Moves and Views

1 Gore Mutual Insurance Company of Cambridge, Ontario recently announced its president and chief executive officer, Kevin McNeil [1a], will retire June 30. Effective February 17, Heidi Sevcik [1b], former vice president of claims, became Gore Mutual’s new chief operating officer, reporting to McNeil. Sevcik will take on duties as president and CEO July 1. Sevcik, who has led Gore Mutual’s claims, personal insurance and commercial insurance underwriting operations, has been in the insurance industry since 1979.

2 Cunningham Lindsey Canada Claims Services Ltd. recently promoted Mike Alwyn [2] to the position of vice president of major loss services. Alwyn had been assistant vice president of Cunningham Lindsey Canada’s commercial risk division (CRD) and specialty services. Cunningham Lindsey Canada is rebranding its CRD division to major loss services, “to more closely align itself with other Cunningham Lindsey major and complex loss adjusting teams,” the company reports.

3 Ingenie Services Ltd. plans to launch its auto telematics product in Canada and has agreed to have its majority shareholder, Quindell Portfolio plc, buy the remaining shares of ingenie that Quindell does not already own. Last year, England-based Quindell acquired Toronto-based Iter8 Inc., which provides software-as-a-service for property and casualty brokers and agents. Quindell, whose products include claims management outsourcing, owns 57% of the issued shares of London, England-based ingenie, which targets 17- to 25-year-olds with its telematics-based auto insurance. “Quindell exercising its option will also allow ingenie to rapidly pursue its strategy for international growth, starting with the launch of an ingenie young driver product in Canada,” notes a statement from the company. Quindell agreed in 2013 to partner with Independent Broker Resources Inc. (IBRI), which is owned by the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario.

4 In early February, RSA Insurance Group plc named Stephen Hester [4] as its new chief executive officer. Martin Scicluna, chairman of London-based RSA, had been acting in an executive capacity pending the appointment of a new chief executive. Scicluna will revert to non-executive chairman. Hester, most recently CEO of the Royal Bank of Scotland, has also served as chief executive for The British Land Company plc and as chief operating officer and finance director of Abbey National plc. In addition, he has held senior roles at Credit Suisse First Boston.

5 Specialized Property Evaluation Control Services (SPECS) Ltd. announced in February that Andrew Ross [5] had been appointed as the new chief operating officer. For eight years, Ross was with the Vancouver branch of Edmonton-based SPECS, a construction consulting firm that provides services to insurance and property management firms, as well as to private and public institutions. Ross has worked in the insurance industry for more than two decades, including five years as a project manager with a national restoration firm, notes a statement from SPECS. 

6 The Centre for Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO) announced January 29 that Intact Insurance has obtained CSIO Certification for its electronic documentation solution. CSIO Certification is available to member insurance companies and vendors. With its data exchange standards, CSIO seeks to help solve data compatibility issues, facilitate more efficient and seamless integration of information and improve implementation of technology solutions.

7 DAS Legal Protection Insurance Company Ltd. has appointed David Smagata [7] as its vice president and chief legal officer. Before joining Toronto-based DAS Canada, Smagata had been assistant vice president of legal services for Aviva Canada. He has also worked for litigation law firm McCague Borlack LLP, and for TD Insurance, notes his LinkedIn profile.

8 Sutton Special Risk Inc. of Toronto has appointed Ben Wiggins [8] assistant vice president, contingency and sports in early February. As an experienced specialty underwriter from Lloyds, London, Wiggins has a strong background in underwriting a variety of classes in territories around the world, such as North America, the United Kingdom, Australia and Europe, notes a company press release. “In his new role, Ben will be responsible for further developing Sutton’s Contingency and Amateur Sports blocks through established global networks, as well as providing local senior underwriting support,” the statement adds.

9 FirstOnSite Restoration reported in early February that Bill Moorman had joined the company as senior vice president, Central Region. Jason Prescott, already with FirstOnSite, has been appointed as director of operations, Central Region. Prescott previously served as district general manager (DGM) for Northern Ontario and Eastern Ontario, and acting DGM for the Greater Toronto Area.

10 Saint John, New Brunswick-based Mariner Innovations, an information technology service firm that is expanding into the property and casualty insurance industry, has hired two former executives of OARBIC Inc. Former OARBIC president Peter Symons [10] is now vice president of insurance at Mariner Innovations. Roula Partheniou, previously OARBIC’s vice president of operations, is now delivery and relationship manager with Mariner Innovations. Symons has worked in p&c for more than 25 years, and while at OARBIC, his duties included overseeing operations and executing project audits. Partheniou had managed OARBIC’s consultant relationships, and developed and managed OARBIC’s internal processes, finance and administration.

11 Dane Hambrook [11a] is the new managing director of Ironshore Canada Ltd. and Stephen Stewart [11b] is the new managing director of the Canadian Branch of Ironshore Insurance Ltd. Both Hambrook and Stewart will report to David Frediani, president of Hamilton, Bermuda-based Ironshore International. Ironshore Canada is its managing general agent business in Canada. The Canadian branch was established “to complement distribution capabilities and reinforce its regional market commitment,” notes a company statement. “Ironshore’s duel approach allows Ironshore Canada to underwrite complex corporate risks that address the insurance coverage needs for various industry classes.”