People

Zurich named Kevin Dunham senior vice president and global relationship leader for the western region of its Global Corporate in North America Business unit. Dunham is based in Glendale, Calif., and will manage accounts primarily in the southwest and western United States. He has more than 14 years of insurance experience, most recently with ACE Risk Management.

Safeco named Felix Huang vice president of corporate development. Huang will work with senior management on strategic planning. Huang comes to Safeco from Vulcan Capital.

Diane Kelleher also joins the company as vice president of corporate planning and analysis. Her previous experience includes positions as chief financial officer at AmericanWest Bank and senior vice president in treasury at Washington Mutual Bank.

Julie A. Rochman has been named to succeed Harvey G. Ryland as president and CEO of the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). Rochman was senior vice president of public affairs at The Glover Park Group (GPG), a Washington-based strategic communication consulting firm. She has more than 20 years of public affairs and advocacy experience representing major corporations, research and safety organizations, and issue-based coalitions.

Kyle Stevens was elected president and CEO of Western Security Surplus Insurance Brokers, a wholesale broker and managing general agency with offices in California and Texas.

Stevens has served as the chief operating officer since 2005, in which he was responsible with overseeing all offices of the company, including overall production and progress of the WSS branches. Stevens will remain in the Texas office and assume his new duties from there.

Richard Polizzi will remain chairman and oversee the growth of the organization. Georgina Polizzi, senior vice president, will continue to oversee the company human relations, IT and accounting departments.

Valiant Insurance Group Inc. named John N. DiBlanda chief financial officer and chief operating officer of its U.S. property and casualty insurance operations. Prior to joining Valiant, DiBlanda served as CFO of Delos Insurance.

G.J. Sullivan appointed Terrence Dwyer branch manager of the company’s new Northern California branch office located in Oakland. Dwyer has more than 20 years experience managing wholesale brokerage and managing general agent operations in Northern California such as Stewart Smith in San Francisco, Crump E&S in San Francisco and more recently Dwyer & Associates in Oakland.

M.J. Hall and Co. Inc. named Alvin Kim a broker in the Woodland Hills, Calif., branch office. Kim has more than 20 years experience in the insurance industry, specializing in executive and professional liability. He was most recently with Westrope.

The Denver office of Crump Insurance Services named Leslie Franz vice president of underwriting for the Managing General Agency/Binding Authority unit. Franz comes to Crump with 28 years in the insurance industry. Most recently, she was branch manager for Litchfield Special Risks.

The Denver Office also named JoAnn Harris a senior associate broker in the Commercial Brokerage Department. She has several years of experience in the wholesale excess and surplus market. She comes from American E&S, where she was a senior associate broker.

Argo Group International Holdings Ltd., an international underwriter of specialty insurance and reinsurance products, named Sam Anderson president of Argonaut Specialty, the unit of Argo Group that focuses on larger risks in its excess and surplus lines business segment.

Anderson comes to his new position from Argo Group’s Colony Insurance, where he was chief underwriting officer. He has been with Colony since 2003.

The Columbus, Ohio-based broker network Assurex Global named Mike Mack vice president, benefits practice. He will be responsible for developing relationships with benefit carriers; exploring Assurex Global-specific benefit product offerings; and supporting Assurex Global partner brokers on individual growth strategies. Mack joins Assurex Global following a 17-year career with Unum.

The Harry W. Gorst Co. based in Chatsworth, Calif., promoted Sharon Babic to commercial lines underwriter. Babic began her career in insurance in 2003 as an account technician at a retail agency in Woodland Hills, Calif. She joined Gorst in 2005 as assistant underwriter in the commercial lines department.

Manhattan Beach, Calif,-based Apollo Agencies Inc. named John Ferrel president, overseeing Kinecta’s wholly owned property and casualty subsidiary. He joined the organization as vice president in April 2007. Before joining Apollo, Ferrel served as president and assisted with the creation of World Savings Insurance Agency Inc., a subsidiary of Golden West Financial Corp.

Catlin Group Ltd., the international specialty property and casualty insurer and reinsurer, named William P. Casey managing director and senior vice president of Catlin Scottsdale, Ariz. He most recently was senior vice president of brokerage operations with Geo. F. Brown & Sons in Chicago.

The ACE European Group promoted Wayne Harrington to UK and Ireland manager for environmental risk, and Iain Harrison environmental risk underwriter.

Harrington will be responsible for strategic underwriting direction for the environmental risk business across the UK and Ireland, including product innovation and distribution development.

Harrison joined ACE from Mott MacDonald Ltd.’s environmental consultancy team, specializing primarily in contaminated land, industrial permitting and environmental impact assessment.

Topics California Agencies Excess Surplus Underwriting Insurance Wholesale Pollution Property Casualty