People

February 25, 2007

Covington, La.-based First Premium Insurance Group Inc., a regional property and casualty insurance broker, added a new team member, Crystal DePascual.

DePascual joined First Premium’s staff as marketing representative. She has been in the insurance industry since 1991 and is experienced in all areas of personal and commercial lines.

DePascual is licensed in property/casualty insurance and recently obtained her Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR) designation. She serves on the Young Insurance Professionals Board of Directors and is the treasurer of the Northshore Insurance Professionals association.

Higginbotham & Associates hired commercial property and casualty broker Ben Reedy, an Indiana transfer, as account executive in its Austin, Texas, office.

Reedy was most recently a top-three producer nationwide for new commercial account volume at Sentry Insurance Company in Fort Wayne, Ind., where he was a business products specialist. He also led the insurer’s Indiana and Southern Michigan team in new commercial accounts. He is a licensed agent in both property/casualty and life/health insurance.

Fort Worth-based Higginbotham opened its Austin office in 2004 under the management of brokers Matt Burns and Greg Meserole.

Leigh Ann Page, vice president and partner of independent insurance brokerage firm Roach Howard Smith & Barton (RHSB) Fort Worth, was selected as a 2006 Great Women of Texas Woman of Influence by the Fort Worth Business Press, for her excellence in business.

Page has more than 25 years of experience in insurance. A former president and director-shareholder of Fort Worth-based Howard Hill Insurance, Page joined the Fort Worth office of Roach Howard Smith & Barton (RHSB) in 2004 as a vice president and shareholder.

Crump Insurance Services Inc. announced that Marc Fuhrman has joined the company as vice president-manager of National Agency Relations. Fuhrman has an extensive background in the financial services sector and high tech industry, including posts with Mainstreet Mortgage, HMS Capital, Pumatech and NetMind.

Insurance and risk management firm McQueary Henry Bowles Troy L.L.P. (MHBT) reported that Wade T. Nowlin, Jr., a partner in the firm’s Dallas office, recently received the MHBT 2006 Producer of the Year award for the third time. The award recognizes his contributions to the company’s growth and cultural foundation. To receive this honor, the recipient must be an employee at the company for at least two years, finish at the top of his or her section’s list for overall revenue and production, generate and retain significant new business for the firm and play an integral role in the firm’s culture.

Austin, Texas, independent insurance agent Vicky Lindsey was named to the national board of NorthStar, the agent advisory panel for Encompass Insurance, effective Jan. 1, 2007. NorthStar provides a forum for a select group of independent insurance agents to provide insight on the insurance industry and regional market trends. Lindsey will chair the sales committee.

Lindsey is personal account executive and personal lines manager for Brown & Brown Agency, Austin.

Encompass Insurance is the independent agency division of Allstate Insurance Company.

Insurance brokerage and risk management consulting firm Beecher Carlson has expanded its national health care practice with the appointment of Ida D. Havens as senior vice president. She will be based in Houston.

Prior to joining Beecher Carlson, Havens was employed by Aon as a managing director for health care in the Southwest, where she was responsible for the placement and servicing of hospital and physician accounts. She has also held senior positions with the health care teams of Myron F. Steves & Co., Gallagher and Marsh.

Dallas-based IMA of Texas Inc. promoted April Michaelis to the position of commercial insurance operations manager. She formerly served as administrative/operations manager. Michaelis will manage the commercial lines operations including customer service issues, renewals, workflow, new business support, training and audit responsibilities.

U.S. Risk Brokers, a subsidiary of U.S. Risk Insurance Group, promoted Tiffany Way from associate broker to broker. Located at the Austin office, Way is responsible for producing business for primary casualty, excess casualty, property and professional liability lines, and specializes in energy, manufacturing, residential and commercial contractors and heavy products, as well as owners and contractors protective liability, miscellaneous professional liability and EPLI.

She has worked with U.S. Risk Brokers for five years and has nearly 10 years of insurance industry experience in account management, underwriting and marketing. Prior to joining U.S. Risk, Way was an assistant broker at a regional Texas wholesaler in Austin and a customer service representative for a Dallas retail producer specializing in crane and scaffolding risks.

Southwest Risk announced the addition of Jimmy Debenport to the brokerage team in its Houston, Texas, office. Debenport specializes in brokerage of primary and excess casualty placements, with specific expertise in construction and manufacturing classes.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe appointed Chandra Hicks as the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission’s newest administrative law judge. The AWCC administrates the state’s workers’ compensation law.

Since March 2004, Hicks has served as staff attorney to the chairman of the Workers’ Compensation Commission conducting research. Previously, she was a hearing officer with the Arkansas Appeal Tribunal, conducting hearings and adjudicating claims for unemployment insurance benefits.

To submit information for “People” e-mail sjones@insurancejournal.com.

Topics USA Texas Agencies Workers' Compensation Property Market Property Casualty Arkansas Casualty

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