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February 24, 2008

Colemont Insurance Brokers has promoted Larry Kessler broker in the company’s Hartford, Conn. office.

Kessler, who has served in various positions with Colemont since 2004, will specialize in casualty and property placements. Prior to joining Colemont, he managed a non-standard auto wholesale operation which had a presence in Conn., N.Y. and R.I. Kessler has over 20 years experience in the insurance industry.

BMS, a reinsurance intermediary based in Philadelphia, has appointed James T. Buysse as chief executive officer of its North American operations, BMS Intermediaries Inc.

Buysse has 25 years of experience in the reinsurance industry. He began his reinsurance career at Towers Perrin Reinsurance in 1979. In 1993, he joined Greg Fester as president and CEO of U.S. operations. After Greg Fester was acquired by Benfield Ltd. in 1998, Buysse spent nine years in various senior management positions. He left Benfield in 2007 to form his own reinsurance intermediary, Buysse and Associates Inc.

Narragansett Bay Insurance Co. has hired Frank Berry as director of agency sales and marketing at Narragansett Bay Insurance Co. Berry worked for 29 years at Liberty Mutual as a sales agent and as a customer service representative for Eastern Massachusetts. Narragansett Bay Insurance Co., which is part of Blackstone Financial Group Inc., is based in Pawtucket, R.I.

Aon Corp. has named Andrew Appel as chief executive oficer of Aon Re Global and chairman of Aon Consulting.

Appel served previously as CEO of Aon Consulting. He replaces Ted T. Devine, who was recently appointed president of Aon Risk Services.

Aon Re Global has also appointed Robert J. Cooney as managing director of Aon Capital Markets and vice chairman of Aon Re Global in Bermuda.

Cooney previously served as a director of Max Re from its formation in July 1999 and as president and CEO from September 1999 to October 2006. From 1987 to 1998 he held various senior management positions at XL Capital Ltd, including president and CEO of XL Insurance Ltd. and executive vice president of XL Capital Ltd.

Aon also announced the promotion of Kathryn Hayley, CEO of Aon Consulting U.S., and Baljit “Bal” Dail, global chief information officer of Aon Corporation and global chief administration officer of Aon Consulting, to the position of chief executive officer and co-head of Aon Consulting. Hayley and Dail will chair Aon Consulting’s executive global operating committee.

Crump Group Inc. of New Jersey has promoted John Jennings to president of its wholesale property and casualty insurance services division. Most recently, Jennings served as president of Tri-City Insurance Brokers and was a key member of the senior leadership team of the recently-merged commercial insurance operations of Crump Group Inc. Prior to joining Tri-City in 1993, Jennings held various positions with Jardine and RBH, Inc. Jennings replaces Glenn Hargrove.

W. Russ Smith has been named president and CEO of Tampa, Fla.-based Arbitration Forums Inc., succeeding D. Kay Smith, who served as AF’s president for 11 years.

Smith, a veteran insurance professional, most recently served as vice president of claims for USAA where he oversaw policy and procedures for all claim functions.

Arbitration Forums identifies itself as the largest arbitration service organization in the country, resolving more than 470,000 inter-insurance company disputes annually, with a claim value of over $2.2 billion.

Aon Risk Services, the retail brokerage and risk management unit of Aon Corp., has added Carlos Oliveras and Tom Roche to the firm’s Boston office, which serves New England.

Oliveras, who joined Aon in summer 2006 as a managing director in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group in New York, will lead the business development of risk, insurance and benefits for private equity firms in New England.

Oliveras has spent 25 years in property casualty insurance and reinsurance organizations with responsibilities for domestic and international business operations. He joined Aon after having served as president and chief executive officer of CAO Advisors, a diligence and strategic consultant to companies and the private equity community. Prior to that, he served as the senior vice president and group chief sales and marketing officer for Alea Group Holdings, and spent 14 years with American Re-Insurance.

Roche will concentrate on larger clients with complex needs. His primary focus will be on companies in financial services, healthcare, life sciences and those in the technology sector.

Roche joined Aon from Marsh, where for 20 years he held various sales leadership and management positions, most recently as managing director and middle market leader of Marsh’s Norwalk, Conn., office. Roche has been a client executive, sales producer and sales manager. Prior to Marsh, Roche worked for three years at AIG and Aetna, respectively.

Jimcor Agencies, a Montvale, NJ-based excess and surplus lines wholesaler, has named Jan Jepsen branch manager of its Montvale office and promoted Renee Azelby to branch manager of its Mount Laurel N.J. office.

Jepsen previously served as senior vice president of a startup wholesale insurance broker. Azelby has been with Jimcor for over two years, having most recently served as assistant branch manager for Jimcor’s southern N.J. office.

Andrew Lerner has joined wholesaler Demetriou General Agency as director of personal lines. Lerner, who will oversee a staff of 15, brings 23 years of agency experience to Demetriou. He has owned several agency offices in the New York and New Jersey. He began his career with Nussbaum Brunell Associates and has served as president of the Tri County Insurance Association.

Farmers Insurance Group Inc. has named Denise Ruggiero vice president for legislative and regulatory affairs.

Ruggiero served from 2003 to 2006 as managing attorney for State Farm in Sacramento, Cal., where she oversaw legislative, regulatory and initiative activity in California and 10 western states. Prior to that she was State Farm counsel for Texas, and also served as divisional claims superintendent for litigation and auto claims.

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