People Moves: BSA, North Dakota Insurance Department, Novarica

Brentwood Services Administrators Inc., a company that specializes in structuring and managing alternative market solutions for employers and insurance providers, recently selected Theresa Vinson as a new senior claim representative in the Raleigh, N.C., office, according to Jeff Pettus, president and chief executive officer of BSA.

In her position as senior claim representative, Vinson is responsible for reviewing, processing and handling medical workers’ compensation claims as assigned by Shirley Girard, senior claims supervisor in the BSA Raleigh, N.C., office. Vinson determines the compensability of the claim and extent of liability. She also communicates directly with clients, employers, injured workers, physicians and attorneys, and manages claims in a timely and economic manner.

Prior to joining BSA, Vinson worked for CorVell Corporate in Raleigh, as a claim specialist. She holds an associate in claims (AIC) designation.

Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread appointed Jeff Ubben as deputy insurance commissioner and Marcy Ost as executive assistant as part of his first official day in office. Ubben and Ost were both previously serving in the Insurance Department and bring a wealth of knowledge to their positions.

Ubben has served as general counsel for the Insurance Department for the past four years and will continue in that role in addition to his duties as deputy until a replacement is hired. He is a North Dakota native and earned his law degree from the University of North Dakota in 2006. Prior to becoming general counsel at the Insurance Department he served as an Assistant State’s Attorney for Burleigh County for several years where he successfully prosecuted multiple large insurance fraud cases.

Ost has served the Insurance Department as executive assistant including fulfilling public information duties since 2014. A native of Dickinson, she graduated from Dickinson State University and prior to joining the Insurance Department, Ost worked in the North Dakota Legislative Council.

Godfread comes to the Department from the Greater North Dakota Chamber, where he served as vice president of government affairs representing statewide business interests to the legislature, executive branch officials and to companies looking to operate in North Dakota.

Novarica, a research and advisory firm focused on insurance technology strategy, announced that Keith Raymond and Christopher Eberly have joined the firm, both as a vice presidents of research and consulting.

Prior to joining Novarica, Raymond served as CIO/COO of Futurity First Insurance Group a distributor of annuity, life, LTC and other products for a large portfolio of carriers. His previous roles include AVP of Distribution Systems and Field technology for Mass Mutual, and CIO of Trumbull Services, an application service provider and business process outsourcer for personal and commercial lines which is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Hartford Insurance Group. He has also served as a principal consultant at HCL Technologies with focus on the Life and Annuity business in North America.

Prior to Novarica, Eberly was SVP of Insurance Solutions IT at Voya. In this position he was responsible for all IT services supporting the Retail Life and Employee Benefits business lines. He was responsible for designing, planning, and building technology innovations that enable Voya to deliver new products and reach new markets in these business segments. Prior to leading the Insurance IT organization, he held various leadership roles in Insurance IT, Shared Services, and Distributor Services. In each of these roles he implemented innovative technology, improved processes, created highly performing scalable platforms, and organized teams to better support the associated business teams.