People

July 4, 2005

Joe Grauwiler has been named regional vice president of The Main Street America Group’s Jacksonville Region and president of its Old Dominion Insurance Co. unit. The region encompasses Main Street America’s operations in Florida and Georgia.

Kelly Stacy, senior vice president of field operations said Grauwiler’s underwriting and leadership skills are ideal for this growing region that will exceed $100 million in direct premium this year.

For the past three years, Grauwiler, a 35-year industry veteran, has been vice president of Main Street America’s commercial lines group. He joined the company in 1995 as vice president, underwriting.

Prior to joining Main Street America, for 22 years Grauwiler was with Hanover Insurance Co. At Hanover, he was vice president, commercial lines; assistant vice president, personal lines; corporate reinsurance buyer; and regional director. Grauwiler began his career at Safeco Insurance Corp. in 1971, where he spent three years in commercial lines.

Grauwiler has served the industry as a member of the ISO Commercial Lines Committee (1993-1995), Industrial Risk Insurers Board of Directors (1993-1994), Insurance Institutes Associate in Underwriting Committee (1994-2001) and Institute for Business and Home Safety Board of Directors (1997-present).

Doug Short has been named Southeast marketing representative for National Advantage Insurance Services Inc. of Tustin, Calif., responsible for Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia.

Clifford Mapes, president and CEO pointed out Short will be responsible for several southeastern states, working out of the firm’s new Atlanta marketing office. His role will be to get National’s name out there for its products. Short will help the firm evolve into a national writer.

Short has more than 40 years of insurance experience, he comes to National Advantage Insurance from International Brokerage & Surplus Lines Inc. where he was marketing director in charge of agency development. Prior to that, he worked at various carriers like Argonaut, Great American Insurance Co. and Hartford Accident and Indemnity.

Short has agency and surplus lines experience with firms like Southern Insurance Underwriters and Transportation Insurors Inc. He has worn many hats during his career-general manager, product development manager, senior marketing representative; and senior, commercial lines, large accounts underwriter. Short maintains high visibility by attending regional trade shows and has completed many educational courses and seminars to complement his education and experience.

National will especially focus on Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee providing more choices as a wholesale general agents and surplus lines broker. It will write motor truck cargo, commercial auto liability and/or physical damage, professional liability, dwelling fire, personal umbrella and commercial property. More are being added as licensing continues. Short’s office number is (800) 668-0266, mobile (404) 694-2142 or email Doug@NationalAdvantageIns.com.

The Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia appointed its slate of officers during its June 11 general meeting in Destin, Fla. Kay Wimberly, immediate past president, passed the presidential gavel to David F. Lewis, incoming president. Other officers inaugurated during the ceremony were Mike Clark, president-elect; Bernie Page, vice president; Bryan Burke, secretary-treasurer; and Jack Sherrill, state national director. Wimberly will remain a valuable member of the executive committee.

Lewis has been with Love, Douglas, and Pope Inc. in Alpharetta, Ga., for 11 years and has been in the industry more than 25 years. He will continue as on the IIAG executive committee as immediate past president through 2007. He has served on numerous IIAG committees as a member of the InsurPac Board of Trustees for the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (IIABA), the group’s national association, and has been president of the DeKalb Association of Independent Insurance Agents.

Clark is president of the Garner and Glover Co. insurance agency in Rome, Ga. He has been an active member and IIAG leader since 1994, serving on the board of directors in many capacities. Clark was president of the Coosa Valley Association of Independent Insurance Agents from 1994-1995; district director on the IIAG Board of Directors from 1999-2003, and chairman of the Regional Company Relations Committee from 2002-2003. He has served on the executive committee since 2003. Clark has been in the insurance industry for 27 years, beginning as a bond underwriter with USF&G in Memphis and steadily building his career to manager of the Fidelity Surety Department in Atlanta. He was formerly president of Cone, Shiflett & Clark in Cedartown.

