People – Southeast

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Christopher Swift was named to the additional post of chairman in a transition that occurred earlier than the insurer had initially planned. Swift, 53, replaces former CEO Liam McGee, 60, as chairman, according to a statement from The Hartford. The company said in June that McGee would serve as chairman until the 2015 shareholders’ meeting. The annual gatherings are usually held in May.

“Over the past six months, the Hartford has executed a seamless and highly successful leadership transition,” Thomas A. Renyi, independent presiding director for Hartford, said in the statement. “This is the optimal governance structure for the organization to continue to deliver against its business strategy.”

McGee, a former Bank of America Corp. executive who took over as CEO of Hartford in 2009, stepped down from that post in June after a medical procedure related to a brain tumor.

Kitty Ambers has been promoted to chief executive officer of the Network of Vertafore Users (NetVU). Ambers’ responsibilities as CEO include directing NetVU operations; communicating with the executive committee, board of directors, staff and Vertafore management; and acting as a contact for NetVU within the insurance industry. NetVU members are users of Vertafore’s technology.

Ambers joined NetVU as chief staff executive in September 2013. In her 30 years in the insurance industry, Ambers has worked as an independent consultant and educator, served as executive director of the AIMS Society, and was director of member services for the Professional Insurance Agents of Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Wholesale broker AmWINS Group Inc. has launched a fifth division, AmWINS Access, dedicated to small account binding authority business. In conjunction with the launch of this new division, offices of Gresham & Associates and Bliss & Glennon – which were acquired by AmWINS in December 2012 and December 2013, respectively – will officially be rebranded to either AmWINS Access or AmWINS Brokerage, the firm’s property/casualty brokerage division.

The new division will be led by Bob Abramson, executive director; Ben Sloop, president; and Tony Gresham, chief operating officer. Also in key leadership roles will be Corinne Jones, executive vice president, Operations and Jackie Marler, executive vice president, Underwriting.

AmWINS Access is comprised of teams writing small accounts – most of which typically fit into binding authorities. There are currently 21 offices with dedicated binding authority teams. The operations combining to form AmWINS Access collectively place 90,000 accounts annually with less than $10,000 in premium, totaling nearly $300 million in premium, according to the firm.

JLT Re (North America) has appointed Judy Benson as senior vice president. She will be part of the Southeast region led by David Johnson and JJ Johnson. JLT Re said she will focus on account management and new business development. Benson has worked with John P. Woods & Co., Gallagher Re and Axiom Re Inc. She has experience in public entity, workers’ compensation and medical malpractice business. In addition, Benson has knowledge of complex alternative risk self-insurance pools, captives and risk retention groups.

Florida-based American Professional Liability Underwriters Inc. (AmPro) has added Gary Smid as a senior broker to its new office opening in Tampa. Smid has 18 years of insurance underwriting experience, including eight years as a professional liability underwriter with Lexington Insurance Co. and six years with Travelers. AmPro has offices in Miami and Sebastian and operates exclusively as a wholesale broker of professional liability insurance. It is a division of managing general agency, Gabor Insurance Services, Inc.

Gulfstream Property and Casualty Insurance Co., a regional property carrier providing homeowners, renters, condominium and fire coverage in five states, has appointed industry veteran Douglas W. Reynolds as president and chief executive officer. Reynolds takes the helm from Kerry Ford, Gulfstream’s vice president of underwriting, who has been serving as interim president.

During his career, Reynolds has served in executive roles at Exigen Capital, ACE Group, Horace Mann Educators Corp., AIG and Allstate Insurance Co. He was senior vice president of independent agent markets for Allstate. At Horace Mann, Reynolds was responsible for countrywide business. He later joined ACE Group as president for international personal lines and small/medium enterprises, and most recently was a partner at Exigen Capital, responsible for developing the group’s insurance practice.

Gulfstream, which was first licensed in Florida in 2004, writes in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas in addition to Florida. Gulfstream is backed by its affiliate company, Seibels.

Mitch Sattler, the previous CEO, is now with another Florida insurer, Anchor Property and Casualty, which became licensed last October.

Topics Florida