Canadian Underwriter
Feature

Moves and Views


January 1, 2016   by Canadian Underwriter


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1 AssessMed Inc., a provider of independent medical evaluation services, has welcomed Donald Kunkel [1a] as its new president, replacing Brian Sutherland. Kunkel was most recently executive vice president, for AssessMed. Also at AssessMed, Brigitte Kearney [1b] is the company’s new director of quality assurance and recruitment.

2 ACE Limited recently announced more leadership appointments in light of its acquisition of The Chubb Corporation, completed in January. Andy Hollenberg [2], most recently country (Canada) president for ACE Group, becomes regional chief operating officer. Within ACE’s business unit, Paul Johnstone, most recently senior vice president of Chubb Personal Insurance, Canada, will now lead Personal Risk Services; Ana Robic, most recently senior vice president of Chubb Commercial Insurance, Canada, will lead Commercial Insurance; and Bobbie Goldie, most recently vice president of professional risk for ACE in Canada, will head up Major Accounts. For ACE’s Professional Lines, Cameron Rose, most recently senior vice president of Chubb Specialty Insurance, Canada, will lead Professional Lines and support the Major Accounts and Commercial Insurance divisions. Steve Lucas, most recently vice president of national account marketing for ACE in Canada, will lead Marketing and Business Development.

3 CARSTAR Automotive Canada Inc., a network of independently owned collision and glass centres, has been acquired by Driven Brands Inc. of Charlotte, North Carolina, which previously acquired CARSTAR’s operations in the United States. The Canadian operation of CARSTAR will remain under the current management, with Sam Mercanti [3a], chief executive officer of CARSTAR Canada, serving as chairman and Michael Macaluso [3b] continuing as president. CARSTAR Canada’s three staff members, Larry Jefferies, Lisa Mercanti-Ladd and Dennis Concordia, have decided ”this was the right time for them personally to step aside in order to provide opportunities for the existing team to thrive,” Mercanti says.

4 Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc.’s Greg Smith [4a] and Gary Gardner [4b] have taken on new responsibilities. Smith, former senior vice president of key account management, is the company’s new senior vice president of administration, while Gardner, senior vice president of global client development, will oversee the key account management team and sales and marketing department. With 19 years of service at Crawford & Company Canada, Smith will oversee many of the claims management provider’s head office departments that support business operations across the country, including information and communication technology, human resources and administration services. Gardner, with the company for more than two decades, will use his extensive knowledge and insight of the independent adjusting and insurance industry, as well as his strong relationships with key clients, as part of his new duties.

5 Yvonne Steiner has taken on the role of Swiss Re Corporate Solutions’ head of property, Canada, succeeding Claudio Totino, who is retiring in 2016. Before joining Swiss Re in 2007, Steiner held various underwriting and global product specialist roles. She will now be based in Toronto.

6 The existing shareholders of Toronto-headquartered forensic engineering and sciences firm Giffin Koerth have bought Ron Koerth’s ownership interest in the company. The firm’s Board of Directors announced in mid-December that Koerth, the company’s co-founder and senior principal, has relinquished his role in the day-to-day management and operations of the firm, but will continue to serve as a consultant.

7 Maeve Davis [7] is bringing her 25 years of insurance experience to Insurance Search Bureau of Canada, which supplies source documents and retrieval services to the property and casualty claim industry. She will serve as ISB Canada’s new vice president of client services.

8 Tara Morissette [8] is Pario Engineering and Environmental Sciences’ new director of business development. Her experience includes working as a claims specialist and in a service management position at a national insurance services provider. In 2011, she joined SCM Insurance as business development manager for another company within the organization.

9 Arthur J. Gallagher has acquired British Columbia retail insurance broker Christie-Phoenix (Victoria) Ltd. and its affiliate Discovery Insurance Services Ltd. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Christie-Phoenix specializes in

developing tailored programs for the commercial realty sector, as well as small business insurance packages and auto, home, marine and travel coverage. For its part, Discovery offers products across similar classes of business, specializing in personal lines insurance. Chris Flint [9], managing partner of Christie Phoenix, and his associates will continue to operate in their current locations.

10 Murray Wallace [10a] and Brian Reeve [10b] have been appointed to Echelon Financial Holdings Inc.’s Board of Directors, subject to regulatory approval. Currently executive chairman of Financial Horizons Group, Wallace is a director of both the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Axia NetMedia Corporation. Reeve is partner and chair of the Corporate and Regulatory Insurance Group of Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP.

11 SCM Risk Management Services (RMS) has launched a Canadian solution for property inspection replacement cost valuations. Called rmsPrecise, the property replacement cost inspection valuation tool is designed to be responsive to the detail and customization of specific and unique features of a building captured during the inspection process, thereby helping to accurately gather the diverse characteristics on expected loss costs. The tool is imbedded in RMS’s residential inspection process.


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