People & Places

Insurance broker Marsh announced the appointment of Garrett Hanrahan as global head of Aviation with Marsh JLT Specialty. Hanrahan is succeeding Simon Harker, who is retiring after 44 years in the industry. Based in Dallas, Hanrahan will report to Marsh JLT Specialty President Lucy Clarke. In this role, Hanrahan oversees Marsh JLT Specialty’s Global Aviation Practice, which advises many of the world’s airlines, manufacturers, airports and other industry players on their insurance and risk management programs. Hanrahan joined Marsh in 2013 and has worked within the aviation sector for more than 25 years, most recently as U.S. head of Aviation for Marsh JLT Specialty. Prior to joining Marsh, he was with Willis Global Aerospace for almost five years from 2008 until 2013, serving as president and CEO. Before Willis, he was with Aon Risk Solutions for 15 years as executive vice president of Aviation.

Chubb has expanded its North America claims leadership team with two appointments. Bill Hazelton has been named head of Chubb North America Claims, and Megan Watt has been appointed to a newly created leadership role as head of North America Complex Claims. Hazelton will oversee the strategy for all aspects of the company’s commercial and personal lines claims operations. Watt will lead a team designed to complement Chubb’s underwriters and business partners and use her experience in casualty, mass tort and other complex claims for clients. Hazelton joined Chubb in 2005 and has served in several leadership capacities throughout his tenure. Prior to this new position, he served as Chubb’s Environmental, Excess Casualty and Construction Industry practice leader. Hazelton will report to Smith and will be based in Jersey City, N.J. Watt joined Chubb in 2018 as executive vice president and head of North America Claims. Prior to joining Chubb, she was head of Claims for Everest National Insurance Co. She joined Everest in 2017 from American International Group (AIG), which she joined in 2000 and was global claims officer for complex casualty claims. Watt will report to Hazelton and remain based in Basking Ridge, N.J.

Insurance Office of America (IOA) has added Michael J. Tresidder to its team. Tresidder has been appointed director of surety, which is a newly created position, and he will be based in IOA’s Syracuse, N.Y., office. Tresidder has more than a decade of experience in the surety industry. Prior to joining IOA, he served as a surety underwriter with Liberty Mutual handling construction clients across Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. IOA is a full-service insurance agency founded in 1988 by John Ritenour and Valli Ritenour. Headquartered in Longwood, Fla., IOA has more than 1,000 associates located in more than 60 offices in the U.S. and London.

Greene & Associates, an East Aurora, N.Y.-based underwriting manager and wholesaler broker, recently announced the addition of Seth Fischer to its production team. Fischer brings 25 years of specialty underwriting, marketing, product development, portfolio management and leadership experience to Greene. He most recently worked with CapSpecialty Insurance Group, holding various roles including head of its Specialty GL Brokerage, chief underwriting officer for property and casualty and head of underwriting and product management. Prior to that, Fischer spent seventeen years with Western World Insurance Group and two years with Burns & Wilcox. In his role at Greene, Fischer will manage a book of umbrella/excess business as well as lead initiatives to improve the product and service offerings of the organization. He will be based in the company’s Upper Saddle River, N.J., office.

Chubb has named Stephen Buonpane as Construction Industry Practice leader for its large account segment. He succeeds Bill Hazelton, who was recently named head of Chubb North America Claims. In this capacity, he will oversee its strategic direction while leading a team of construction underwriting and service specialists across multiple lines of business to deliver customized insurance solutions to Chubb’s distribution partners and construction customers. Prior to this expanded role, Buonpane served as executive vice president of Major Accounts Construction. He will remain based in New York and report to Matt Merna, senior vice president and Chubb Group Division president of Chubb North America Major Accounts. Craig Richardson, Chubb’s executive vice president of Major Accounts Environmental, and Joseph Fobert, the company’s executive vice president of Major Accounts Excess Casualty, will continue to oversee those lines of business, reporting to Merna.

Starr Insurance Companies has appointed Kathleen Murphy as regional vice president for its Southeast region, effective January 13. Murphy is responsible for field leadership as well as broker and client relationships. According Robert Cruz, senior vice president of Sales and Distribution, Murphy has more than 22 years of experience on both the brokerage and carrier sides of the business. He added she will help Starr’s growth of its Southeast region and to develop new channels. Starr’s Southeast region comprises Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Murphy reports directly to Cruz and is based in Atlanta.

