Business Moves

ABD Insurance & Financial Services Expands in San Diego County

ABD Insurance and Financial Services, a provider of global risk management and employee benefits solutions, is expanding in San Diego County by opening new offices in Carlsbad, Calif. Already established in the greater San Diego area with clients in industries such as technology, manufacturing, construction and the public sector, ABD has moved into the Pacific Ridge Corporate Center, 5780 Fleet Street, in Carlsbad.

ABD’s San Diego County team is headed by Andrew Skillen, Sr. VP, Employee Benefits Services. He brings more than 21 years experience in employee benefit consulting and broker services and is versed in areas of benefit design, technical underwriting, sales management and third-party administration. Account Director Mark Coulombe and his team of insurance professionals offer a range of services, helping clients evaluate employee benefits and insurance products.

The initial focus of the expanded operation is employee benefits. Other core services include property/casualty, D&O compliance services, retirement consulting and risk management capabilities.

ABD has an official endorsement from the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and is backed by the ABD Technology Services Group, which is a leading broker/consultant serving the Technology and Life Sciences communities. ABD has specialized in working with startups as well as the technology industry.

Quirk & Co. Opens Pacific Northwest Branch in Washington

Quirk & Co. has opened a Pacific Northwest branch, with the addition of Robert Hope as senior vice president, and Merry Palmer as senior account executive. The office will be on Bainbridge Island, Wash. Hope and Palmer each have more than 25 years of specialty/surplus lines experience.

In the initial stages, Palmer will focus on professional lines, and Hope will work with all lines.

Quirk & Co., based in San Antonio, Texas, is a full-service, family owned, MGA/Surplus Lines Wholesaler, currently celebrating 75 years in the industry.

For more information, contact Robert Hope at (800) 299-9421, ext. 149 or bhope@quirkco.com; and Merry Palmer at (800) 299-9421, ext. 150 or mpalmer @quirkco.com.

Goltra & Associates Insurance Brokers Joins United Agencies

Thomas E. Hays, chairman of Pasadena, Calif.-based United Agencies, has announced that Goltra and Associates of Irvine, Calif., has joined the United Agencies group.

Steffen Goltra will remain as president with Joseph M. Jones as vice president. Goltra, founder, began his insurance career in 1974 as a Farmers Insurance agent. After six years, he moved over to Pacific Insurance Agency in Costa Mesa, Calif., where he was a producer. His next stop was in 1985, when he established a branch office in Irvine for Westland Insurance Brokers Inc., where he was responsible for new business and managing the office. Since then, he has assumed all previous roles including president of Goltra and Associates.

Goltra explained that joining the United Agencies group gives him purchasing power usually reserved for larger, national brokerage firms. Steffen says he “appreciates the ability to remain independent yet have the back office support of a larger organization.”

Jones recently accepted the position of vice president and will work closely with Goltra in establishing an even larger presence for the firm. Jones began his insurance career in 2001 as an agent/broker for Federated Insurance Co. After almost four years, he moved onto a similar producer position at Complete Insurance in Irvine before joining Goltra at Goltra and Associates.

According to Jones, “the resources, the markets and the support is all here, which gives us the opportunity to do what we do best–sell insurance.”

The Noble Group Teams with Thoits Insurance

Bill Fairbrother and Ali Fairbrother-Gatt, both of The Noble Group, joined Thoits Insurance on Sept. 1 as vice presidents serving business clients’ workers’ compensation and property/casualty insurance needs.

Fairbrother is the former CEO of The Noble Group, an agency which focused on food-related insurance, with one of the largest books of independent grocery stores in Northern California. Fairbrother served six years in the Air Force, and then joined Continental Insurance to begin his insurance career. He stayed with Continental until 1976, when he left to become an insurance broker. Fairbrother is recognized as an expert in the grocery store insurance arena.

As senior vice president for The Noble Group, Fairbrother-Gatt was in charge of sales and marketing. A workers’ compensation specialist, her 10 years of insurance industry experience started at Republic Indemnity, where she was a senior claims examiner and litigation specialist.

Thoits Insurance claims to be one of the country’s largest 100 percent employee-owned insurance brokerages, servicing more than $150 million in property/casualty, workers’ compensation and employee benefit plan premiums.

Zurich Opens Denver Office Zurich, one of the nation’s largest property/casualty insurance companies, is opening a casualty underwriting office in Denver to strengthen local focus on Colorado and the Southwestern United States.

The new office will serve the casualty insurance coverage needs of customers in Denver, Phoenix, Albuquerque and other key Southwestern cities, according to Peter Romano, vice president of Zurich’s Global Corporate Casualty division in North America. Romano will head the office.

“By demonstrating a stronger local presence, we will be able to show customers that Zurich has the ability to quickly respond to their needs,” Romano said. “We will demonstrate that we are committed to this business and to the region on a long-term basis.”

Romano said the Denver facility will have the authority to make decisions for customers and brokers at the local level.

“In and around Denver, the business culture is one in which customers value interactions with a carrier that is accessible and that has the authority to make quick, local decisions,” Romano said. “The opening of this office gives us the ability to better serve our growing customer base.”

Burns & Wilcox of San Francisco Moves

Burns and Wilcox/Rathbone, King and Seeley Insurance Services, a national specialty insurance wholesaler, underwriter and managing general agency, has moved its San Francisco office. Vice President, Branch Manager Harvey Goldenberg said the expansion represents the company’s continuing growth strategy.

Burns & Wilcox Wilcox/Rathbone, King & Seeley Insurance Services – San Francisco is located at 100 Pine Street, 23rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94111-5209. Phone (415) 421-4244 or (800) 759-4855. Fax (415) 421-0620. CA License #0828615. Contact Vice President, Branch Manager Harvey Goldenberg at ext. 2206 or hwgoldenberg@burns-wilcox.com.

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