People & Places

Applied Systems hires two: David H.Whitley and Kristin L. Hackney joinedAppliedSystems as senior vice president of development, and seniorvice president of services, respectively. Whitley comes to thecompany with 20 years of experience in software productdevelopment. Hackney has more than 17 years of experience insoftware services and development.

Three commercial brokers join Appalachian:AppalachianUnderwriters hired three commercial brokers. Shane Holden joined thecompany with 20 years of insurance and risk management experience.Charlotte AdamsFinver has been hired as with more than 25 years of experiencein professional liability. Dale Borer comes to the agencywith more than 30 years served in the industry.

Frank Crystal appoints senior managing director: ToddYomtov has been named senior managing director of Frank Crystal'sCommercial Insurance Services department in Houston. He comes tothe company from NII Brokerage, where he served as principal andCOO.

Colo. Casualty names president: Colorado Casualty, a Liberty Mutual AgencyCorp. regional company, promoted Lucas J.Bills to president and CEO. He joined the company in 2009as regional vice president for the Denver region. He replacesMarvin K. Braxton, who was appointed president andCEO of IndianaInsurance, another Liberty Mutual regional company.

Cavanagh named Willis CEO: John Cavanagh has been named CEO of Willis Re, thereinsurance broking arm of Willis Group. He succeeds SteveHearn, who was appointed chairman and CEO of WillisGlobal. In his new role, Cavanagh joins Peter Hearn, Chairman, andPaddy Jago, president, on the Willis Re executiveteam.

New board member at InVEST: JeremyChasley has joined the national board of InVEST. Chaseleyserves as the assistant vice president, producer and productdevelopment at CNA.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Advisen posts M&A activity: Advisen ranks 160 firms during 2011 as havingone appearance in its monthly MAINsheet column, which notesmergers & acquisitions. Twenty firms made three or moreMAINsheet appearances:Hub (33),Arthur J. Gallagher (24), Brown &Brown (13), Marsh (11),USI (10), Ryan Specialty Group(6), Wells Fargo (5), ACE (4),Aon (4), Bollinger (4),Ascension (3), AssuredPartners(3), BB&T (3), Higos (3),Integro (3), JLT (3),Risk Strategies (3), Starr (3),Torus (3),Willis (3).

New Programs

Distinguished offers Umbrella package forMuseums: Distinguised Programs has launched an umbrella liability program for museums. Policylimit options range from $1 million to $50 million and theproduct is underwritten by an admitted A-rated carrier. It isavailable in all 50 states and is geared toward a wide rangeof non-profit museums from science, technology and art museums tobotanical gardens, specialty and children's museums.