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Charlotte, N.C.-based wholesale insurance broker AmWINS Group, Inc. has named James Drinkwater president of its AmWINS Brokerage division. Drinkwater will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the division.

Prior to being promoted to this role, Drinkwater served as the division’s chief operating officer, where he worked with the company’s retail agency clients and insurance markets and led the division’s sales and marketing strategy.

Drinkwater succeeds Mark Smith who has served as president of the division since April 2005. Smith will continue to work with the company in a consulting capacity

The Main Street America Group board of directors promoted two and appointed two to officer-level positions.

The Jacksonville, Fla.-based company promoted John Thompson to vice president, operational controller and Dean Dorman to assistant vice president, actuarial. The board of directors also appointed Tim Cotton to assistant secretary, director, claims technical and Bruce Fox to assistant secretary, corporate counsel, law.

Thompson, based in the Jacksonville office, provides ongoing financial management to Main Street America’s operations and profit center managers in the areas’ profitability measurements and financial planning. He also oversees corporate planning, budget and cost control, treasury services functions, and financial systems and operations functions. Prior to joining Main Street America in 1999, Thompson spent 19 years at CIGNA Corp.

Dorman, based in the Keene, N.H. office, is responsible for the actuarial analysis and research for Main Street America’s reserving program. Additionally, he is the primary in-house resource, and interface with consultants, for the company’s commercial lines and personal lines predictive modeling initiatives. Prior to joining Main Street America in 2001, Dorman held several actuarial roles at Liberty Regional Agency Markets, Keene, N.H., including associate actuary – loss reserving and personal lines actuarial manager.

Cotton, based in Jacksonville, provides strategic direction for the corporate claim technical areas. Cotton also oversees the determination of reserves. Prior to joining Main Street America in 2003, Cotton was a claims manager at GMAC Personal Lines Insurance in both its Jacksonville, Fla., and Detroit, Mich., operations.

Fox, based in Jacksonville, provides legal advice to all company personnel. He is accountable for obtaining state licenses for Main Street America’s companies. Prior to joining Main Street America in 2003, Fox was director of legal services for the contract negotiation and benchmarking services division of AMR Research Inc., Boston, Mass.

Lloyd’s announced the appointment of LoriAnn Lowery as its new president for North America. Lowery, who will be based in New York, will be responsible for all business operations across the U.S. and Canada including business development and distribution, communications and marketing. She reports to Sue Langley, director for Market Operations and North America.

Lloyd’s new North American president, who takes over from Wendy Baker, has over 20 years experience in the insurance industry. She most recently served as managing director and national practice leader for risk management and financial products for Wells Fargo Insurance Services. She has previously held positions at Marsh & McLennan, Sedgwick and Intercontinental Brokerage.

Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell has named Daniel Dilzer and David Schoolcraft to the Connecticut Workers’ Compensation Commission.

Dilzer is a lawyer with the New Britain-based law firm Davila & Dilzer. He serves serves on the State of Connecticut’s Victim’s Compensation Commission and has served as a Commissioner of the New Britain Housing Authority, the Berlin Board of Ethics and the Berlin Charter Revision Commission.

Schoolcraft is a lawyer with the Rocky Hill-based Law Offices of Donna-Maria Lonergan. He serves as chair of the Hebron Board of Selectmen, and also serves on the board of Andover, Hebron, Marlborough Youth Services, Inc.

Dilzer and Schoolcraft will be sworn in following approval from the General Assembly’s Judiciary Committee and will serve on an interim basis, pending confirmation by the General Assembly.

The ACE Group of Cos. has appointed Damon R. Hostetter as senior vice president of ACE Recreational Marine. Hostetter will be based in Philadelphia, and will direct ACE’s marine marketing and underwriting division, part of ACE Private Risk Services, the personal lines business of ACE which provides specialty coverage for affluent individuals and families.

Hostetter has 15 years of claims, underwriting and sales experience in the marine insurance business, including a career as a Navy lieutenant. He joins ACE from Jack Martin & Associates Inc. an international marine insurance agency, where he served as chief executive officer.

The Association of Professional Insurance Women has named Rebecca C. Amoroso as its Insurance Woman of the Year. Amoroso is vice chairman and U.S. Insurance Industry Group Leader at Deloitte, where she has worked for 22 years. Her first eight years in the insurance industry were spent with American International Group and Insurance Services Office.

Vincent A. Alba, vice president of MRW Group Inc. in Huntington, New York, has been given the Barney Burns Award by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America. The award recognizes the insurance agent or broker who makes the most significant impact on fund-raising efforts for InsurPac, IIABA’s federal political action committee.

The group says contributions to the PAC have doubled during Alba’s tenure as New York’s InsurPac committee chair for the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York.

Aon Corp. has appointed Peter Breitstone, an independent agent, president and chief executive officer of its marketing affiliate to independent agents, Agency Specialty Product Network Insurance Services Inc. Breitstone joined Aon in 2006 when it purchased his environmental risk and insurance brokerage business.

Jerry Tegan, who has served as president and CEO for eight years, will now serve as ASPN chairman.

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