People

Irvine, Calif.-based Superior Access Insurance Services Inc. named Tom Crawford chairman of the board of directors. Before joining Superior Access, Crawford served as chairman, president and CEO of Crawford & Co. With more than 45 years of insurance industry experience, Crawford served as president, CEO and chairman of Prudential’s property and casualty company. In 1984, he built Southern Heritage Insurance. The company was purchased by GEICO in 1991. He is the CEO and founder of Crawford Corporate Coaching, working with senior executives across various industries.

San Francisco-based Woodruff-Sawyer & Co. named Jim McCabe a vice president, producer in the Employee Benefits practice. He has nearly 30 years of experience working in employee benefits and health care. Before joining Woodruff-Sawyer, he served as executive vice president at ABD/Wells Fargo Insurance Services.

Carolyn Polikoff also was named the new Corporate & Executive Protection (CorpEx) Practice leader. She has more than 15 years of industry experience. Prior to joining Woodruff-Sawyer, she spent 11 years as a financial institutions underwriter for directors and officers, as well as errors and omissions liability insurance.

Denver-based IMA of Colorado Inc. promoted Cathy Sims to vice president – employee benefits, and Sandy Harvath to vice president – commercial lines. IMA of Colorado is part of the IMA Financial Group Inc., a financial services company specializing in insurance, asset and risk management.

Sims leads the employee benefits division of IMA of Colorado. She has more than 20 years of industry experience including leadership roles at insurance carriers and managing employee benefit programs for large employers.

Harvath is IMA of Colorado’s commercial lines division leader. She oversees the division and works with all of IMA’s specialty practice service teams.

Los Angeles-based Farmers Insurance Group of Cos. appointed Susan Bithell vice president and chief underwriting officer.

Bithell began her career with Farmers in 1983 as an auto underwriter in the Pocatello, Calif., regional office. In 2001, she became the state executive director in Nevada, growing the company to No. 1 market share. Her most recent assignment was as vice president and state executive director of Washington State.

C.V. Starr & Co. (California) appointed Michael Garrison president and CEO. The company is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of C. V. Starr & Co. Inc. Garrison has more than 16 years of insurance industry experience and joined Starr Technical Risks Agency Inc. as a senior vice president in 2006. He was based in London to expand Starr Tech’s overseas presence. He returned to New York in 2008, and has been responsible for the Starr Tech brand overseas, including onshore and offshore energy, property, construction and terrorism.

California-based Western Security Surplus Insurance Brokers (WSS) announced changes in the personnel for the WSS Brokerage Division. In the Pasadena, Calif., office, Philip Tiomico, who has been with WSS since 2008, was promoted to broker. He will be working with Andrea Zenner and Esmeralda Temores to develop and grow a book of business.

Temores has been promoted to assistant vice president, broker development. In her new role, she will assist Richard Polizzi with brokerage product development as part of the newly formed WSS Broker Plan. In addition to assisting new brokers early in their career at WSS, she will be responsible for assessing new brokerage products.

Sandra Stampfl, who began her career with WSS in 2003 in the Northern California office, is special accounts broker, a new position within the new WSS Broker Plan, Stampfl will be re-introducing WSS to agents who are not currently working extensively with WSS and who may not be familiar with its services and products. She will work with Barbara Carey in Northern California and Polizzi in Southern California integrating this new position within WSS.

Topics California Agencies Colorado