People – Southeast

Kristopher Fisher has been named executive director of the Professional Insurance Agents of Tennessee.

Transitioning from director of Member Services to executive director, Fisher’s new responsibilities include: management of the PIA Advantage Services Corporation programs and products; management of the annual convention and trade show; maintaining agent member and company partnership relations; and developing service vendor opportunities.

His professional career in insurance started with MetLife as a Financial Services representative, functional manager, and associate financial planner. He also previously worked for Harleysville Insurance as their regional life manager in Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas. He has owned his own insurance agency, focusing primarily on life insurance.

The PIA represents independent insurance agents in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and District of Columbia. Members are local main street agents serving their communities throughout America.

HCI Group Inc. (HCI), a holding company primarily offering homeowners insurance with additional operations in reinsurance, real estate and information technology, appointed Ted Blanch as president of TypTap Insurance Co., HCI’s new online flood insurance company.

As president, Blanch will oversee the development and growth of TypTap, which offers an online platform to quote and bind residential flood insurance policies in Florida. His responsibilities include driving sales, establishing reinsurance partnerships and overseeing the strategic direction and expansion of the company.

Most recently, Blanch was a partner with Advocate Reinsurance Partners, an intermediary services firm. Prior to that, he founded and ran Ted Blanch & Associates, an insurance and reinsurance consulting firm providing professional analysis, expert witness and arbitration services, reinsurance portfolio analysis, and executive management consulting. Prior to that Blanch was with E.W. Blanch Co., as CEO from 1977 to 2001.

American Strategic Insurance in St. Petersburg, Fla., has promoted Michael Tharpe to account executive for ASI’s National Accounts team. Tharpe has worked with ASI for five years, previously serving as account manager.

In his new role, Tharpe is responsible for profitability, strategic direction, training, commission and contingency, expense decisions and field visits.

The ASI group offers personal lines residential property insurance, commercial lines property insurance, personal umbrella insurance, and flood.

Reliance Partners promoted Jordan Chastain to the position of senior director of Sales for the transportation division of the company.

Chastain is a native of Gainesville, Ga., and a graduate of the University of Mississippi’s Risk Management and Insurance program.

Reliance Partners is a nationwide insurance provider to the trucking and logistics market. The agency is based in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Brit Limited appointed Yesid Rodriguez as vice president, Engineering, for Brit Global Specialty USA with responsibility for Latin America and the Caribbean. Rodriguez will be based in Miami, reporting to Juan Calvache.

Rodriguez has more than 20 years of experience in the insurance and reinsurance market specializing in engineering underwriting. He joins from Partner Re where he was most recently senior engineering underwriter. Prior to this, Rodriguez spent five years at the Transatlantic Reinsurance Company as assistant vice president, Technical Lines, for their Latin American and Caribbean division.

PartnerOne Environmental opened a new regional office in Jacksonville, Fla., and added Michelle Huitt as assistant vice president and Marie Maxwell as underwriter.

The new team members will help manage the PartnerOne Fuel Solutions program, a product that addresses traditional storage tank accounts, as well as other alternative and renewable fuel storage risks. Huitt and Maxwell both have insurance industry experience underwriting coverage and managing storage tank programs.

PartnerOne Environmental provides environmental coverage for a variety of small- to middle-market contractors, consultants, and facility owners and managers.

The Villages Insurance Agency hired Jason Shannon as advisor for its Commercial Risk Management Division in The Villages, Fla.

Shannon has been in the insurance industry for over eight years, including five years with Brown & Brown in North Florida. He will be based out of The Villages Lake Sumter Landing office.

The Villages Insurance has eight locations and provides insurance and risk management to over 40,000 families and businesses.