Former RIMS President Lance Ewing Joins Chartis

Lance J. Ewing, a former vice president of risk management for Harrah's Entertainment and past president of the Risk and Insurance Management Society, has taken a new position as vice president of national accounts for Chartis Insurance Co.

Ewing, who is also a Best's Review columnist, will be based in Memphis, Tenn.

Ewing said he'll be working with his former risk management colleagues "to help them navigate their way through Chartis, whether it is underwriting or claims or new products that they are interested in. It's an opportunity to let the client peer behind the curtain at Chartis and get the chance to connect with those they need to connect with."

Ewing has been a risk manager for 19 years. Before joining Harrah's, he worked for GES Exposition Services and for the City of Philadelphia School District.

Ewing said he's excited to get back to his roots with an insurance carrier. He had worked for various insurance companies including Lumbermen's Underwriting Alliance, Pennsylvania Hospital Insurance Co. and New York Lumberman's Insurance Trust in risk management and loss control capacities.

Chartis, the rebranded property/casualty business of American International Group Inc., has been inching away from the AIG brand name since the iconic insurer took a $182.3 billion federal bailout last fall to avoid failing (BestWire, Oct. 5, 2009).

He compared Chartis to the mythical phoenix.

"Chartis has risen from the fire. The resilience and professionalism to withstand the barrage of what they have gone through... I wanted to join a company like that," Ewing said. "I always found Chartis -- and the former AIG -- exceptionally good to deal with."

He said the company's leadership, including Kristian P. Moor, president and chief executive officer of Chartis, and John Doyle, executive vice president of Chartis and president and CEO of Chartis U.S., "believe in where they are heading. They aren't digging any foxholes."

Ewing was president of RIMS from 2003 to 2004. He teaches risk management as a faculty member for the National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research. In 2004, a scholarship was created in his name (the Lance J. Ewing Educational Scholarship) for the Certified Risk Management International designation.

Chartis U.S. Insurance Group currently has a Best's Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) with a negative outlook.

Shares of AIG's stock were trading at $34.50 a share on the afternoon of March 17, up 2.65% from the previous close.

(By Meg Green, senior associate editor, BestWeek: [email protected])