People & Places
Global insurance brokerage HUB International continues to strengthen its cannabis insurance capabilities with the appointment of Bradley Rutt as U.S. Cannabis Specialty leader. Rutt will work alongside Jay Virdi, chief sales officer of Cannabis Specialty, in supporting the practice strategy nationally.
Rutt specializes in cannabis executive liability. He has worked with several large public and private management services organizations in designing tailored insurance programs and risk management programs.
Before joining HUB, he was vice president and partner at Elkins Jones Insurance Agency in Los Angeles. Elkins Jones was acquired by Hub in 2017.
Safety National has hired Tim O’Grady as vice president for underwriting in the company’s large casualty division, which is responsible for large deductible workers’ compensation, commercial auto and commercial general liability coverage distribution.
With nearly 30 years of industry experience, O’Grady brings a large account underwriting background to Safety National. He is a former regional senior vice president with AIG Risk Management out of Georgia.
In his new capacity with Safety National, O’Grady will be responsible for leading large casualty underwriting for the southwest region and Colorado through oversight of Safety National’s Dallas, Texas, office. In addition, he will directly manage Safety National’s large casualty presence in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. O’Grady will be based out of Safety National’s Alpharetta, Georgia, office.
Greene & Associates Inc., based in East Aurora, New York, has hired Phil Rapini as its new chief financial officer. Rapini will be responsible for overseeing the financial operations of the specialty insurance brokerage firm, as well as developing future revenue models for the company.
He previously served as CFO at LoVullo Associates Inc. for 17 years. Rapini created and managed Superior Payment Plan LLC, a specialty insurance premium finance lending company.
His appointment comes as long-time CFO Terry Greene will be retiring later this year.
Merchants Insurance Group has promoted Scott Behrent to vice president of National Distribution. He will be working out of his residence in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Behrent joined Merchants in 2015 as its regional vice president for the company’s New England regional office in Bedford, New Hampshire. He has more than 30 years of property/casualty insurance claims, operations and underwriting experience. In this new position, he will be responsible for managing and developing strategic relationships with key agency partners who represent Merchants across multiple operating territories.
Behrent will work closely with Merchants’ regional offices to develop and coordinate the execution of strategic business plans and will oversee agency contracts and licensing, as well as agency mergers and acquisitions.
Maryland Insurance Commissioner Kathleen A. Birrane has named Bradley B. Boban as chief actuary for the Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA). Boban has served as senior actuary for the MIA since 2017.
He has nearly two decades of experience in actuarial science. He will lead the 10-person Office of the Chief Actuary. The primary responsibilities of the office include reviewing rate requests and appropriate supporting data for compliance with Maryland laws and regulations governing health insurance, which includes long-term care, major medical and disability coverage. He will also be responsible for the annual valuation and certification of the reserves held by life insurance companies domiciled in Maryland to pay future benefits, as well as tracking and analyzing various industry trends.
Prior to joining the MIA, Boban was assistant actuary at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, where he managed a three-person team in charge of pricing the individual health insurance marketplace in three states. He began his career at CareFirst in 2002 as an actuarial analyst.
McGriff has hired Dain Jorgenson as a senior vice president and producer in its Birmingham, Alabama-based energy practice.
Jorgenson joins McGriff from Insurance Risk Partners, where he served as senior vice president and was responsible for developing new opportunities and solving complex risk transfer and project development problems in the renewables, power, oil and gas, infrastructure and heavy chemical manufacturing industries. He previously served as vice president of business development at Hayes Companies in the firm’s Power and Utility Division. He has been an active member of the Iowa Wind Energy Association for more than eight years, four of which he served as president of the board of directors.
Jorgenson will work to provide additional resources to McGriff clients in the energy industry and help drive growth in McGriff’s renewables practice.
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty’s (AGCS) North American Aviation team has promoted two executives and hired a new underwriting specialist, effective immediately.
Lamont Rosemond has been promoted to regional head of Aviation Programs and Product Development in North America. He reports to Dave Warfel, regional head of Aviation in North America. Based in Alpharetta, Georgia, Rosemond supports and implements product development and growth initiatives. He is also responsible for managing programs, as well as developing and maintaining broker and client relationships within the aviation line of business. Rosemond joined AGCS in 2014 and has 15 years of aviation underwriting experience.
