People – West
Kristin S. Palmer has been named senior vice president and head of communications at the Insurance Information Institute.
Palmer previously was vice president of media relations for the AARP. Prior to that, Palmer was the director of public affairs for Child Care Aware of America and w as senior communications manager for Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin.
Palmer previously managed communications for the National Association of Black Journalists and the Association of Public Television Stations.
Palmer will be based in the Washington, D.C. office. In addition to leading the I.I.I.’s media relations operations, she will be responsible for developing a communications strategy.
Palmer assumes the role held previously by Jeanne Salvatore, who has been appointed chief engagement officer and senior spokesperson.
JLT Specialty USA has named Gavin Shiels senior vice president.
Shiels will be based in San Francisco, where his primary focus will be on client development within JLT’s real estate practice.
Shiels has more than a decade of experience in the insurance industry. Shiels comes from Aon, where he was senior vice president in the San Francisco office, focused on building and managing teams to provide risk advisory, consulting and brokerage services to clients in the real estate, technology, financial institution, and food and beverage industries.
Shiels managed a team of property brokerage professionals in San Francisco prior to that.
JLT Specialty USA is the U.S. platform of the specialty business advisory firm, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group.
XL Catlin‘s environmental insurance business has appointed Denali Marlane as its Western regional underwriting manager in San Francisco.
Marlane will manage XL Catlin’s environmental underwriting operations.
She comes from AIG, where she most recently was a claims sales leader.
XL Catlin insurance companies offer property/casualty, professional, financial lines and specialty insurance products globally.
Reno, Nev.-based LP Insurance Services Inc. has named Tim Holland as its newest shareholder.
Holland will continue as an employee benefits sales executive with LP Insurance. He has served in that role since 2011.
LP Insurance Services Inc. is a risk services and insurance brokerage firm.
The Rockhill Insurance Group has named Steve Caporelli to its environmental unit.
Caporelli will be based in the San Francisco, Calif., office.
Caporelli more than 15 years of underwriting and risk assessment experience. He previously worked at Starr Cos. as a senior environmental underwriter. He was an underwriter at AIG before that.
Rockhill is part of the State Auto Group.
RIC Insurance General Agency has named Patty Herron a business development manager to expand its commercial and personal lines marketing efforts.
Herron will work primarily with retail insurance agents in California in Orange, San Diego and Imperial counties.
Herron was a sales underwriter with Hanover in San Diego County prior to joining RIC. At Hanover she specialized in commercial insurance offerings.
As an underwriter for Travelers commercial accounts, she focused on helping retail agents place business in manufacturing, technology, construction, real estate, hospitality, habitational and international sectors.
RIC is a wholesale insurance brokerage and managing general agency.
QBE North America has appointed John Beckman as chief underwriting officer. Beckman will be responsible for efforts to enhance underwriting practices and processes, including product development, technical leadership and risk appetites.
Beckman will also serve as a member of the QBE North America Executive Management Board and chair of the North America Underwriting Committee.
He will be based in New York and will report to Russell Johnston, chief executive officer, QBE North America.
Beckman has more than 25 years of industry experience. He was chief underwriting officer of CNA’s Commercial Insurance business from 2011 to 2015.
Most recently Beckman served as senior vice president and chief transformation officer at CNA Insurance, where he was responsible for developing new predictive pricing tools, and replacing legacy underwriting and policy administration systems.