People

EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants has tapped Josh Close as client services coordinator in the firm’s Birmingham, Ala.-based national energy construction practice, reporting to EPIC Principal Brian Tanner.

Close will be involved in all aspects of client support, account rounding and relationship management, including needs assessment, risk management and insurance program design and placement, ongoing account management, program stewardship, and resource and vendor management.

Close joins EPIC from Bankers Life in Birmingham where he was an agent responsible for new business development and oversight and management of client relationships. Tanner said the addition of Close will enhance EPIC’s operations in Birmingham and the Southeast Region.

EPIC is a retail property & casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and consulting firm with 50 offices across the U.S., providing property & casualty, employee benefits, specialty programs and private client insurance.

Brooks Insurance Agency, a multi-line wholesaler and broker, has hired Robert Sammons as vice president and broker.

In his new role, Sammons will be responsible for wholesale brokering and servicing small- and medium- sized retail agencies and brokers with a primary focus on Florida and the Southeast region.

According to David Rosen, managing director of Brooks Insurance Agency, Sammons experience will help lead the agency’s growth across Florida and the Southeast regional markets as Brooks Insurance Agency continues to expand its national footprint.

Sammons joins Brooks from Risk Placement Services where he served as their Business Development manager and then the Regional Client Relations manager. He was responsible for the growth of the Southeast region. He also previously worked at Ramsgate Insurance, Sawgrass Mutual Insurance, and the MacNeill Group.

Brooks Insurance Agency, headquartered in Manalapan, N.J., focuses on the property and casualty marketplace providing coverage on excess and surplus (E&S), standard markets, specialty lines and distressed lines of business.

Appalachian Underwriters, Inc. has added Peter Stavrakos to its brokerage office in Sarasota, Fla.

He will be joining the Professional Liability team where he will focus on coverage needs of both smaller and larger professional and management liability accounts.

Stavrakos was a former risk and insurance intern for a not-for-profit health care system and has previous experience in claims, reporting, and data analysis. He graduated from Florida State University in May of this year with a Bachelor of Science in Risk Management and Insurance.

Appalachian Underwriters Inc. is a full service managing general agency (MGA) and wholesale insurance brokerage.

Josh Hite, owner of Brightway Insurance Agencies in Boynton Beach, Fla., and Bluffton, S.C., is the new owner of an agency in Lake Worth, Fla., making him the first Brightway franchisee to own three stores, according to the company.

The store in Lake Worth has been rebranded as Brightway, The Hite Agency.

Hite’s sister, Erica Hite, will take on the role of agency manager and is part owner of the Lake Worth store.

Josh Hite became the owner of the store in Boynton Beach in 2015. In 2017, he teamed up with Gregory Dissel, who also worked at the Boynton Beach office for five years, to open Brightway’s first Agency in South Carolina. Hite’s agency is among the top 10 in sales in the Brightway system of more than 160 agencies across the U.S.

Brightway, a national property/casualty insurance retailer selling through a network of franchised independent stores throughout the country, offers its agency owners support including customer service, carrier relationships, marketing, accounting and technology.

Brightway began franchising operations in 2008 and has since grown to more than 700 people in 19 states serving customers in all 50 states.

Appleton, Wis.-based SECURA Insurance has added Lisa Switzer as market manager for Kentucky.

Switzer brings 28 years of experience in the insurance industry to her new role with a diverse mix of commercial, personal and specialty lines roles. She was an underwriter for much of her career, starting in crop insurance before shifting her focus to more mainstream products. Most recently, she served as senior territory manager with Liberty Mutual.

SECURA also recently promoted Tripp Humston from the Kentucky market manager role to director-sales, overseeing SECURA’s growth in Kentucky, Michigan and Indiana.

SECURA offers personal, commercial and specialty lines coverage in 12 states.