People & Places

Shelly Diegel has been elected chairman of the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents‘ company council of executive officers for 2006. Diegel is vice president for small business distribution at Zurich in Baltimore, Md., and has represented Zurich Small Business on the Professional Insurance Agents Company Council of Executive Officers (PIA-CCEO) since 2003.

Since joining Zurich in 2000, Diegel has been developing and implementing a small business distribution management strategy that supports more than 11,000 independent agents. Additionally, she was instrumental in developing Zurich’s Small Business Customer Service Center.

Diegel began her insurance career in 1982, working in personal lines for a Baltimore independent agency. After six years at several agency positions, she joined Maryland Casualty to lead its agency automation team, then moved to USF&G to begin an agency automation program. She spent eight years with USF&G and St. Paul in various positions in technology, sales, marketing and distribution in personal lines, small commercial and surety.

Seattle-based Safeco has named Paula Rosput Reynolds president and CEO. Reynolds also has been appointed to Safeco’s board of directors. Reynolds, 49, currently is chairman, president and CEO of AGL Resources, an Atlanta-based energy holding company.

Mike McGavick stepped down as CEO and chairman of Safeco on Dec. 31, 2005, to run for the Senate.

Safeco’s board of directors also has elected Joseph W. “Jay” Brown as its non-executive chairman, replacing McGavick. Brown, 56, has been a Safeco director since 2001. He is chairman of MBIA Inc., a financial services company based in Armonk, N.Y.

Before joining MBIA in 1999, Brown was chairman, president and CEO of Talegen Holdings Inc., the former insurance holdings operation of Xerox Corp., and president and CEO of Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co.

The company also has named Robert McNichols vice president of Audit Services. He will be responsible for overseeing internal audits and reviews of the company’s financial controls and operations. He will report to the Audit Committee of Safeco’s board of directors.

Most recently, McNichols served as vice president of internal audit and compliance for RLI, a property and casualty insurance company based in Peoria, Ill.

McNichols has more than 20 years experience in audit roles, such as at Prudential and CNA Financial.

First Capital Group has appointed Steven F. Chan as president, located in the San Francisco office. Chan joined First Capital in 1999 as vice president in charge of writing commercial umbrella and third-party excess liability. First Capital Insurance Services Inc. writes commercial umbrella and excess liability nationwide.

Burns & Wilcox has promoted Wayne Bates to director of the company’s special risk division, international, and elevated him to associate vice president. Bates previously was director of Burns & Wilcox’s London consortium department and deputy director of SRD, International, responsible for underwriting and marketing key London contracts on which Burns & Wilcox assumes risks via its affiliates. Bates will manage reinsurance activities involving current contracts, as well as the development of new contracts and programs in the London market. He will oversee operations of Illinois R.B. Jones, a subsidiary that specializes in providing specialty lines coverage to agents and wholesalers nationwide.

James McCarthy has joined Los Angeles-based Anderson and Mursionin as executive vice president and general manger. He has experience as an insurance and reinsurance underwriter, as well as has management skills as a senior insurance company executive.

Precept has named Karen Brouns Bay Area vice president, based in the company’s San Ramon, Calif., office. She will develop and implement strategies to grow the company’s client base and be responsible for benefit plan design, funding, communication, management and administration consultation.

Brouns has more than 25 years of experience in the health care industry, working with a benefits consulting firm, an insurance carrier and a trust fund administrator.

Patti Leonard has joined Networked Insurance Agents as territorial sales vice president for Arizona. Leonard has been associated with the insurance industry for more than 20 years. In that time, she has worked both in premium financing, as well as has been a producer. She has represented three finance companies, including Standard Funding Corp., before joining Networked Insurance Agents. As vice president and Southwest marketing director for Standard Funding, she covered the state of Arizona as well as northern New Mexico. Additionally, she serviced Nevada and Colorado.

Craig S. Comeaux has been promoted to secretary of Argonaut Group Inc., San Antonio, Texas. He succeeds senior vice president and general counsel Byron L. LeFlore Jr. In addition to his new duties, Comeaux will continue as the company’s vice president and deputy general counsel reporting to LeFlore.

Prior to joining Argonaut, Comeaux was senior vice president, general counsel and secretary for Seitel Inc. in Houston. He was in private practice for nine years with Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer and Feld LLP in Austin, Texas, where he handled business litigation and corporate transactional matters for public and private concerns.

White & Company Insurance Inc., Santa Monica, Calif., has named Dan Armstrong commercial property and casualty account executive. He previously was an underwriter for Hartford Insurance. In his new position at White and Co., Armstrong will be responsible for new account development and account management.

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