Palomar Insurance in Alabama Names Messer VP; Carofin Elevates Clifford

Palomar Insurance Corp., based in Montgomery, Alabama, announced that Shon Messer has joined the company’s Birmingham office as vice president.

Messer, who spent 16 years at DSD Insurance, an Acrisure agency partner, and 11 years with Allstate before that, will help oversee commercial and personal lines for the Palomar agency, the company said in a news release.

Palomar, founded in 1954, moved its Montgomery headquarters to a new site in November. The firm said it offers commercial, agribusiness, transportation and personal lines coverage to clients around the country.

It recently celebrated a 50-year partnership with Auto-Owners Insurance. Tony Craft is president and CEO.

Carofin and Carolina Financial Securities, headquartered in Brevard, North Carolina, named Steve Clifford as managing director. He is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Clifford specializes in building and managing sales teams, training, and developing professionals for firms such as MetLife, Nationwide Financial and Guardian Investor Services.

Before launching his career in the financial services industry, Clifford spent 15 years in the newspaper business, serving in business management roles for Knight-Ridder Newspapers’ properties in Miami, Charlotte and Macon, Georgia.