People
Global insurance broker Hub International Limited (HUB) named Marc Cohen, currently president, as president and chief executive officer, effective Jan. 1, 2018. He also will be a member of the board of directors.
Cohen will succeed as CEO and continue to report to Martin P. Hughes, who maintains his position as executive chairman at HUB.
As president and CEO, Cohen will be responsible for the financial strategy, including directing organic sales and mergers and acquisitions activity.
He has been with HUB for more than three decades and was named president of HUB in January 2017, replacing Richard Gulliver. Cohen previously was regional president of HUB’s East region.
Cohen entered the training program at HUB International Group Northeast (HUB NE) after college in 1988. He became a vice president in 1994 and a senior vice president in 1997. In 1999 he was appointed president of Program Brokerage Corp. and Claims Administration Corp., HUB NE’s wholesale insurance subsidiary and claims management divisions, respectively. Simultaneously, he was named president of Old Lyme Insurance Co. of Rhode Island, a HUB NE underwriting subsidiary that was subsequently sold. In January 2004, Cohen was named president and CEO of HUB NE and Program Brokerage Corp.
Tom Humphreys, director of the Risk Management and Insurance Center at Olivet College in Olivet, Michigan, has been appointed to the Michigan Auto Insurance Placement Facility’s board of governors.
Humphreys, who holds the CPCU, CLU, ChFC and CIC professional designations, was appointed to the board by Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services Director Patrick McPharlin.
The Michigan Automobile Insurance Placement Facility (Facility) is Michigan’s residual market mechanism for automobile insurance.
MJ Insurance, headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., added Olivia A. Lahr and Amy Wells to the commercial insurance and risk management team as risk transfer specialists.
Lahr and Wells will be responsible for developing client risk financing and transfer strategies. Lahr will specialize in the construction practice group and Wells will specialize in the transportation practice group.
Prior to joining MJ Insurance, Lahr served as a large property underwriting specialist at CNA Insurance.
Wells previously worked at Indiana Farmers Mutual Insurance Co. as an agency sales representative where she assisted the underwriting department.
MJ Insurance is a commercial insurance, risk management and employee benefits consulting agency with more than 140 employees. In addition to Indianapolis, it has a location in Phoenix, Ariz.
Maplewood, Mo.-based HALO Insurance & Benefits Group hired Brenden Lankford as a personal lines account manager and Denean Vaughn as an insurance producer.
Lankford previously worked in personal lines insurance for an Edwardsville, Illinois, insurance agency. Vaughn has more than 22 years of insurance experience working in personal and commercial insurance for a Missouri agency.
Owned by Charlie Fellous and founded in 2010, HALO Insurance & Benefits Group is a member of Valley Insurance Agency Alliance (VIAA).
Specialist insurance provider Beazley appointed Andrew Mehrhoff as head of broker relations – north central region.
Mehrhoff is based in Chicago and joins Beazley from Aon Financial Services Group. He has more than 20 years’ experience in both broking and underwriting.
Beazley’s north central region covers the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Beazley plc (BEZ) is the parent company of specialist insurance businesses with operations in Europe, the US, Canada, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Australia.
The Jack Nebel Companies, a Palatine, Illinois-based managing general agent and wholesale broker promoted Brian Nebel to president. Additionally, founder Jack Nebel is moving into the role of chairman of the board and will remain with the agency on a full-time basis.
Brenda Brinkman continues as executive vice president. James Larson, a retired insurance industry executive, has been appointed to the board of directors.
The Jack Nebel Companies is a family owned independent business that has served property and casualty insurance producers in the Midwest for 28 years.
Managing general agency and surplus lines broker J.M. Wilson added Ryan Gibbons as assistant transportation underwriter in its Westerville, Ohio, office.
Gibbons is responsible for assisting underwriters on a wide variety of commercial transportation risks, as well as quoting renewal business and servicing accounts for independent insurance agents in Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
Prior to joining J.M. Wilson, Gibbons worked for a mortgage company.
Bold Penguin, a Columbus, Ohio-based insurtech providing an online marketplace for commercial lines property/casualty agents, has hired former Ohio Deputy Treasurer Seth Metcalf as the company’s chief financial officer.
Most recently, Metcalf spearheaded several successful, award-wining initiatives targeting inefficiencies in the capital markets and money-market product segments, as well as using technology to enable to financial transparency, and to make better savings options available for individuals with disabilities.
PMC Insurance Group, a national workers’ compensation specialty wholesaler, has hired Vincent Reh as regional vice president to manage PMC’s Midwest region.
In this role, Reh will be charged with underwriting, production and distribution management in this key territory.
Reh brings more than two decades of insurance industry experience to PMC. Most recently, he served as managing director in the Midwest region at The Hartford.
Merrill, Wisconsin-based Church Mutual Insurance Co. has announced five executive promotions.
Breigh Voigt has been promoted to vice president of commercial operations. Voigt joined CMIC in 1994 and has held roles of increasing responsibility, including assistant vice president, corporate services.
John Tribble has been promoted to assistant vice president and chief diversity officer. Since joining CMIC in 2016, Tribble has expanded the company’s awareness and acceptance of diversity while fostering sales opportunities with diverse customers and brokers.
Peter Mahler has been promoted to assistant vice president of direct underwriting. Mahler has 11 years of experience with Church Mutual and more than 20 years of insurance experience.
Todd Griffith has been promoted to assistant vice president of broker underwriting. He joined CMIC in 2010, and has 30 years of insurance experience.
Craig Huss has been promoted to assistant vice president – IT and chief information security officer. Craig joined CMIC in 2016, bringing extensive leadership experience in information security.
Church Mutual Insurance Co., founded in 1897, offers specialized insurance for religious organizations of all denominations, as well as schools, camps, denominational offices and senior living facilities.
Crop Pro Insurance, a Des Moines, Iowa-based managing general agent (MGA) specializing in crop insurance, has expanded its leadership team with the addition of Brian Donaghy as director of Data Science.
Donaghy brings more than 20 years of experience in venture capital and data technology creation to Crop Pro Insurance, including leadership roles at Broadhorn Capital, Appcore, Smart Online, Growth Ventures Group and Computility. Donaghy also is a farmer who raises organic, grass-fed beef cattle.
Donaghy was named CEO of the Year by the Technology Association of Iowa for his visionary work at Appcore. He led the company to exponential growth and an acquisition by IBM.
Prior to Appcore, Brian served for 10 years as partner and CTO of Growth Ventures Group Inc., architecting and delivering business process technology products and companies. Donaghy also has venture capital experience working for Growth Ventures Group and Broadhorn Capital.
Crop Pro currently operates in Midwest states through a network of independent agents.
RLI Corp. in Peoria, Ill., has added Bryan Fowler to serve as its new vice president, chief information officer.
He comes to RLI with nearly 20 years of insurance industry experience and 31 years of IT experience. Prior to joining RLI, he was the founder and managing director of InsurTech Advisors in Portland, Ore., an IT consulting firm serving the insurance technology marketplace. He also previously served as vice president and CIO of Oregon Mutual Insurance and in various IT leadership roles at Progressive Insurance.
RLI Corp. is a specialty insurer serving diverse, niche property, casualty and surety markets.