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The California Earthquake Authority has named Todd Coombes chief insurance and technology officer and Kellie Schneider chief operations officer.
This follows the retirement of Bob Stewart, the chief operations officer. The CEA split up Stewart’s duties between Coombes and Schneider.
Coombes was the CEA’s first chief information officer. Before the CEA he was with ITT Educational Services Inc. as executive vice president and CIO. Before ITT he was with CNO Financial Group.
Schneider has more than 17 years of experience in human resources and administrative management and consultation. She joined the CEA in 2016 as the chief administrative officer. She was previously with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery.
The CEA is a publicly managed, privately funded organization that provides residential earthquake insurance.
San Francisco, Calif.-based Woodruff-Sawyer & Co. has named Norman Allen corporate executive protection practice leader.
Allen will be responsible for providing vision and focus for the practice.
Allen joined Woodruff-Sawyer in 2009 when the firm acquired the Western region direct practice of Carpenter Moore Insurance services, where he was senior managing director.
Allen was a litigator with a practice focused on complex insurance and corporate litigation prior to that.
Woodruff-Sawyer has offices throughout California, and in Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Hawaii and New England.
EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants has named Bill Bergstrom to lead the operations of its golf insurance services program.
He will be based in EPIC’s Sacramento, Calif. office.
EPIC has also hired Duane Dennis as a senior consultant and principal in the firm’s Southern California employee benefits consulting practice.
Dennis will be based in EPIC’s Los Angeles office. He will be responsible for business development, strategy, program design, implementation and management of employee benefits programs.
Bergstrom previously was with Pennbrook Insurance Services Inc. as chief operating officer and managing principal.
Dennis joins EPIC from benefit consulting technology company HIXME, where he was executive vice president in sales and marketing.
Dennis previously was at Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
EPIC is a retail property/casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and consulting firm.
EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants has named Adam Frugoli vice president of its health care strategy group.
He will divide his time between EPIC’s Idaho Falls, Idaho and Sacramento, Calif., offices.
Frugoli will be responsible for new business development, program design and management, marketing and coverage placement, and will oversee EPIC’s delivery of products, services and solutions to clients in the healthcare, consumer finance and banking industries.
Frugoli has more than 16 years of experience serving health care and financial services clients. Frugoli spent eight years as vice president and insurance broker with the Leavitt Group prior to joining EPIC. He started his career in 2001 at US Bank N.A., where he was a vice president of branch investment advisory services.
EPIC is a retail property/casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and consulting firm.
Appalachian Underwriters Inc. has added Melissa McKee as a workers’ compensation underwriter to its Scottsdale, Ariz. office.
McKee will focus on the production of new workers’ comp business, with a primary focus in California. She will also be working to grow opportunities in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah.
Appalachian Underwriters is an managing general agency and wholesale insurance brokerage.
California-based The Doctors Co. has named Bill Fleming chief operating officer.
Fleming replaces Rob Francis, who is leaving the company.
Fleming is a 24-year veteran of The Doctors Co. and had been senior vice president and regional operating officer for the Northeast. He previously served in capacities, including claims, underwriting and product development.
Walnut Creek, Calif. CSAA Insurance Group has named Kevin Yoo its claims executive.
Yoo will lead claims, planning and administrative responsibilities
Yoo most recently was Chubb’s head of claims for the Asia Pacific Region. He was chief claims officer at Solera Holdings prior to Chubb. Yoo has held various claims leadership positions at insurance companies including Allstate, Affirmative and Progressive.
CSAA Insurance Group offers automobile, homeowners, and other personal lines of insurance to AAA members.
Lockton is expanding to Seattle Wash., and adding Laura Walton as a senior vice president.
The move is part of Lockton’s expansion in the Pacific Northwest.
Walton will lead business development and client strategy for Lockton in its new office. Walton works with clients on risk management and commercial insurance in industries, including food processing, financial services, aerospace/aviation, technology, manufacturing, hospitality, retail and real estate.
Walton previously has advised middle-market and complex clients at Willis Towers Watson and The Fournier Group.
Kansas City, Mo.-based Lockton is a privately held independent insurance broker.
RIC Insurance General Agency has named Travis Campbell as a senior broker in its excess and surplus division.
Campbell will be working primarily with retail insurance agents in the California counties of Orange, San Diego and Imperial.
Campbell was previously a broker at USG Insurance Services Inc. specializing in oil and gas, construction, habitation, hospitality, environmental, products and manufacturing, professional, medical and healthcare coverage.
He was a broker before that at Sloan Mason Insurance Services. He worked as a retail producer at Olin Hill and Associates, specializing in commercial lines, before Sloan Mason.
Tustin-based RIC is a managing general agency and program administrator that specializes in workers’ comp coverage.
Professional Program Insurance Brokerage of Novato, Calif. has promoted Joanna Rogers and Khanh Le to the position of underwriter.
Rogers has been with PPIB for three years learning underwriting and serving as executive assistant.
Le has been with PPIB for two years handling renewals for medispas, tattoo shops and permanent cosmetic technicians.
PPIB is a program manager with more than 11 contracts and binding authorities.
Beazley has hired life sciences underwriter Marc Amis in its San Francisco, Calif. office.
Amis comes from Chubb, where he was a senior life sciences underwriter for the Western region. He was previously a regional underwriter for G.E. Risk Solutions and also held positions at several other insurance firms in Northern California.
Beazley plc is the parent company of specialist insurance businesses with operations in Europe, the US, Asia, Middle East and Australia.
San Diego, Calif.-based Champion Risk & Insurance Services has added Steven Dietz to its employee benefits team.
Dietz has 25 years of experience providing employee benefits insurance services to a wide variety of industries.
Risk & Insurance Services is a regional insurance brokerage.
Idaho Department of Insurance Director Dean Cameron has been named as vice chair of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Life Insurance and Annuities Committee for 2017.
Cameron was elected secretary of the NAIC Western Zone last fall. He was appointed department director by Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter in June 2015.
Cameron worked in the insurance industry for 26 years and served 24 years in state government, including eight terms as chair of the Senate Finance Committee and co-chair of JFAC, the state’s budget committee.