Bowlin to Head Memphis Regions Insurance Group
David L. “Casey” Bowlin has been named president and CEO of Memphis, Tenn.-based Regions Financial Corporation’s (NYSE:RF) newly created Regions Insurance Group Inc., the corporate parent structure for all of the company’s insurance operating subsidiaries. With annual premiums of approximately $800 million, Regions Insurance Group ranks as the 10th-largest bank-owned insurance agency in the United States.
Bowlin is the former president of E. H. Crump and Co., chairman and CEO of Sedgwick Global Ltd and managing director of Marsh Inc. He comes to Regions from his most recent position as president and CEO of Retail Operations of Dallas, Texas-based Summit Global Partners Inc., which has announced its pending acquisition by USI Holdings Corp. Bowlin will be responsible for setting and executing the insurance strategy for the Regions Insurance Group.
“Regions sees tremendous opportunities for growth in the insurance area,” said Carlos E. Jones Jr., Regions chairman and CEO. “We already have a strong foundation in this area thanks to our acquisitions of Rebsamen Insurance of Arkansas and the ICT Group of Louisiana, both of which are the largest independent insurance agencies in their respective states.
Bowlin, a Memphis native, holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation and was formerly an underwriting member at Lloyd’s of London. His first priority after joining Regions was to visit each of the company’s insurance offices and speak to associates about his vision for the company’s future. Regions Insurance Group employs some 500 associates operating from 24 offices in five states.
Bowlin said Regions Insurance Group’s plans for the future include generating organic revenue growth from existing offices as well as a disciplined acquisition strategy.
“Acquisition candidates will be insurance agencies that are located in our 15-state footprint and share our values and client-focused culture,” he said. “Our goal is for earnings from Regions Insurance Group to become a more meaningful component of the company’s non-interest income stream.”
Other members of the Regions Insurance Group team are John Bennett, chief financial officer; Tim Derouen, chief information officer; Gail Boland, chief administrative officer, Bill Quinlan, CEO of ICT; Al McDowell, CEO of Rebsamen; and Chip Harper, CEO of Regions Insurance Services.
Regions Insurance Group is headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., both Regions Mortgage and Morgan Keegan Company Inc. — Regions’ investment and securities brokerage, trust and asset management division — are also headquartered in Memphis.
Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF), headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., is a full-service provider of retail and commercial banking, securities brokerage, mortgage, and insurance products and services. With its merger with the former Union Planters Corp. complete, Regions has some $84.1 billion in assets, making it one of the nation’s Top 15 financial services providers.
Regions’ banking subsidiaries, Regions Bank and Union Planters Bank, operate some 1,400 offices and a 1,700-ATM network across a 15-state geographic footprint in the South, Midwest and Texas. Its investment and securities brokerage, trust and asset management division, Morgan Keegan & Company Inc., provides services from more than 145 offices.