Richard Olsen Joins AIG as Chief Actuary, General Insurance

Effective immediately, Richard Olsen will serve as chief actuary, general insurance, American International Group, Inc.

The company announced that Olsen will be based in New York and report to Mark Lyons, executive vice president & chief financial officer.

Olsen’s responsibilities will include leading the general insurance global actuarial organization and he will be tasked with improving underwriting profitability and providing guidance on portfolio optimization.

“Richard’s successful career of leading inter-disciplinary teams and enhancing performance make him ideally qualified to advance our goal of building a highly effective and business-oriented actuarial function,” said Lyons.

Olsen has more than 30 years of industry experience.

Prior to coming to AIG, he was chief financial officer of Munich Re’s U.S. P&C reinsurance subsidiary. Before being promoted within Munich, he served as head of Central Reserving.

Liberty Mutual Names Douglas Schrift as Chief Underwriting Officer, SDI

Liberty Mutual Surety has appointed Douglas Schrift to chief underwriting officer, Subcontractor Default Insurance.

The hiring is in an effort to expand the company’s Subcontractor Default Insurance (SDI) offering.

Douglas Schrift, chief underwriting officer, Subcontractor Default Insurance, Liberty Mutual

The purpose of SDI is to protect contractors from the liability of errors made by subcontractors during a collaborative project. Construction development is a $650 million market.

Schrift will report to Fran McGrath, chief credit officer, Contract Surety, Liberty Mutual Surety.

“The booming construction market, a shortage of skilled labor, and competitive margins are causing large contractors to seek ways to protect their multi-year projects against subcontractor default,” said McGrath.

“By offering the product, Liberty Mutual is better able to meet the full risk management needs of contractors, from surety and SDI to primary, excess and specialty coverage. Douglas’ experience and strong relationships with large contractors made him the ideal candidate to lead our SDI operation.”

Prior to joining Liberty Mutual, Schrift was the managing director for Aon’s Construction SDI practice.

Before that, he served as director of risk finance for Lend Lease Americas, the legacy operation of Bovis Lend Lease.

Blank Rome LLP Adds Four New Attorneys to the Firm’s Insurance Recovery Team

Partners Mary Craig Calkins and Helen K. Michael, Of Counsel Daniel H. Rylaarsdam and Associate Sarah L. Edri have joined Blank Rome LLP’s Insurance Recovery Group.

Helen will be based in Washington, D. C. while Mary, Dan and Sarah will be based in the Los Angeles office.

The four team members join from Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP. There, Helen served as former co-chair of the firm’s insurance recovery practice and Mary led the firm’s West Coast insurance practice.

The two partners are nationally recognized for litigating insurance recovery in high-value matters.

“We are delighted to welcome this highly skilled and talented insurance recovery team to Blank Rome,” said Grant S. Palmer, the Firm’s managing partner and CEO, of the four new hires.

“Mary and Helen along with Dan and Sarah are truly the perfect fit for Blank Rome in terms of their service offerings and collegial spirits,” added James R. Murray, chair of Blank Rome’s Insurance Recovery practice group.

MEMIC Hires Kim Wilson as Senior Production Underwriter for Georgia 

The MEMIC Group, which includes MEMIC Indemnity Company, MEMIC Casualty Company, and parent company Maine Employers’ Mutual Insurance Company, has brought on Kimberly Wilson as the senior production underwriter for Georgia.

Kimberly Wilson, senior production underwriter, MEMIC

Wilson has more than 15 years of experience in the insurance industry.

She has worked for companies in both Georgia and North Carolina, beginning her career as a casualty claims adjuster before moving onto personal lines underwriting and then to commercial lines underwriting.

She graduated from the University of Mississippi with a Bachelor of Business Administration and resides in Atlanta with her husband, three sons and a bulldog.

MEMIC is qualified to write workers’ compensation across the country. The group insures more than 20,000 employers, has an estimated 300,000 employees and has accrued more than $1.4 billion in assets.

Duncan Ellis Named Head of Retail Property, AIG

AIG has acquired another important hire.

On September 3, the global insurer announced Duncan Ellis as the new head of retail property, North America General Insurance.

Ellis will be based in New York and report to Ken Reigler, President of North America General Insurance, Product & Field Management. He will assume his role at the end of September.

Prior to being hired at AIG, Ellis served as Managing Director of Marsh’s U.S. property practice for the last ten years.

“Positioning AIG’s North American Retail Property business for sustained profitable growth reflects our commitment to underwriting excellence,” said David McElroy, president and chief executive officer, North America General Insurance.

“Duncan’s recognized industry leadership and technical expertise in commercial property insurance ideally qualify him to lead our Property business moving forward.”

Breckenridge Insurance Hires George Boldarini as a Professional Liability Specialist 

Breckenridge Insurance Services announced the hiring of George Boldarini, vice president, broker, professional liability.

Boldarini comes to Breckenridge with nearly 20 years of underwriting experience across various sectors of the industry.

George Boldarini, professional liability specialist, Breckenridge Insurance Services

He has significant experience with contractor professional liability.

“George has a deep understanding of the evolving professional liability markets and the needs of insureds to support agents in navigating their options,” stated Trevor Pierce, president of Breckenridge Insurance Services.

“His commitment to providing excellent customer service and addressing challenges head-on make him a natural fit for our culture and a great addition to our team.”

Before joining Breckenridge, Boldarini worked with All Risks, Ltd. as an underwriter for nine years.

He is fluent in Swahili and has won multiple business development honors.

“I enjoy collaborating with my agents to always bring forth informed options from trusted carriers as these relationships go well beyond one successful bind,” said Boldarini.

Everest Insurance Announces Two New Members to Join Excess Casualty

Everest Insurance, a global provider of reinsurance and insurance, added Rey Haliti and Auberson Eustache to the company’s Excess Casualty team.

Haliti has been named a director in the Excess Casualty group and Eustache joins as a manager .

Prior to joining Everest Insurance, Haliti spent more than 5 years at Chubb as assistant vice president, Excess Casualty. He previously worked at AIG as a senior underwriter of Excess Casualty National Accounts.

Most recently, Eustache worked as an excess & umbrella senior underwriter at Crum & Forster. Previously, he worked as an underwriter at XL Group and Old Republic Construction Program Group, and as an account executive for Marsh.

Haliti and Eustache will both be located in New York City, reporting in to Jake Sokol, vice president and regional manager of Excess Casualty.

“We are excited to have Rey and Auberson join our Excess Casualty team here at Everest,” said Sokol.

“Both underwriters come to us with specialized knowledge in the Excess space, as well as broader experience in the industry.

Rey and Auberson will help us continue to provide exceptional service and customized solutions for our clients.”

“On the heels of our recent team expansions in the Midwest and West regions, these additions serve to strengthen our commitment to providing localized underwriting for our clients and brokers,” added Debra Weiser, head of Excess Casualty. &