People – West

Salt Lake City, Utah-based The Buckner Co. has named Robert F. Atwell as the firm’s healthcare practice leader.

Atwell’s primary focus will be on serving the region’s healthcare community.

Atwell has 40 years of experience in underwriting, risk and claims management and risk evaluation.

The Buckner Co. has six offices throughout the West.

Woodruff-Sawyer & Co. has named Ron Guerena senior account executive and vice president in the firm’s Southern California property/casualty practice.

Guerena will work on building the practice’s client base. His focus will be on larger complex clients.

Prior to Woodruff-Sawyer, Guerena was senior vice president at Marsh. He has experience in underwriting, insurance brokerage and risk management.

San Francisco, Calif.-based Woodruff-Sawyer is an active partner of Assurex Global and International Benefits Network. The firm has offices throughout California, and in Portland, Ore., and Denver, Colo.

Heather Garbers, a voluntary benefits executive with Leavitt Group’s Salt Lake City office, GBS Benefits Inc., was named to the Voluntary Benefits Association’s advisory board.

Garbers is a voluntary plan expert and works in partnership with a team of health care consultants to enhance existing clients’ benefit packages.

Garbers’ experience with voluntary benefits includes product strategy, carrier selection, enrollment and administration.

The Voluntary Benefits Association is a national nonprofit trade association focused on voluntary benefits for employer groups and affinity groups.

GBS Benefits is part of the Leavitt Group, which provides employee benefits solutions, property/casualty insurance, risk management and other services.

State Compensation Insurance Fund has appointed Peter Guastamachio as its chief financial officer.

Guastamachio had been acting CFO since November 2013, and also serves as chief investment officer.

As CFO, Guastamachio will direct all of State Fund’s financial policies, including financial forecasting, accounting, budgeting and tax reporting.

Guastamachio joined State Fund in 2009 as State Fund’s chief investment officer.

He has more than 30 years of experience in the financial world having served as vice president-assistant portfolio manager for Bank of West and he’s held a variety of positions with Argonaut Insurance. Guastamachio sits on the board of directors for the California Insurance Guarantee Association.

State Fund is California’s largest provider of workers’ compensation insurance.

Walnut Creek, Calif.-based CSAA Insurance Group, a AAA Insurer, has named Greg Meyer chief operating officer.

Meyer most recently served as the senior personal lines executive at Tower Group and president of its reciprocal exchanges.

Prior to Tower, Meyer was chief underwriting and product officer at Fireman’s Fund personal insurance division. He has worked for Zurich North America, Allstate and Progressive.

CSAA Insurance Group offers automobile, homeowners and other personal lines of insurance to AAA members through partnerships with AAA clubs in 23 states and the District of Columbia.

Reno, Nev.-based Employers has named Kimberly K. Hulse vice president of regional sales for its Western region.

Hulse will be based out of Employers’ headquarters in Reno, Nev.

She will work under the direction of the senior vice president and chief sales officer, and focus on business opportunities that are consistent with Employers’ underwriting and financial objectives in the Western region.

Hulse has worked for more than 25 years in the insurance industry. She has experience in sales and agency management. She comes from Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. Prior to that, she held various positions in the industry.

Employers Holdings Inc. is a holding company with subsidiaries that are specialty providers of workers’ comp insurance and services focused on select small businesses engaged in low-to-medium hazard industries.

Insurance is offered by Employers Insurance Company of Nevada, Employers Compensation Insurance Co., Employers Preferred Insurance Co. and Employers Assurance Co.

Burns & Wilcox added Kathy Quick, Taylor Armitage and Amy Holt to its growing Los Angeles, Calif., office.

Quick was named senior underwriter in personal insurance. Quick is responsible for driving increased coverage for high net worth and high value clients through Burns & Wilcox’s valued retail brokers across greater L.A.

Quick has more than 15 years of personal insurance experience and was most recently chief operating officer of Gaspar Insurance.

Armitage was named a commercial insurance underwriter. Armitage will contribute to driving commercial property/casualty insurance growth for the company.

Previously, Armitage was an account marketing executive at Momentous Insurance Brokerage.

Holt was named a commercial insurance underwriter and will be tasked with leading growth in the company’s commercial property/casualty insurance business.

Prior to Burns & Wilcox, Holt was an underwriter for Bass Underwriters.

Farmington Hills, Mich.-based Burns & Wilcox is an independent wholesale broker and managing underwriter.

Edgewood Partners Insurance Center has named David Wiesner managing principle and regional director in EPIC’s employee benefits consulting division.

Wiesner will focus on growing EPIC’s employee benefits consulting business in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. He will be based in San Francisco and will report locally to John Connell, EPIC’s president of employee benefits of California.

Wiesner has 25 years of experience in strategic market planning, sales organizational leadership, new product/service development and health and welfare plan consulting.

Prior to EPIC, Wiesner was with Mercer Health & Benefits, most recently as a principal in the firm’s San Francisco Health & Benefits unit.

His responsibilities included managing the strategic and financial requirements of health and welfare programs for clients to help them to achieve their business objectives.

Prior to that Wiesner held senior positions at Gallagher Benefit Services and Keenan and Associates.

EPIC focuses on commercial property/casualty, employee benefits, unique specialty program insurance, and private client services.

Stone Creek Insurance Agency in Lafayette, Calif., has hired Mia Pickens and George Lazar to help increase personal lines revenue and service.

Pickens will serve as the personal lines account manager. Her main role will be to re-quote and maintain the rapport with the firm’s high-value personal lines clients.

Pickens came from Allstate and prior to that she was with Schroder Insurance in Walnut Creek.

Lazar will also be a personal lines producer.

Lazar came from AAA, where he was a producer. He also has a background as a real estate agent.

Stone Creek offers commercial, personal and health and life insurance.

Topics California