People

Wholesale insurance services firm, Midlands Management Corp., headquartered in Oklahoma City, appointed Mark Sullivan as leader of its Transportation team. He is based in Dallas.

Sullivan joined Midlands in 2010 as an associate marketing representative and later was promoted to senior underwriter. It was during this time that he began developing and honing expertise in transportation related products. As a result of his success in growing the transportation book of business, Midlands created a dedicated transportation department with Sullivan at its head.

Earlier in his career, Sullivan interned with Markel, a position that included a period of time in London.

EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants added Matt Lumelleau as a principal in the firm’s property/casualty practice.

Based in Houston, Lumelleau will be responsible for new business development, and the design, placement and management of property/casualty insurance programs. He also will provide risk management strategies for mid-market and large clients across a range of industries.

Lumelleau joins EPIC from Lockton, where he supported the Houston office as a producer, unit manager and team leader.

Previously, he held positions with Tri-City Brokerage as an associate vice president and AIG Environmental as a senior underwriter.

Houston-based managing general agency and wholesale insurance broker Myron Steves hired Jennifer Flake as director of Transportation.

She will oversee all aspects of the firm’s transportation business including the long-haul trucking, business auto and garage segments.

Flake joins Myron Steves with over 15 years of experience as a transportation specialist. She has worked for insurance companies, wholesalers and insurance agents during the course of her career. Most recently, she worked for Southwest Risk LP and, prior to that, AmWINS Group Inc.

Flake is based in the Dallas/Fort Worth area but plans to be on the road extensively meeting with agents and working with staff in Houston.

Frank Opelka has been appointed deputy commissioner of the Office of Health, Life and Annuity at the Louisiana Department of Insurance.

Opelka comes to the Department of Insurance from the Louisiana Department of Health where he served as chief of staff to both Secretary Kliebert and Secretary Gee, and Section Chief for Medicaid Rate Setting and Audit. He served under Governor Jindal as Policy Advisor for Health, Welfare, Insurance and Finance.

San Antonio, Texas-based independent claims adjusting and third-party administration firms, IAS Claim Services, has appointed Walter Leddy as chief executive officer.

Former CEO Larry Cochran will assume a new role as chairman of IAS.

Leddy, a technology-enabled services veteran most recently served as vice president and general manager of Strategic Accounts at Rackspace. He also previously served in global sales, strategy and leadership roles at EDS Inc. prior to and after its acquisition by HP Inc.

Established in 1984, IAS has offices and personnel across the U.S.

Alliant Insurance Services added Brady Ayala as senior vice president in its Employee Benefits Group in Oklahoma City.

Ayala is well versed across a broad array of disciplines spanning the worlds of employee benefits, human resources and cost containment. He specializes in in both fully insured and self-funded plans.

Prior to joining Alliant, Ayala was an Employee Benefits Consultant with a global insurance and employee benefits firm.

Andrew Schallhorn has been appointed as chief actuary at the Oklahoma Insurance Department (OID), effective Sept. 24.

Schallhorn formerly was president of Reserve National Insurance Co. where he oversaw all functions of business including premiums and liabilities, operations and sales.

Scott Schoenvogel has been tapped as president of SimplePay Health, a subsidiary of healthcare and wellness company ACAP Health. He is based in Dallas.

The company describes SimplePay Health as a new model for healthcare insurance plans designed to make health care simple for employees while reducing costs for employers

Prior to joining ACAP Health, Schoenvogel was the founder and CEO of Compass PHS. He brings 20 years of experience in the employee benefits and healthcare industries.