Claims People: Preferred Mutual, Kinsale, Allianz and Goldberg Segalla

Preferred Mutual Insurance Co. has hired Michelle Raue as senior vice president of claims.

The carrier, based in New Berlin, New York, said Raue has more than 30 years of claims, operational and leadership experience.

Most recently, she was vice president of claims with Lyft Inc., where she built its in-house claim organization, focusing on claims and care management, policyholder and corporate services, as well as customer experience initiatives.

Before Lyft, Raue was vice president of claims for State Auto Insurance in Columbus, Ohio, according to her Linkedin page. Before then, she was director of claims for Southern United Insurance.

Raue has a bachelor of science in business from the University of South Alabama, according to Linkedin.

Kinsale Capital Group has appointed Mark J. Beachy as executive vice president and chief claims officer, effective Oct.5.

Beachy will succeed Ann Marie Marson, who served as chief claims officer since August 2009 and is retiring effective Sept. 30, the Richmond, Virginia-based speciality insurer said in a press release.

Beachy was previously group general counsel at The Travelers Indemnity Co., Kinsale said he led its staff counsel organization of more than 1,000 legal professionals responsible for defending policyholders in civil litigation throughout the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.

From 2006 to 2018, Beachy served as managing counsel at Travelers, leading staff counsel operations and overseeing litigation services in Virginia, Kinsale said in a press release. Prior to 2006, he served as a trial attorney defending commercial and personal lines policyholders in bodily injury and property damage litigation.

Earlier in his career, Beachy held positions of increasing responsibility in the claims departments of both Travelers and Aetna Casualty and Surety Company.

Beachy earned a bachelor of science in journalism from West Virginia University and a Juris Doctor degree from Catholic University, Columbus School of Law. He is licensed to practice law in Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty has appointed Frank Sapio as head of claims in North America.

Sapio replaces Terry Campbell, who will continue as an advisor to AGCS until July 2021.

A 30-year industry veteran, Sapio was previously the regional head of liability and aviation claims in North America, which he will continue to oversee on an interim basis, AGC&S said in a press release. Based in O’Fallon, Missouri, Sapio joined AGCS in 2014 and was with Fireman’s Fund since 2003 in various claims management roles.

Sapio earned his bachelor of science degree in aviation from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a master’s degree in organizational management from University of Phoenix.

Allianz is a global insurers with a U.S. headquarters in New York City.

Goldberg Segalla has appointed attorney G. Calvin Awkward III as a partner with the firm, assigned to the General Liability Group in Baltimore.

Awkward defends clients in a wide range of matters involving construction, catastrophic personal injury, property damage, and general liability, the firm said in a press release. He regularly handles automobile liability, premises liability, condominium and homeowners’ associations, subrogation, and first-party insurance defense matters, as well as insurance coverage matters.He also devotes a significant portion of his practice to construction accidents and defects representing builders and contractors in a wide variety of litigation and counseling them on risk-management.

Prior to entering private practice, Awkward spent two years as a clerk for Judges John H. Tisdale and Theresa M. Adams in the Circuit Court of Frederick County, Maryland.

Awkward earned his bachelor’s degree and his Juris Doctor from Washington and Lee University, where he served as a student attorney in the Community Legal Practice Center Clinic, providing legal services to low-income individuals in Rockbridge County, Virginia. He is an active member of numerous legal and professional organizations, including the Defense Research Institute’s Diversity Committee and Construction Law Committee.

Goldberg Segalla is a national law firm headquartered in Los Angeles.