This week’s moves include a new claims leadership role at Lockton, a finance overhaul at Falvey as it takes on its own carrier, and appointments in E&S casualty, government affairs, agency network governance and aviation law.
CM Vantage has appointed Amy Finnegan (pictured, left) as managing director, casualty. She will lead the company’s casualty underwriting strategy and drive profitable growth while working closely with wholesale brokers across the country.
Finnegan has more than 20 years of experience in insurance, including leadership roles in underwriting, distribution and portfolio management. CM Vantage works with selected wholesale brokers and general agents to provide casualty and property cover for unusual and hard-to-place risks.
“Relationships matter in the E&S business,” said Mark Morrison, vice president and chief underwriting officer. He said Finnegan understands what brokers need and how to handle complex risks.
Finnegan said she was attracted by CM Vantage’s people, underwriting discipline and focus on responding quickly to brokers.
Excess and surplus casualty remains one of the firmest parts of the market. Wholesalers placing hard-to-place liability risks gain another experienced contact focused on service and responsiveness.
Lockton has appointed Russell Smith (pictured, center) as US property and casualty claims leader, a role designed to bring the broker’s claims and loss control teams more closely together.
Smith will connect Lockton’s claims and loss control capabilities across casualty, property, environmental, product recall and related lines. He will work with leaders across the firm to strengthen claims and loss control advocacy, build technical capability and carrier relationships, and support clients with complex claims.
Lockton said that as economic and market conditions become more complex, how organizations manage claims can have a lasting effect on outcomes, insurance costs and business strategy.
“This role reflects Lockton’s commitment to building an even stronger, more connected claims and loss control organization,” said Vince Gaffigan, Lockton’s US casualty and market strategy leader. He said Smith understands how claims and loss control can become an even greater strategic differentiator for clients.
Brett Gillmon, Lockton’s US property leader, said Smith has a proven track record of building strong claims organizations.
With casualty losses rising and claims disputes becoming more technical, large brokers increasingly see claims advocacy as a way to stand out. Linking claims with loss control also means lessons from past losses can shape risk management before the next renewal, which can affect both claims outcomes and pricing.
Corgi has appointed Morgan Bevin (pictured, right) as vice president and public affairs officer to help lead its government affairs work across insurance, financial services and emerging technology.
Bevin joins from Sternhell Group, where she advised financial services and technology clients on government relations. She previously worked at consultancy Wachsman, served as a professional staff member on the House Committee on Financial Services, where she helped lead its financial technology agenda, and was a financial services policy fellow for Representative French Hill.
Jeremy Eisemann, Corgi’s chief external affairs officer and deputy general counsel, said Bevin’s experience across government, financial services and technology would help Corgi work with policymakers and industry stakeholders.
This is Corgi’s fourth senior hire in recent weeks, following its heads of pricing, trucking underwriting and North American underwriting. A dedicated government affairs specialist suggests Corgi expects closer regulatory attention as AI underwriting becomes more widespread.
Falvey Insurance Group has made a series of appointments across its finance leadership, its cargo underwriting team and its board.
Rob Bell has joined as chief financial officer, starting on October 19. He has more than 25 years of experience in property and casualty insurance finance. Most recently he was CFO of PMA Companies, and before that he worked at Travelers, where he led finance for a division that included inland and ocean marine.
Mike Edwards, who joined Falvey in 2000 and has been CFO since 2003, becomes chief investment officer, overseeing the company’s investments. Julie Hencler, who has helped lead Falvey’s finance operations since 2005, is promoted to executive vice president, group finance, and will run day-to-day financial operations.
On the underwriting side, Falvey has added Max Reilly and Dylan Edelson as assistant vice presidents for cargo underwriting. Both bring cargo and marine underwriting experience from global insurers, and will work directly with Falvey’s carrier partners and brokers on complex and fast-moving risks. Kristy Furrer, a senior vice president at Woodruff Sawyer, a Gallagher company, joined Falvey’s board earlier this year.
“Mike has led our finances for more than two decades, and there’s no one I trust more with our investments,” said Jack Falvey, chief executive. He said the new cargo underwriters would add experienced talent “which our brokers will notice.”
The changes come weeks after Falvey agreed to buy Providence Washington Insurance Company, an admitted carrier based in Rhode Island, from Everspan. Creating a dedicated chief investment officer role and hiring a CFO with carrier experience suggest Falvey is preparing to manage a risk-bearing balance sheet. For marine and cargo brokers, that could eventually mean access to Falvey’s own paper alongside the capacity it already places with partner carriers.
Vantage Insurance Partners has appointed Mike Evans, chief executive of Pinnacle Risk Services, to its board. Evans was a founding member of the company that became Vantage in 2019.
As CEO of Pinnacle, Evans has led significant market expansion, with a focus on specialist insurance expertise and risk advice for middle-market businesses. Vantage said his appointment strengthens the link between its board and the agency leaders in its network, and will help with priorities including organic growth, unified operations, talent development and centralized technology and data.
Jack Butcher, Vantage’s chairman and CEO, described Evans as a “principled, trusted and credible ‘one team’ proponent.”
Vantage’s model lets partner agencies keep their independence, local identity and client relationships while sharing national resources. Putting a partner agency’s CEO on the board shows a commitment to keeping members involved in decisions as the platform centralizes more of its operations.
Clyde & Co has hired two aviation partners. Dave Pflieger, based in Atlanta, San Francisco and Washington, DC, has more than 30 years of legal, commercial, operational and aviation safety experience. He was a founding officer of Virgin America, where he served as general counsel, and has been chief executive of Silver Airways, Hawaii Island Air, Ravn Air Group and Flybe. He also led the turnaround and rebranding of Air Pacific into Fiji Airways, and has worked at Delta Air Lines as operations attorney and director of flight safety.
In Hong Kong, the firm has hired Tannie Kwong from Cathay Pacific, where he was senior legal counsel and later head of customer support, leading a team of more than 250 people handling passenger claims and complaints.
This is Clyde & Co’s third notable US hire in recent weeks. Aviation brokers and their airline and aviation clients gain access to a lawyer who has run airlines and worked with US regulators, which is useful for incidents, investigations and regulatory issues.