BMS Group, an independent specialist (re)insurance broker, has appointed Jani Kohonen as senior vice president and Atlanta branch manager, effective on Jan. 29, 2020. He will be based in Atlanta and report to Pete Chandler, president and CEO of BMS Re US. Before joining BMS, Kohonen was vice president at StarStone Insurance in Atlanta, overseeing its ILS initiatives and underwriting strategy in the U.S. E&S property space.

Kohonen also worked at Aspen Insurance Group in New York between 2007 and 2017, where he held a number of senior roles with a particular focus on catastrophe risk management. Kohonen began his career at Arch Insurance Group in 2005. According to Chandler, BMS will continue to expand its team and further increase its presence throughout the U.S. in 2020.

Service Insurance Holdings, based in Austin, Texas, has appointed Brad Davis to serve as president in addition to his current role of chief financial officer. Kelly Gray, who had been serving as interim president, will continue to serve as CEO. Jacob Clymer will succeed Steve Collier, who will retire as chief operating officer on July 1, 2020. In his expanded role, Davis will lead the executive team, formulate goals, plans and strategies, and provide oversight to all of the businesses within the Gray family of companies, including the insurance operations. Collier has been named executive advisor and will continue to work closely with Davis and Clymer, offering his 40-plus years of insurance carrier experience to support the organization. He will continue to advise the company post-retirement.

Oklahoma City-based American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Co. (AFRMIC) has named Jon D. Srna as the company’s next CEO. Srna brings expertise in personal lines insurance and a farm background to his role at AFRMIC. Srna began his insurance industry career more than 30 years ago with Farm Bureau Financial Services. He has served as business unit vice president at Farm Bureau Financial Services, executive vice president and COO at ACCC Insurance, and most recently as senior vice president of operations and COO at Madison Mutual Insurance Co. American Farmers and Ranchers Mutual Insurance Co. is a multi-line property/casualty company that is focused on farm and rural insurance products.

Workers’ compensation insurer Third Coast Underwriters (3CU) has promoted Peter Vaughn to director of Insurance Operations and Mike Altman to regional director of Business Development. Vaughn and Altman are based at 3CU’s headquarters in Chicago. Vaughn has 22 years of complex claim management, product development and multiline underwriting experience. Altman has more than 15 years of experience as a commercial insurance broker and underwriter. 3CU is a member of AF Group.

Columbus, Ohio-based Root Inc., the parent company of online insurer Root Insurance, has appointed Annette Reavis as its first chief people officer. Reavis has more than 20 years of human resource and business experience. She previously spent a decade at Facebook, serving as a strategic HR leader for Facebook’s product, marketing, growth/integrity, community operations and partnerships organizations. At Root, she will oversee the recruitment that will drive the next phase of the company’s geographic and product expansion.

Sacramento, Calif.-based Bender Insurance Solutions has named Heather Rohr as vice president of Finance. Rohr oversees administration, budgeting, financial management, accounting services and facilities maintenance. She has 15 years of accounting experience, with the past seven years in the insurance industry. Bender is an employee-owned independent insurance brokerage that offers a suite of business and personal insurance products such as commercial insurance, surety bonds, homeowners insurance and auto insurance.

Insurance Office of America has added Paul Carroll and Jeri Ballew to its employee benefits services division in Las Vegas, Nev. The firm has also added Steve Miller to lead the mobility and innovation group. Miller will be based in Pleasanton, Calif. Carroll founded The Westek Group, which specializes in the design, implementation, and administration of employee benefit plans, where he served as president alongside Ballew, who was vice president. Both bring more than 20 years of employee benefits experience to IOA. Miller was previously vice president at McGriff Insurance Services. In his 15 years in the industry, he has become a subject matter expert in a variety of industries, including construction, food, future mobility and technology. IOA, doing business as IOA Insurance Services in California, is an independent agency headquartered in Longwood, Fla.

San Diego, Calif.-based K2 Insurance Services LLC has named Mark Smith as president. He has nearly 30 years of insurance experience, including underwriting, actuarial and finance leadership roles. He most recently spent four years at Marsh-owned MGU Victor. K2 Insurance Services LLC was formed in 2011 by industry veterans Pat Kilkenny and president and CEO Bob Kimmel. Lee Equity Partners recently acquired a majority interest in K2.