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Stephens Insurance LLC, an affiliate of Stephens Inc., an independent, full service investment banking firm, has opened a property and casualty brokerage office in Birmingham, Ala.
The new team–made up of Tice Young, Donna Sanford, James Kennedy and Marty Hall–brings nearly 60 years of combined experience in the energy, infrastructure, private equity and chemical verticals to the insurance practice.
Martin M. Rhodes, president and chief executive of Stephens Insurance, said the move into the market is part of the overall expansion of Stephens Insurance, following its increased presence in Houston earlier this year.
Young joins Stephens Insurance after a 12-year tenure at McGriff, Seibels & Williams, where he worked in the energy, infrastructure, private equity and chemical markets. He will serve as a senior vice president leading the Risk Management and Insurance Solutions team on national and international complex risks.
Sanford joins Stephens as a senior vice president after spending 25 years at McGriff, Seibels & Williams and Wells Fargo Insurance Services. At both firms, she was responsible for the design and placement of national and international risk management accounts. Sanford will specialize in the energy, infrastructure, private equity and chemical markets for Stephens Insurance.
Kennedy also joins the firm from McGriff Seibels & Williams where he advised clients in the energy, infrastructure and chemical verticals. Kennedy will serve as a vice president, focusing on national and international accounts.
Hall will oversee energy, infrastructure, private equity and chemical clients as an account manager. Prior to her time with Stephens, Hall spent 17 years at McGriff, Seibels & Williams, where she was responsible for the servicing of large national and international accounts within the commercial accounts division.
Stephens Insurance is a privately owned insurance brokerage headquartered in Little Rock, Ark.
Hub International Limited (HUB) expanded its Nashville operation through the addition of entertainment specialist Shannon Bare, who joined the firm as senior vice president.
Bare has 20 years’ experience providing insurance and risk management options to many country, rock, Christian and hip-hop concert tours, while also looking after production companies, promoters and festivals.
As the youngest son of Country Music Hall of Famer Bobby Bare, Shannon spent much of his childhood on tour busses, concert stages, TV shows and in recording studios.
Bare will work with entertainment businesses to control their cost of risk and help expand Hub’s footprint.
Prior to joining HUB International, Bare was senior vice president at Robertson Taylor/Integro, and founded the entertainment division at BB&T Insurance in Nashville.
FCCI Insurance Group (FCCI), a provider of commercial property and casualty insurance, has promoted Tiffany Hawkins to regional vice president, and Trey Stone to assistant vice president in the Gulf Coast Regional office located in Ridgeland, Miss.
In her new role, Hawkins will oversee agency relationships, underwriting, claims and risk management operations, working from the regional office in Jackson.
Hawkins joined FCCI in 2012 as a senior marketing underwriter. She has since been building agency partnerships in Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee, quickly earning the state director role for those three states.
Hawkins began her insurance career at the St. Paul Companies and later joined Travelers Insurance Company in Mississippi as a sales executive. She will be relocating to Jackson, Miss.
Stone will continue to manage the Alabama office and will oversee FCCI’s state directors and marketing underwriters in the Gulf Coast Region. He joined FCCI in November 2009 as a senior marketing underwriter and was quickly promoted to state director of Alabama.
In June 2016, he was promoted to managing director of the Alabama branch office. He began his insurance career at Travelers Insurance Company in Birmingham, Ala., and has worked for State Auto, AmTrust and Companion Property and Casualty Group. A graduate of Auburn University with a degree in business administration, Stone currently resides in Birmingham.
Tom Quaka, who led the region for the past 20 years, will remain an integral part of FCCI’s leadership team. He will assist Hawkins and Stone through the transition, then work with chairman of the board, president and CEO Craig Johnson on company-wide initiatives.
Working through independent agents in 18 states, FCCI offers commercial property and casualty insurance. It is headquartered in Sarasota, Fla.