People – Midwest

Safety National Casualty Corp., based in St. Louis, Mo., announced management changes and a realignment of responsibilities that are scheduled to take effect on March 1, 2014.

Chief Executive Officer Mark Wilhelm will remain in his current position, maintaining overall responsibility for operations and financial results of Safety National.

President Gerald Scott will retire after a successful 30-year career with Safety National. Starting with the company in 1983, Scott has held several positions at Safety National and was most recently appointed president in 2010.

Chief Operating Officer Duane Hercules, will take over as president. He is in his 30th year with Safety National and will be responsible for directing all company operations.

Executive Vice President Steven F. Luebbert will become chief operating officer. Luebbert has 38 years of experience in the industry and is in his seventh year with Safety National.

Chief Financial Officer John Csik will assume the roles of executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief risk officer. He has been with Safety National for 28 years. Csik will be responsible for the leadership of actuarial, finance, information services, ceded reinsurance, loss portfolio transfer and surety.

Gene Maier, senior vice president of workers’ compensation – underwriting, will become executive vice president and chief underwriting officer. Maier has been with Safety National for 30 years. He will be responsible for leadership and supervision over the company’s underwriting efforts for all lines of business.

Seth Smith, vice president of excess workers’ compensation, will become senior vice president of excess workers’ compensation. Smith has been with Safety National for 16 years and involved with the insurance industry for 21 years. He will be responsible for the leadership of underwriting excess workers’ compensation for the company.

Founded in 1942, Safety National is a provider of excess workers’ compensation coverage to self-insured employers and groups nationwide.

Zurich North America announced that Taffy Jo Mayers, regional sales director for the Midwest region, has been accepted as a fellow for World Business Chicago’s Plan for Economic Growth and Jobs.

The plan is a framework for future economic growth and job creation in Chicago and the surrounding region. Mayers is currently in the midst of a four-month commitment working with World Business Chicago (WBC) to create smart communities throughout the city, enhancing technology and overall digital inclusion.

Mayers was recommended by Zurich senior leadership in part for her ability to utilize performance metrics and achievements to develop successful strategies and goals for the organization, as well as for her passion and drive to help and inspire those less fortunate.

The Missouri Department of Insurance appointed two veteran financial regulators to new positions at the start of 2014.

Leslie Nehring was appointed acting chief financial examiner for the Division of Insurance Company Regulation and John Rehagen was named acting director of the Division of Insurance Company Regulation.

Nehring began her career with the department in 2003 as a financial examiner. She left five years later for private sector experience and became the lead examiner for Regulatory Consultants Inc. in Kansas City. Nehring then returned to the department as an examiner-in-charge. She is a certified public accountant and certified financial examiner.

In his new role, Rehagen will oversee insurance company solvency regulation in Missouri. Previously, he served as the division’s deputy director and as captive program manager before holding a position as a financial examiner and financial analyst. Rehagen has been with the department since 2003 and holds a certified financial examiner designation from the Society of Financial Examiners.

Paty Daves has been appointed managing partner at Willis of Illinois. In this role, he will oversee business operations in Willis’ Chicago, Schaumburg and Moline offices as supported by a staff of more than 400 associates.

Since 2008, Daves served as managing partner, Willis of Kansas. He will be based in Chicago.

Denise Garth has joined insurance industry technology consultant Strategy Meets Action (SMA) as partner and chief digital officer. Garth will lead SMA’s newly formed Innovation Practice and launch Innovation Communities, an avenue for fostering and facilitating innovation across the insurance industry.

Garth joins SMA after five years as a member of the Innovation Group’s Global and North America leadership team where her responsibilities included strategic marketing, industry relations, partnerships, and global market strategy. Prior to this position, she held senior business and IT executive positions at ACORD, Mutual of Omaha and CUNA Mutual.