Burke is president of Blount, Burke, Wimberly & Hendricks in Statesboro, Ga. He has served on IIAG’s board of directors as president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Southeast Georgia and as chairman of the Young Agents Committee. He is also a recipient of the association’s Edgar Dunlap Award for Community Service. Bryan will serve his term of one year as secretary-treasurer on the association’s Executive Committee.

Page is vice president of Copeland Insurance Agency in Albany, Ga. He has been in the insurance industry for more than 20 years and served on the association’s board of directors in many capacities including district director, director-at-large, and president of the Albany Association of Independent Insurance Agents. He is also a member of the government affairs committee.

Sherrill is president of Sherrill & Co., a Savannah insurance agency. He will serve on the executive committee through December 2007. Sherrill previously served the association as president in 2001-2002 and on the executive committee from 1998-2003. He was formerly chairman of the Agents Communications Council’s Southeast Region, chairman of the Agents of Savannah Regional Company Relations Committee, and on the agents advisory board of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Georgia.

Atlanta-based Builders Insurance Group has named Marc La Palme senior vice president, Emerging Markets, at Builders Insurance Group. La Palme will focus on the expansion of Builders’ insurance services in the Southeast, according to Bill Lohmeyer, president and CEO.

One of LaPalme’s first initiatives is to design and develop a new builders risk product Builders will introduce this fall. The product will serve the homebuilding community and other businesses throughout the Southeast.

La Palme, a member of the American Academy of Actuaries, was previously the corporate property and casualty chief actuary for Atlantic American Corp. He consulted for more than a decade with domestic and international insurance clients for Tillinghast-Towers Perrin and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Builders also announced the appointments of R. Douglas Huffman, director of Large Accounts, Sharon Thaler, director of Underwriting and Paul Wellons, manager of Field Services and Premium Accounting.

Lane Milam has joined Montgomery, Ala.-based Palomar Insurance Corp. as executive vice president of sales and marketing. His responsibilities at Palomar will include the direction and management of the Palomar sales force and marketing efforts.

Milam has 30 years of insurance industry experience. He worked with Travelers Insurance in Birmingham from 1975 to 1979 and then spent the next 26 years with Willis of Alabama and it’s predecessor companies. Millam’s most recent position with Willis was as executive vice president in charge of large commercial accounts in Alabama. Prior to that he served as president/CEO of the Birmingham and Montgomery regions.

Founded in 1954 in Montgomery, Alabama, Palomar Insurance has grown into a large and respected Southeast insurance brokerage firm offering a full range of insurance products.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia Insurance Services announced William M. Choate has joined the firm as managing director and senior vice president of Wachovia Corp.. Choate joins Wachovia Insurance Services from Marsh Inc., where he served as managing director and head of Global Risk & Insurance Services.

Choate will be responsible for the national sales team, the property/casualty resource and practice groups, the National Employee Benefits Program, the Carrier Relations team and the Bank Integration team.

Choate’s appointment was announced by Stewart McDowell, president and chief executive officer of Wachovia Insurance Services. Choate joined Johnson & Higgins, Carolinas Inc. after the firm acquired his Co. in 1982. In 1986, he transferred to the Houston operation, and became senior vice president of the Texas operation in 1990. He moved back to Charlotte and was promoted to president of Johnson & Higgins Carolinas Inc. in 1993 and was named managing principal in 1995. Following the merger between Johnson and Higgins and Marsh & McLennan in 1997, Choate was managing director and partnership leader for the Blueridge Partnership and became Southeast Region head for Marsh in 1999. His role was expanded in 2001 when Marsh named him head of the South Region. He was promoted to his previous role in 2004. Choate also served as a member of the board of directors of Marsh Inc. from 2001 until he joined Wachovia Insurance Services.

To submit information for this column e-mail dkaiser@insurancejournal.com.

Topics Agencies Georgia Underwriting Alabama Market

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Insurance Journal Magazine July 4, 2005
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