People and Places

Bill Brennan

Mark Nash

Travis Trask

Bill Brennan, Mark Nash and Travis Trask have become principals of San Diego-based Barney & Barney.

Brennan began his career with Barney & Barney in 1996. Since then, he has focused his insurance career on the placement of large property, casualty and workers’ compensation programs for middle-market firms in California, with a particular emphasis on serving the insurance needs of the construction and skilled nursing home business sectors.

Specializing in property, liability and workers’ compensation, Trask’s experience in the industry spans six years. He will continue to focus his efforts in those areas with an emphasis in the hospitality industry and with family-owned businesses.

Nash joined Barney & Barney in 1996 and specializes in property/casualty insurance coverage for technology, biotech and emerging growth companies. He has focused on the development of innovative solutions and risk management programs that address the unique needs of growth-oriented companies.

William Stiglitz

The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America’s national board of state directors has nominated William G. Stiglitz III as the Association’s president-elect and has elected Alex Soto to be the Association’s next vice president. The Board action came during its mid-year meeting and once confirmed by Association membership, Stiglitz and Soto will assume their new offices at the 2004 Big “I” Convention in Orlando in October.

Alex Soto

Stiglitz, currently the Big “I” vice president, is an account executive with the firm of Hyland, Block & Hyland Inc., in Louisville, Ky. He was elected to the Executive Committee in October 2000. Stiglitz has been active on all levels of Big “I” member organizations during his 33-year career as an independent agent. A past president and state national director for the Independent Insurance Agents of Kentucky, Stiglitz served on the state’s board of directors and Government Affairs Committee, and as chairman of its Awards and Recognition Committee. He is a past president of the Louisville Board of Independent Insurance Agents. Nationally, he has served as planning liaison to the Executive Committee.

Soto, currently an at-large member of the Big “I” Executive Committee, is president of Miami, Fla.-based InSource Inc. He was elected to the Executive Committee in October 2001. Soto also has been active in the Big “I” nationally and in the Florida Association of Independent Agents (FAIA) during his 31-year career as an independent agent. He is a past chairman of the FAIA and also a past state national director. Nationally, he has served as chairman of the Big “I” Communications Committee, Branding Task Force and other committees.

Heffernan Insurance Brokers announced the appointment of Scott Price as a producer in its Portland, Ore., office. With production responsibilities focused on commercial accounts in the greater Northwest, Price is charged with developing new business opportunities primarily in the nonprofit and large commercial industries. Price joins Heffernan with 25 years of experience. Most recently he was vice president at JBL&K Risk Services. Prior to that, he was a commercial account executive at Sedgwick James, Portland.

The American Insurance Association (AIA) announced that Janine Gibford has been appointed as assistant vice president in the association’s Western Region, based in Sacramento. Gibford will manage AIA’s advocacy on auto and homeowners legislation and regulations in California and help oversee AIA’s state government affairs operations in the 10 western states. Prior to joining AIA, Gibford served as the senior government affairs advocate for the Association of California Insurance Companies (ACIC). In her responsibilities at ACIC, Gibford coordinated the organization’s advocacy and regulatory efforts on personal lines issues. She lobbied and testified on legislation and regulations related to homeowners and auto insurance, credit-based insurance scoring, forms and rating and the California Earthquake Authority. Gibford also served as a risk management specialist for Allstate Insurance Company, where she worked with 67 California agents to ensure that they complied with state law and regulations.

Willis E. Urick III recently joined Los Angeles-based Lockton Insurance Brokers Inc. as vice president of Lockton’s Benefits Company. His responsibilities will include strategic planning, new business development and providing employee benefits consulting support to clients. Urick has been involved in the commercial insurance industry for more than 18 years, managing regional operations for some of the nation’s leading brokerages, including Marsh & McLennan Inc. He also served as senior vice president for Health Net Inc., responsible for national product development and strategic planning.

Los Angeles-based David Morse & Associates has announced the hiring of insurance veteran Adolph Hernandez to head up its Risk Services Division. As vice president of Risk Services, he will focus on providing third party claims administration and related services to local, regional and national business in the United States as well as developing further relationships with London and Bermuda. Hernandez brings 25 years of experience in a complex claim environment. He was previously employed by Carl Warren, managing its San Bernardino branch.

Old Greenwich, Conn.-based IVANS Inc. appointed Clare DeNicola as the firm’s president and CEO. DeNicola has been with IVANS for seven years. She most recently served as senior vice president and was responsible for sales, customer service, operations and development of the company’s data networking business services. DeNicola has more than 15 years of experience in marketing, technology and business services. She assumes the CEO position from Robert Payne, who retired. Payne had served as president and CEO since November 2000. He will continue to serve as the non-executive chairman of the board.

Topics California