Joshua Ray has been promoted to general aviation team leader for the Eastern region. He reports to Dave Watkins, regional aviation product leader. Based in Alpharetta, Ray handles underwriting placements and strategies within the Eastern region. He joined AGCS in 2008 and has more than 23 years of aviation insurance industry experience as an underwriter and broker from general aviation to major products manufacturers’ risks. Ray has been an active pilot since 1989.
Peter Falcone has joined AGCS as an underwriting specialist, reporting to Ray. Falcone joins from AIG Aviation in Atlanta where he was a senior underwriter primarily serving the southeastern U.S. Previously, he was a broker at Willis Towers Watson as well as a senior client services manager with Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
After 22 years as president and CEO of Texas-based Anco Insurance and 47 years in the insurance industry, Kathy Gregory is retiring. Sid Cauthorn, CEO of the Bank & Trust of Del Rio and president and chairman of the board of Westex Bancorp Inc., will assume the role of president and CEO of Anco Insurance upon Gregory’s retirement, effective July 1, 2021.
Cauthorn also serves as chairman of the board of directors of Anco. Gregory will remain with Anco Insurance as a member of the board of directors.
She joined Anco Insurance in 1984 after gaining a decade of experience in the insurance industry. Cauthorn has worked in the banking industry since 1987. Cauthorn is also a member of the board of directors of First Financial Bank in Bryan, Texas.
Dallas-based Upland Capital Group, the excess and surplus (E&S) casualty, property and specialty insurance provider that launched earlier this year, hired Mark Jones to be its chief risk officer, chief actuary and head of analytics.
He will manage the enterprise risk of the organization as it continues to implement its strategies for steady, long-term growth.
Jones brings with him 25 years of industry experience, most recently as the director of advanced analytics, technology and actuarial at PwC and an earlier term as vice president and senior actuary at Hallmark Financial Services Limited.
Columbus, Ohio-based Assurex Global has appointed Dean Hildebrandt as CEO, replacing Jim Hackbarth, who is retiring after nearly 18 years with the organization.
Hildebrandt, who has served as Assurex Global president since September 2019, is the latest in a series of strategic management changes implemented to position the firm for future growth.
Hildebrandt, who joined Assurex Global in March 2019 as executive vice president, has more than 25 years in the business, including as CEO of Associated Benefits and Risk Consulting, a national, multi-line insurance agency.
He also led the former Assurex Global partner, Ahmann-Martin — a provider of risk management, employee benefits, and financial services — before its acquisition by Associated Banc-Corp. in 2015. He also served on the Assurex Global board of directors from 2014 to 2015.
National Interstate Insurance Co. has promoted Christopher (Chris) E. Mikolay to senior vice president, Specialty Division and Daniel (Dan) M. Keenan to vice president of national accounts.
Mikolay assumes leadership responsibility for National Interstate’s specialty division and Hawaii office. The Specialty Division consists of insurance programs in industries including waste operations, fleet towing and recovery, heavy haul and crane, ambulance, energy and environmental and rental car.
Mikolay joined National Interstate in 2007 as a product manager and has held various positions of increasing responsibility. After leading and launching several captive programs within the Alternative Products division, he held the position of director of sales and marketing for National Interstate.
Mikolay has been instrumental in the formation, management and growth of the National Accounts division and managed the Truck Captive programs and Business Development team.
Keenan now leads the National Accounts division. He joined National Interstate in 2006, holding management positions in several divisions. From 2011 to 2015, he was director of business development at the Vanliner Division, where he was instrumental in the formation and growth of several captive insurance programs for the moving and storage industry.
Most recently, Keenan served as assistant vice president in the specialty division.
CAC Specialty in Colorado has named Erin Lynch as president of its natural resources division and co-leader of its power, utility and renewables vertical.
Lynch most recently led the global energy practice at Beecher Carlson during her 14-year tenure.
CAC Specialty is a specialty insurance brokerage business focused on providing expertise and placement capabilities across the spectrum of insurance and alternative capital markets.
Allied American Underwriters, a division of USG Insurance Services Inc., has named Eugene Manioukov as a producer/broker specializing in workers’ compensation in the Irvine, California, branch.
Manioukov has four years of experience in the industry, most recently with Reata Holdings.
AAU is a program manager that offers programs for commercial lines to USG retail agents and other distribution channels.