjunct professor at the University of New Hampshire School of Law and Franklin Pierce College. Prior to that she was a private practice attorney.