People News: Navigators, GEICO, CM Regent

Navigators Announces Promotions

Joe Savarese has been promoted to president, U.S. Specialty Primary Casualty. He will be responsible for driving the strategy and development of Navigators’ Specialty Primary Casualty product portfolio across the U.S. wholesale market. Since joining Navigators in 2013, Savarese has led Navigators’ Primary Casualty business for the Northeast and Midwest regions.

In addition, William Vaughn has been promoted to chief underwriting officer of the U.S. Specialty Primary Casualty division. Vaughn joined Navigators in 1992 as one of the founders of the company’s Specialty division, and most recently led the Primary Casualty business for the West Coast region.

Savarese, who is based in Iselin, N.J. and Vaughn, who is based in San Francisco, Calif., will report to Tim Ryan, president of U.S. Specialty Casualty.

GEICO Promotes Corbin and Hoagland to Senior Vice Presidents

Pionne Corbin will manage the regional office in Lakeland, Fla., where she will be based, and oversee the company’s Southeast and Midwest regional offices and Centralized Services operation, all of which are in Macon, Ga. Rick Hoagland will have oversight responsibilities for GEICO’s business in New England, New York and New Jersey.

Since June 2016, Corbin had served as vice president of GEICO’s Buffalo, N.Y., regional office. She began her career with GEICO as a management intern at the Fredericksburg, Va., regional office in 1993. After completing the internship in 1996, she was named a claims service representative supervisor. Corbin then moved to the underwriting division, where she was a sales supervisor and then a service manager. In 2004, she managed the new business underwriting division and the re-underwriting division.

Corbin became operations manager of the commercial auto division in 2009 and director of the division in 2012. A year later, she became a GEICO officer, with her election to assistant VP of Buffalo underwriting operations. She became assistant VP of claims in 2015 and held that position until she was promoted to VP of the Buffalo region.

Hoagland joined GEICO in 1994 as a telephone claims representative in Fredericksburg. He advanced through several positions and was named a manager in 2002. Hoagland was later selected to complete the executive assistant program at GEICO headquarters in Chevy Chase, Md., and then became director of claims home office systems.

Hoagland was elected an officer in 2009 and managed claims operations for the Midwest region in Macon; later, he managed underwriting operations there.

In 2012, he was promoted to vice president of GEICO’s companywide claims operations, and then went on to serve as VP for operations in New England and New Jersey. Four years later, Hoagland became regional VP of the company’s Long Island, N.Y., office.

CM Regent Names New Vice President and Chief Administration Officer

John Tribble has been named vice president and chief administration officer for CM Regent Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Church Mutual Insurance Company.

In his new position, Tribble will be responsible for the Loss Control Department and have dotted-line responsibility and day-to-day oversight of the Shared Services departments: Claims, Marketing, Information Technology and Broker Relations.

Tribble joined Church Mutual in January 2016 as a territory manager. He was promoted to director of diversity and inclusion in January 2017, and named to his present position in September 2017. Currently, Tribble serves as assistant vice president and chief diversity officer for Church Mutual. He will continue serving in that capacity while the company recruits a new leader to fill the position.

He holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter and Casualty Claim Law Associate designations.

A mentor and role model to professionals in and out of the insurance industry, Tribble serves on the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America’s Diversity Task Force and has served on the board of directors of the Urban League of Greater Hartford. He is a strong advocate for diversity throughout the organization and works closely with many young professionals, including members of the MKE Fellows program.