People
S.S. Nesbitt & Co. Inc., a Southeastern insurance agency and division of EBSCO Industries Inc. (EBSCO), has appointed insurance veteran Paul Barber as president.
Barber comes to S.S. Nesbitt after having spent 25 years in a variety of leadership roles at McGriff, Seibels & Williams Inc., a national insurance agency.
He most recently served as senior vice president of branch operations, partnering with sales leaders in McGriff’s Dallas, Atlanta and Seattle offices.
According to Bryson Stephens, chairman of the board for EBSCO Industries, Barber will lead growth of S.S. Nesbitt, which he said EBSCO is committed to doubling over the next five to 10 years through individual talent and agency acquisitions; culture and organizational development; and client services.
S.S. Nesbitt also announced that Cooper Johnson has been appointed benefits practice leader. Johnson has been with S.S. Nesbitt for 10 years.
In his new role, Johnson will be devoted to the strategic development and growth of the agency’s employee benefits consulting practice, while continuing to partner with companies.
S.S. Nesbitt is a privately-held independent insurance agency based in Birmingham, Alabama, with multiple locations in the Southeastern United States. These offices provide all lines of insurance in partnership with specialized carriers.
EBSCO Industries Inc. is a global company with businesses in a range of industries, including information services, publishing and digital media, outdoor products, real estate, manufacturing and distribution and business services. Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, EBSCO operates divisions and subsidiaries in 23 countries.
SUNZ Insurance Company, a large deductible workers’ compensation carrier based in Florida, has appointed Gene R. Levine to the position of senior vice president – underwriting.
Levine will report directly to Therese A. Stevens, president of SUNZ. He will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the underwriting and loss control departments of SUNZ Insurance as well as continuing to coach and develop a staff focused on protecting policyholders’ businesses and their employees.
Levine has 30 years of insurance experience including rating agency analysis, compliance, detailed knowledge of the underwriting, loss control, and distribution functions combined with a strong foundation in finance.
SUNZ Insurance Company, established in 2005, was founded specifically to provide large deductible workers’ compensation programs for professional employer organizations (PEOs), staffing agencies and large companies.
Berkley FinSecure, a Berkley Company, has added Stephen Scott Mynatt as Southeast territory director. In his role, Mynatt will focus on promoting Berkley FinSecure to financial institutions through agents and brokers in the territory that will include Georgia, Florida, North and South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky.
Mynatt has worked for the last 20 years in the insurance industry with the last 16 of those for a major insurance company, specializing in financial institutions.
Jon Martin, vice president of sales for Berkley FinSecure, said Mynatt will be an integral part of the company’s growth plans, and provide service in the Southeast to it agents and brokers.
Berkley FinSecure provides insurance options to financial institutions, including management liability coverages and all standard property/casualty lines as well as specialty products catering to mortgage lenders and trust managers.
Smart Choice, headquartered in High Point, North Carolina, has named Carol Drake as the company’s new vice president of Corporate Strategy.
Drake formerly had an extensive career with Grange Insurance where she held the roles vice president of National Accounts, and vice president of Marketing during her 15-year tenure at the company.
Drake will join Smart Choice as they continue to grow, having just added their 804th new agency partner this year, bringing the total number of agency partners to just over 6,000 in 44 states.
The Smart Choice Agents Program is a wholly-owned program of Worldwide Insurance Network, Inc. (WIN).
FCCI Insurance Group announced that James Michael Welch (Mike) will join its Board of Directors, effective Oct.1.
Welch has been associated with FCCI as an agent for more than 30 years and was chosen for the role based on his experience with FCCI, in addition to his industry knowledge and agent perspective.
He began his insurance career in Florida in 1973, first as a property adjuster and later joining Poe & Associates, now Brown & Brown. He and his wife, Nadine, eventually opened the insurance agency, Commercial Insurance Marketing Inc.