People – West
Edgewood Partners Insurance Center named Brian McDonnell a managing principal, and the formation of a national construction specialty group.
McDonnell will be based in EPIC’s Concord, Calif., office and report to Derek Thomas, chief strategy officer and co-leader of EPIC’s national specialty practices and programs group.
McDonnell joins EPIC from Wells Fargo Insurance Services.
EPIC is a retail property/casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and consulting firm.
Matthew Noonan has been named principal of San Diego, Calif.-based Cavignac & Associates.
He will participate on the company’s executive board of management.
Noonan, who joined Cavignac & Associates in 2007, is an account executive in the agency’s employee benefits department. He spent five years in the financial services industry, managing a branch office of a national bank, prior to Cavignac & Associates
Cavignac & Associates is a risk management and commercial insurance brokerage.
Seismologist Lucy Jones, the face of earthquake science and safety in Southern California, is retiring from the U.S. Geological Survey.
Jones said in a Twitter posting that she’s leaving federal service but will remain at the California Institute of Technology.
Jones has for years been the scientist the public has turned to when quakes strike.
Jones ended her 33 years with the USGS on March 30.
Jeff Huebner, vice president of treasury for CSAA Insurance Group, has been named chairman of the board of governors for the California Insurance Guarantee Association.
Huebner joined CSAA Insurance Group in 2001 as manager of risk finance and captive operations.
CIGA provides insurance for more than one hundred member companies, administering and paying claims for insolvent property/casualty carriers.
CSAA, a AAA Insurer, offers automobile, homeowners and other personal lines of insurance to AAA members through partnerships with AAA clubs.
Association of California Insurance Companies President Mark Sektnan has been named chairman of the board for the Civil Justice Association of California.
Sektnan will serve a two-year term. His duties will include overseeing board meetings and serving on the CJAC executive committee.
CJAC works in the state Legislature and the courts to reduce excessive litigation. ACIC is part of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.
Woodruff-Sawyer & Co. has named Kyle Richards an associate producer in the Southern California office.
Richards’ specialties include real estate, technology and manufacturing. He was an associate client executive at Marsh prior to Woodruff-Sawyer.
Woodruff-Sawyer is an independent insurance brokerage, and a partner of Assurex Global and International Benefits Network.
Susan Gordon, head of workers’ compensation underwriting at Zurich North America, was elected board chair of the California Workers’ Compensation Institute for 2016.
Gordon most recently was the executive committee vice chair in 2015.
Joining Gordon on the executive committee: Vernon Steiner, president of the State Compensation Insurance Fund; Rose Barrett, AIG; Martin Brady, Schools Insurance Authority; John Dickey, Liberty Mutual Insurance; John Gice, Travelers; and Kevin Harnetiaux, The Hartford Insurance Group.
Also serving on the board of directors will be: Bryan Bogardus, CompWest Insurance Co.; Kris Mathis, Pacific Compensation Insurance Co.; Amanda Granger, ICW Group; Nora Greathouse, AmTrust North America; Eric Hansen, Preferred Employers Group; Diana Harrelson, Zenith Insurance Co.; David P. Mitchell, Republic Indemnity Company of America; Roger Moseley, Alaska National Insurance Co.; Janice Murphy, Kaiser Permanente; Christina Ozuna, Employers; Barbara Shandelands, CHUBB; and Paul Ziegler, Allianz Global Corporate and Specialty.
The CWCI is a nonprofit that provides workers’ comp research, information, education and representation.
Bruce Thompson has joined The Iroquois Group as a regional manager in Southern California.
His background is in property/casualty, as well as life insurance, and includes experience as a producer, agency owner, and carrier territory manager. Thompson was the territory manager responsible for the Inland Empire for MAPFRE Insurance Co. prior to joining Iroquois.
The Iroquois Group is headquartered in Allegany, N.Y. and has more than 2,250 member agencies.