Business Moves

Chartwell Independent Insurance Brokers

Chartwell Independent Insurance Brokers LLC, a wholesale and specialty insurance broker focusing on high-risk, hard-to-place coverage, added an Excess and Surplus (E&S) Casualty Division to its Scottsdale, Ariz., office.

The Chartwell E&S Casualty Division will consist of Senior Vice President Colin Rice, Vice President Chad Krumbach and an account support team. The team will have national reach, but local focus in the West and Southwest, and provide retail clients with casualty offerings, including general liability, product liability, professional liability, miscellaneous errors and omissions (E&O), as well as other casualty coverages.

Rice has seven years of retail and wholesale brokerage experience. Prior to Chartwell, Rice held positions at AmWINS Brokerage of Arizona, where he served as a construction specialist; Swett & Crawford; and Aon’s Auto Insurance Specialists.

Krumbach has 10 years of experience in the insurance industry, serving in various positions which include wholesale broker, commercial underwriting specialist, and claims adjuster. Prior to Chartwell, Krumbach held positions at AmWINS Brokerage of Arizona and Allied Insurance.

Preferred Employers

San Diego-based Preferred Employers Insurance Co., which specializes in workers’ compensation insurance for small employers in California, created a medical provider network. The network, Preferred Select MPN, is comprised of a select number of medical providers specializing in occupational injuries and will become effective May 1, 2008.

“Our goal is to provide injured workers with access to quality care through medical providers that we know are experienced in the occupational field,” said Rosemary Favier, senior vice president of Claims for Preferred Employers.

Preferred Employers said it believes that identifying and working directly with experienced doctors, having nurses work with the injured workers to help them understand the medical process, utilizing the services of well trained adjusters and providing a 24-hour “hotline” for customer claim reporting creates a positive situation for policyholders and injured workers.

Western Insurance Agents Association, MexiPass Global Assurance

The Western Insurance Agents Association has engaged in a partnership with MexiPass Global Assurance, a Mexican insurance providers. MexiPass programs are underwritten by AIG-Mexico to introduce a new opportunity “that will help its member community to prosper,” according to WIAA Executive Vice President Ken Nigohosian.

Founded in 1989, MexiPass is a managing general agent for the placement of insurance in Mexico and risk management programs servicing the needs of clients of the independent insurance agent and broker.

Cochrane & Co.

Spokane, Wash.-based Cochrane & Co., a managing general agency, has opened a Southern California branch in Brea, Calif. Cochrane & Company is a regional, multi-line wholesale broker offering specialty and surplus lines since 1960.

Topics Mexico