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The Hartford has appointed Lisa Morgan as senior vice president of its Middle Market commercial insurance business. Morgan will lead The Hartford’s $2 billion middle market commercial insurance unit that serves mid-sized businesses and other entities, such as educational institutions and industry associations.

Morgan, who most recently served as vice president of Middle Market operations, joined The Hartford in 2001 and held positions of increasing responsibility in the company’s property/casualty claims department. She joined the Middle Market team in 2005. Prior to joining The Hartford, Morgan spent six years in private law practice.

The Hartford has named Grace Figueredo as vice president of diversity and inclusion. Figueredo will lead diversity, inclusion and cultural awareness within the insurer and will oversee strategies that drive employee engagement and extend contemporary work practices to meet the needs of the business and employees.

Figueredo joins The Hartford from United Technologies Corp., where she most recently served as director of Workforce Diversity. In that role, she set the diversity vision and strategy for the company, leading a significant structural and cultural transformation at UTC. She established the Office of Workforce Diversity, implemented a Diversity Operating Review infrastructure across all business units.

Direct General Corp., of Nashville, Tenn., has named Carey D. Benson, former AutoOne Insurance chief executive officer, as its new president and CEO. Benson takes over for Dan Tarantin, who will continue to be an investor and serve as an advisor to the board of directors. Benson brings to the position 35 years of experience in the insurance industry, including service as CEO of AutoOne Insurance, CEO of the Home State Insurance Group, president and CEO of Charter Insurance Companies, and senior roles with Skandia, Republic Insurance and AEGON.

The Young Agents Committee of the Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina (IIANC) announced the association’s Young Agent of the Year, Broker of the Year and Company of the Year Awards for 2010. These awards were presented during IIANC’s 43rd Annual Young Agent’s Conference held in July in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

David Essic Jr., of Johnson Insurance Services, Inc. in Mocksville, N.C. was named as IIANC’s 2010 Young Agent of the Year. This award recognizes agent who has demonstrated outstanding commitment and performance for his/her agency, association, industry, community and family. A member of the IIANC Young Agents Committee since 2006, Essic currently serves as the group’s Project Subcommittee Chairman.

2010 Broker of the Year Honors went to Johnson & Johnson of Charleston, S.C. for the fifth consecutive year. This award is presented to the broker that has demonstrated support for association activities and commitment to the independent agency system.

Montgomery Insurance, based in Charlotte, N.C. received the 2010 Company of the Year award. This award is presented to the company that has demonstrated support for association activities and commitment to the independent agency system. Montgomery Insurance also won this award in 2008 and 2009.

John (Jack) Byrne, who has led Fireman’s Fund and its former parent company, White Mountains Insurance Group, as well as GEICO, has been elected chairman of the board of the New York- based brokerage Integro. Byrne, who joined the board in 2005, succeeds Integro’s co-founder and chairman, the late Robert Clements.

John Clements, also a member of the Integro board since the firm’s founding, was elected vice chairman.

Early in his career, Byrne was with Travelers. He later turned around a struggling GEICO, which was sold to Warren Buffett.

John Clements is the managing partner of Tara Partners Ltd, a private investment partnership that was a co-founder of Integro Ltd. and co-founder of Ironshore Inc. From 1995 until 2005, he was a principal of MMC Capital, Inc. (now Stone Point Capital LLC), a private equity firm.

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