People and Places

Applied Systems names chief marketing officer: Applied Systems, an insurance software company, announced that Ian Hoffman has joined the company’s executive team in the new role of chief marketing officer. Hoffman will be responsible for the direction of all branding, marketing and communications strategy at Applied Systems, the North American market leader in insurance agency and broker management software. He reports to Chief Executive Officer Reid French. Hoffman formerly served as senior vice president of marketing at Intergraph Corp., a global software company at the forefront of geospatial and computer-aided design software.

Zurich appoints head of product development and head of North America Railroad: Gary Hirschkron will be the head of product development for Zurich Global Life in North America, effective immediately. Hirschkron will lead the product development effort for Global Life in the North American market, as well as drive the development and maintenance of the product portfolio. He also will be involved in the profitable growth of each of Zurich Global Life's distribution pillars across North America: Farmers New World Life, Corporate Life & Pensions, Independent Financial Advisors and Private Banking. Also announced today is that Jim Dowdy will add responsibility for its railroad practice in addition to overseeing Zurich's Specialty Lines Property business and Ron Mathewson and Gary Linde as casualty underwriters supporting the Railroad business.

New president of Smart Choice Agents program: Smart Choice reported that Chris McLeod will join the organization as president of the Smart Choice^® agents program on November 16. As former vice president of professional development for the Independent Insurance Agents Association of North Carolina (IIANC), Chris brings over 40 years of hands-on industry experience to her new role. She has served in every area of the industry from personal and commercial lines sales and service, and agency management for a national brokerage firm.

Mergers and Acquisitions

CSI appoints new program manager: Consumer Specialties Insurance Co. (CSI) has appointed Ames & Gough Insurance/Risk Management Inc. (A&G) as Program Manager for its program. CSI had been working with Hanna, Kremer & Tilghman Insurance (HKT), but it was sold to another agency that decided to withdraw from the program management business. Ames & Gough will coordinate all risk selection and recruitment, serve as national broker, and issue policies for CSI. Primary objectives include serving current policyholders and seek additional participants for the CSI program.

BB&T to acquire California insurance agency: Branch, Banking and Trust Insurance Services expands its operations with the acquisition of Precept Group, an industry- leading full-service employee benefits consulting and administrative solutions firm. This acquisition adds 140 employees to BB&T Insurance Services. The new agency, which operates under the Precept Group name, will continue to manage precept consulting services and proview benefits administration services.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. acquires Trissel Graham & Toole: Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., announced that is has acquired Iowa-based Trissel Graham & Toole (TGT). Trissel Graham & Toole (TGT) offers risk management, property/casualty and employee benefit insurance services for their commercial and personal lines clients in the central US. Also, they specialize in placing coverages for the manufacturing, education, healthcare, construction, municipality, and transportation industries. According to insurance broker, Mark Schwab, Robert Karll and their staff will continue to operate in their Davenport and Sterling, Illinois locations under the direction of Thomas Gallagher, Midwest regional manager of Gallagher's retail property/casualty brokerage operation.

MMA acquires a division of Kaeding, Ernst & Co.: Marsh & McLennan Agency (MMA), a subsidiary of insurance broker Marsh Inc., has acquired the employee benefits division of Kaeding, Ernst & Co., a Marlborough, Massachusetts-based employee benefits, life insurance, and financial planning consulting firm. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The division, with approximately $600,000 in annual revenue, will become a part of Bostonian Group, a Marsh & McLennan Agency company, further expanding Bostonian’s depth and expertise in employee benefits.

New Policies

Swiss Re Corp. Solutions launches primary non-admitted product:  Swiss Re Corporate Solutions announced the launch of its primary non-admitted professional liability product for US-based law firms. The new primary non-admitted lawyers’ professional liability coverage, which is geared toward law firms with 1-150 employees, complements Swiss Re’s primary LPL product, which has been available for more than 35 years