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Oklahoma City-based independent insurance agency, INSURICA, has named Mark Bridges to lead its Texas operations as regional president.
Bridges is currently the president of INSURICA DFB Insurance Services Inc. (formerly DFB Insurance Group LLC) and is a third-generation insurance executive. He has been active in the Texas insurance industry for more than 20 years working on the company, vendor and agency side. He is currently on the board of the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) and was the IIAT’s Young Agent of the Year in 2009. He has also served on numerous insurance company advisory boards and agency councils.
Bridges will continue to office out of INSURICA’s Amarillo, Texas, office.
INSURICA has more than 500 employees in 30 offices located throughout Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Colorado, Arizona and California. INSURICA’s Texas Region represents one-third of the locations with 10 offices and nearly 200 employees.
Austin, Texas-based Combined Agents of America (CAA) added Kodi Sisk to its leadership team as vice president of Production.
Sisk has more than a decade of experience working in the insurance industry from both an agency and carrier perspective. Previously, she was the marketing and sales representative for personal lines with The Hartford.
She currently holds an insurance professional designation as a Certified Insurance Service Representative along with a property/casualty insurance license and a life/health license.
In her new role, Sisk will develop and manage CAA member needs and facilitate a formal, organized sales/growth culture within the group. In addition to performing visioning and strategic planning functions for value-added services and programs within the CAA group, Sisk will assist in creating strategies for carrier accountability and enhanced carrier relationships.
CAA is a privately held agency partner group comprised of 55 independent insurance agencies located throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.
Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission (WCC) Executive Director Kim Bailey resigned in December 2017 and Administrative Law Judge Patricia Sommer has been tapped to lead the agency in the interim.
Bailey started as the general counsel to the WCC in 2014; in June 2015 she accepted the additional role of executive director.
As interim executive director, Sommer will supervise the various offices and divisions of the commission, including administrative and support staff. In addition to nearly four years on the bench, Sommer brings to the position more than 20 years of experience in workers’ compensation law and administration.
The WCC is an administrative agency responsible for handling claims of injured workers. The administrative system took effect Feb. 1, 2014. Since then, claims filing has dropped almost 50 percent, more cases are handled without costly trials, and premiums for state employers have dropped more than 30 percent.
EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, the retail property/casualty insurance brokerage and employee benefits consulting subsidiary of EPIC Holdings, has added insurance brokerage industry veteran Sam Elliott in Austin, Texas.
Elliot will lead EPIC’s new business development efforts nationally and will report directly to Peter Garvey, CEO of EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants.
Across a career spanning nearly 40 years, Elliott has held management and executive leadership position at both regional and national brokerage firms, including Jardine Insurance Brokers, Alexander & Alexander Insurance Brokers, ABD Insurance & Financial Services and, most recently, Wells Fargo Insurance Services.
At Wells Fargo, Elliott served as executive vice president and regional managing director, and was responsible for managing and overseeing all of Wells Fargo’s insurance operations in the Western United States including Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii.
Operations included risk management services, property/casualty brokerage, employee benefits consulting, management liability, and claims and risk control services. Elliot’s responsibilities included financial performance, sales leadership, recruiting and training, service excellence, mergers and acquisitions, and quality assurance.
EPIC now has more than 1,400 team members operating from 50 offices across the U.S., providing property/casualty, employee benefits, specialty programs and private client products and services to more than 20,000 clients.
EPIC is backed by Oak Hill Capital Partners.