A guide to this week's movements in the insurance industry

Broker

Aon
Aon has appointed Bob Smallwood to its transport team as risk management director.

Smallwood was previously deputy chief railways inspector at the Health and Safety Executive and was also one of the five members of the Anglo-French Channel Tunnel Safety Authority.

Budget Retail
Karen Wilkinson has been appointed associate director of central operations for Budget Retail.

Wilkinson will be responsible for IT, management information, compliance and risk, insurer reconciliation and operations support.

Her previous position at Budget Retail was senior manager for network operations development.

Marsh
Marsh has promoted Audrey Corfield to sales and service leader of its corporate client practice in its Glasgow office.

Corfield, who joined Marsh in 2002, will also continue to act as real estate practice leader for Scotland.

Towry Law
Towry Law has promoted John Dougherty from senior consultant to sales manager of the corporate insurance team in its Glasgow office.

Dougherty has been with Towry Law for eight years.

Insurer

MMA
MMA has appointed Jim Meikle as business development executive for Scotland.

Meikle joins from Kwik-Fit Insurance Services in Glasgow, where he was an account manager working with a panel of insurers and product providers.

Lisa Rees has also joined MMA as UK communications manager.

Rees, who was previously senior account manager at London PR agency Nexus, will focus on strengthening MMA's relationship with its intermediaries and trading partners.

PI Direct
PI Direct has appointed professional indemnity expert Andrew Wallas as non-executive chairman of its holding company Martello Underwriting from 1 September.

Wallas recently retired from broker Glencairn, which he founded in 1993.

Tokio Marine Europe
Tokio Marine Europe Insurance has appointed Chris Kraushaar as senior non-marine underwriter responsible for setting up the company's underwriting office in Manchester.

Kraushaar, who has 29 years' experience underwriting both UK and multi-national risks, joins from

XL Insurance.

BiB
BiB Underwriters has appointed Erica Adamson and Jennie Gwyer as claims negotiators and Andy Jones as a general insurance underwriter.

Adamson joins from Budget, where she was an insurance sales adviser and Gwyer from Total Accident, where she was a claims administrator. Jones was previously an adviser at RAC.

HCC
HCC Insurance Holdings has appointed David Evans as managing director of the London-based operations of its underwriting agency subsidiary ASU International.

Evans was previously an underwriter at Lloyd's RJ Kiln syndicate.

CNA
Chris Benstead has joined CNA's London team as property development underwriter.

Benstead previously worked at Affiliated FM, where he developed material damage and business interruption accounts.

Loss adjuster

Cunningham Lindsey
Cunningham Lindsey UK has appointed Steve Whetter as claims director based at its Cardiff service centre.

Whetter, who was previously a branch manager at HSBC Bank, will develop Cunningham Lindsey's outsourced claims management service.

Other

Connectmi
Specialist service provider and claims administrator Connectmi has appointed Colin Towers as a director.

Towers has worked in a number of senior claims management roles.

Focus Business Solutions
Customer management adviser Focus Business Solutions has appointed Darren Bayley as proposition manager.

Bayley's previous roles in the financial services technology market include proposition manager for

The Exchange, part of Marlborough Stirling.

Rainbow International
Disaster restoration specialist Rainbow International has appointed David Marshall as commercial account manager and Martyn Gillibrand as national account manager, both within its customer service team.

Marshall's previous experience includes branch management in the restoration industry.

Gillibrand has worked with service providers in the insurance market including Allied Carpets and Courts.

M Consulting
Insurance marketing specialist M Consulting has appointed Robert Davies as an associate director.

Davies is visiting senior research fellow at the City University Business School and has a track record of major assignments in the general insurance sector.

SSP
James Woodley has joined the corporate division of Software Solutions Partners (SSP) as senior account manager.

Woodley has worked in senior client services and management roles for many insurance software providers including Creative Insurance Services, where he was a board member and part of the team that bought the Creative Group in 1994.

Profile

Peter Wood

Private and public hire broker J&M Insurance Services has appointed Peter Wood as branch manager.

Formerly branch manager at Cox, Wood has almost 25 years' insurance experience which includes a Lloyd's underwriting background.

He will lead development of J&M's offices at Epping, Kingsbury and Holborn, concentrating on personal lines and private and public hire business and working to build stronger profit centres at these sites. He will also lead development at recently-acquired Protector Policies, based in Holborn where J&M's black cab division is now centred. J&M aims to create a £150m premium business by 2008.

Wood said: "J&M's plan to become the number-one insurance services organisation impressed. I wanted the opportunity to make a key contribution."

Away from the office Wood enjoys DIY, playing squash and spending time with his family and friends.

Topics