Howard Mills Named to The Doctors Company Board of Governors

The board of governors for The Doctors Company, the nation’s largest physician-owned medical malpractice insurer, recently appointed Howard Mills to its board of governors.

“We are pleased to have Howard Mills as a member of our board,” said Richard E. Anderson, MD, FACP, chairman and CEO of The Doctors Company.

Howard Mills, board of governors, The Doctors Company

“His expertise in the New York, federal and international insurance regulatory environments; decades-long experience in public policy as an elected and appointed official; and deep understanding of enterprise risk management will provide critical insight into the impacts of regulations on our business model and strategy.”

The former global insurance regulatory leader at Deloitte, Mills also served as superintendent of the New York State Insurance Department (now known as the Department of Financial Services).

Mills currently serves on the board of directors of the Insurance Federation of New York, as a trustee of the Griffith Insurance Education Foundation, and as a member of the International Insurance Society. He has testified before Congress on matters impacting the insurance industry and served three terms in the New York State Assembly, including a term as deputy minority leader.

GuideOne Insurance Appoints Doug Pearson Senior Vice President, Chief Underwriting Officer

Doug Pearson has been names senior vice president, chief underwriting officer, at GuideOne Insurance. In this role, Pearson is responsible for niche product management, home office underwriting, underwriting compliance and business systems.

“Doug’s strong leadership experience and deep knowledge of the industry will serve us well in this cornerstone role,” said Jessica Clark, president and CEO of GuideOne. “His expertise will be valuable as he works with the team to further establish our footprint as we continue to execute our strategy to reach our profit and growth objectives.”

Prior to joining GuideOne, Pearson held leadership roles at Nationwide and Allied Insurance, where he developed the strategic direction for commercial lines, incorporating analytics into the underwriting appetite and overseeing pricing and competitive intelligence.

Most recently, Pearson served as senior vice president, chief underwriting officer at Continental Western Group where he led the strategic direction for underwriting and product over a 13-state footprint, including specialty products.

Liberty Company Insurance Brokers Appoints Mary Policky as Senior Vice President

Mary Policky has recently been hired at the senior vice president, employee benefits for Liberty Company Insurance Brokers Los Angeles, CA office.

Mary Policky, senior vice president, The Liberty Company

With more than 20 years of experience in employee benefits, Policky previously served as senior vice president at Momentous Insurance Brokerage before joining Liberty Company’s team.

Policky’s specialties include assisting with the specific needs of high net worth individuals, the entertainment industry, business management firms, and startups/technology companies. She’s been featured in several publications and was named a “Leading Wealth Advisor” by Worth Magazine.

When not investing time on her professional career, Policky likes to spend her free time painting, remodeling homes, revamping vintage furniture and has been a part of over 50 different charity organizations throughout her lifetime.

Geoff Keah Appointed to The International Association of Special Investigation Units’ Board of Directors 

Geoff Keah, SIU leader at Esurance, will be serving on the board of directors for The International Association of Special Investigation Units (IASIU) until September 2020.

Keah takes the director position vacated by Joe Stephenson who left the board due to a career change.

IASIU is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting a coordinated effort within the industry to combat insurance fraud. Membership is made up of more than 4,100 individuals from more than 600 insurance and self-insured companies worldwide. IASIU also provides education and training, develops a greater awareness of the insurance fraud problem, encourages high professional standards of conduct and supports legislation to deter insurance fraud.

“I’m excited about this opportunity to serve all of our IASIU membership, and I look forward to working with the board and our members to make our organization even stronger,” Keah said.

Dallas Barnes, IASIU’s President, addressed Keah’s appointment to the board in a message to IASIU’s membership. “Geoff is a SIU leader at Esurance and has a track record of success within the industry. He was president of the North Texas chapter for several terms and will complement our board well.”

Rajesh Sinha Appointed Head of Personal Accident, Contingency and Entertaining (PACE) in Asia for Markel International

Based in Singapore, Rajesh Sinha brings 20 years of experience as a regional underwriter to his new role as head of PACE for Markel International, where he will be responsible for driving the new product concepts across different products lines, as well as further developing a profitable and sustainable PACE portfolio across Asia.

Rajesh Sinha, Head of PACE, Asia, Markel International

Sinha will work closely with Markel International’s PACE team in London, managed by James Leach, as well as with its offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India and Malaysia.

“With an increasing demand for these specialist classes of insurance in Asia, Rajesh’s appointment demonstrates our commitment to invest in the region,” said Matt Cannock, managing director for Markel Asia.

Prior to joining Markel, Sinha worked as a regional underwriter with AIG and subsequently as regional director for A&H with Fairfax Asia. Most recently he was with Chubb Asia Pacific as a senior underwriter for A&H.

“Rajesh is a highly experienced underwriter with proven expertise in personal accident in both the retail and corporate space, and has a broad understanding of clients, cedants and brokers in the Asia region—a valuable addition to the team,” said Leach.

“Under Rajesh’s leadership, we are confident of further strengthening our market presence across the region, and more importantly, developing well-tailored solutions for our clients.”

Big I New York Elects John Cofini as Chair of the Board for 2019-20

New York’s independent insurance producer trade association, Big I New York, recently elected John Cofini as its chair of the board for the 2019-20 term. Currently serving as principal of Rye Brook, NY-based BNC Insurance Agency, Inc.

Cofini has been a member of the Big I New York board of directors since 2015. He also is a member and past president of Big I Westchester, which represents independent insurance agents and brokers in Westchester County.

“Independent insurance agents and brokers are relevant. The change that’s surfacing is in the tools,” Cofini said. “Big I New York believes independent agents serve customers best, and we will continue to champion them in all we do.”

He further emphasized, “the need to shift to a growth mindset where we understand the value of our businesses, embrace technology and engage with carriers to enhance what we deliver to our customers.” The new chair declared that, “Big I New York believes independent agents serve customers best, and we will continue to champion them in all we do.”

Prior to joining Milbrant Insurance, which merged with BNC Insurance in 2014, Cofini worked for an insurance company before joining Milbrandt Insurance as a producer and officer. Milbrandt merged with BNC Insurance Agency in 2014. A graduate of Iona College in New Rochelle, New York, he resides with his family in Nanuet, New York. &