People – South Central

State Auto’s Western Region added Bob McCarty as underwriting manager for the Central/South Texas area. He is based in Austin.

McCarty has 30 years of insurance and management experience. He began his career in insurance after retiring from the U.S. Marine Corps with rank of lieutenant colonel.

Following his service at Fireman’s Fund, which began in 1986, McCarty held management positions at American RE, AIG, ACE and CNA.

Rob W. Eppers, co-owner and chief operating officer of Risk Services of Louisiana, has been elected chair of the Agent Advisory Committee at the policyholder-owned medical professional liability insurer, LAMMICO.

Eppers joined Risk Services of Louisiana as senior marketing manager in 2010. He has served as the agency’s co-owner and chief operating officer since 2014.

Eppers’ areas of expertise include shared and layered property placements, professional liability, liability pool placements and flood placements for industries including healthcare, petroleum, wholesale, manufacturing, public entity transportation and technology.

LAMMICO provides comprehensive medical professional and general liability coverage.

Risk Services of Louisiana is part of Leavitt Group.

The Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLSOT) appointed Maegan DiLoreto as communications and training coordinator.

DiLoreto previously worked as a copy editor and page designer for newspapers in both Alabama and Texas. She began as a copy editor at The Tuscaloosa News in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, before moving to Austin to join the GateHouse Media Center for News & Design, where she was responsible for designing and editing newspaper pages for publications distributed throughout the United States.

Gary J. Gruber has been promoted to president and chief operating officer of Great American Insurance Co., effective Jan. 1, 2017. Gruber will become the 17th president in Great American’s 145-year history, assuming this title from Donald D. Larson, who will retire effective March 10, 2017, after more than 43 years of service to the company.

Larson has held the position of president and chief operating officer for the past seven years, and was the senior reporting officer within Great American’s P&C Group for the past 18 years.

Gruber has served as executive vice president for the Great American Property and Casualty Insurance Group since 2010. He currently serves as a member of Great American’s board of directors and served on the board of directors of National Interstate Corp., prior to its merger with Great American Insurance Co. last year.

Gruber began his career with Great American Insurance Co. in 1977, and served in both financial and operational roles within the organization. He held various positions including vice president of accounting, controller, and senior vice president and treasurer. In 1995, Gruber moved into an operational reporting officer role.

Insurance broker and consultant NFP appointed Suzanne Spradley senior vice president, associate general counsel and chief compliance officer, and Chase Cannon vice president, deputy chief compliance officer of benefits compliance. Both are based in Austin, Texas.

Spradley will be responsible for overseeing the compliance and regulatory aspects of NFP’s insurance and corporate governance initiatives.

During her nine-year tenure with NFP, Spradley has spearheaded the company’s strategic direction for insurance regulatory compliance, successfully building and leading the benefits compliance team and centralized licensing department.

Cannon, who has been with NFP for six years, will be responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the benefits compliance team and contributing to the overall success of NFP’s compliance department and capabilities.

New York-based NFP provides employee benefits, property/casualty, retirement and individual private client products and services.

Global insurance brokerage Hub International Limited (HUB) named Michael S. Chapman, currently chief executive officer of Hub International Southeast, as president of Hub’s newly formed U.S. South region, which encompasses Hub’s existing Carolinas, Florida, Puerto Rico and Gulf South operations, including Louisiana.

Chapman has served as CEO of Hub Southeast since 2013. He previously served as the chief sales officer of Hub International New England, based in Wilmington, Mass.

Chapman holds Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Accredited Advisor in Insurance (AAI), and Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designations.

Topics USA Texas Louisiana