Business People: Anti-Fraud Coalition, CRU Group, Liberty Co., Transcom

The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud announced that its general counsel, Matthew J. Smith, has been promoted to executive director.

Smith replaces Dennis Jay, who retired after serving as executive director since the coalition was founded in 1993.

Smith has been general counsel and director of government affairs for the coalition since 2018. The nonprofit organization is an alliance of more than 200 consumer groups, insurers, government agencies and other organizations. The coalition combats all forms of insurance fraud, across all lines of insurance.

Smith previously founded the Smith, Rolfes & Skavdahl Co. law firm in Columbus, Ohio. The firm specialized in all aspects of defense against insurance fraud, from investigations to civil actions, under Smith’s leadership, the coalition said.

Smith has won more than 100 civil trials — including cases against home and business insurance arsonists, chiropractors who fraudulently over-bill, pill mills, imaging clinics and other insurance swindlers, the coalition said.

Smith also pioneered using data from cell towers as evidence in civil insurance-fraud cases — which is now standard practice for insurance-fraud cases around the U.S. He also helped popularize searches of social-media to gather evidence of suspected fraud.

An Ohio native, Smith graduated from Northern Kentucky University School of Law. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Cincinnati.

CRU Group Adjusting Services announced the appointment of Adam Norman as vice president of its Northeast Region.

Norman is responsible for the company’s operational service delivery and client relationships across a multi-state territory, CRU Group said. The company is headquartered in London with a U.S. headquarters in Dallas.

Norman’s background includes claims technical, operational and client-facing experience, the company said.

Norman and his family will remain based in Boston. He will report directly to the U.S. chief executive officer and serve on the U.S. Leadership Team, the company said.

The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers announcedhad appointed Kimaili Davis as claims manager.

Davis graduated from Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. She started his career with the National American Insurance Company of California and has over 25 years of claims experience, specializing in workers’ compensation, the company said.

Her previous employers include Hub International, Momentous Insurance Brokerage, and most recently Poms & Associates, the company said.

Kimaili will be focusing on expanding the company’s claims department to match its aggressive growth strategy.

Liberty is an independently owned, full-service broker with offices throughout the country.

Transcom Solutions, which provides transportation and translation services for the workers’ compensation industry, has appointed Stephen Rios as director of business development.

Rios will be responsible for maintaining and developing client relationships within Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama, as well as executing sales and marketing strategies, the company said.

Transcom said Rios has more than 20 years of experience within the sales, marketing, and account management arenas of the workers’ compensation health care industry. Most recently, he was vice president of client services for Orchid Medical. His career includes leadership positions at Mitchell International (formerly Jorden Reses PBM), Tech Health, and Cypress Care.

Based in Braselton, Ga., Rios is an active member of the national Risk InsuranceManagement Society, the Atlanta RIMS chapter, and the Atlanta Claims Association. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Georgia.

Transcom is headquartered in Riverview, Fla.