P&C professionals on the move

ARAG announces new CEO

ARAG Services Corporation announced Thursday it has appointed Jo-Anne MacDonald as the company’s new CEO.

She replaced former CEO Peter Talacek.

MacDonald joins the legal expenses insurer from St. Catharines, Ont.-based Verge Insurance Group, where she was vice president of sales and marketing. She has extensive insurance industry experience from Chicago Title Insurance Company and First Canadian Title.

MacDonald says the concept of insured legal protection is still relatively young in Canada, but the market is growing very quickly and has such huge potential.

“There is also such a buzz about managing general agents at the moment, and what they bring to the industry in terms of both innovation and flexibility,” MacDonald says. “ARAG epitomizes that ethos and gives brokers something really fresh to offer to their clients. I am really looking forward to working with the team and developing our relationships with brokers, insurers and other MGAs.”

AssessMed adds to Ontario, Atlantic Canada team

AssessMed Inc., an independent medical evaluation firm, said Wednesday that its board of directors and senior management team have added Dr. Ed Hanada to its Ontario and Atlantic Canada rosters.

Dr. Hanada performs medicolegal assessments for both defence and plaintiff counsel. He also performs third-party assessments related to accident benefits (Ontario), Section B assessments (Nova Scotia and New Brunswick), and employer and long-term disability (LTD) assessments.

As a licensed physician who practices physical medicine and rehabilitation in Atlantic Canada (Halifax, Nova Scotia) and Ontario, a large number of Dr. Hanada’s referrals have been related to musculoskeletal injuries. Referrals have also included those related to back pain, amputations, post-fractures, neck pain, shoulder pain and knee pain. He has also treated patients with back pain; carpal tunnel syndrome; repetitive strain injuries, such as tennis elbow; osteoarthritis of the hip and knees; and rotator cuff injuries.

For nine years, he was the medical director of the musculoskeletal rehabilitation program at the Nova Scotia Health Authority. In this position, he assisted in maintaining the centre of excellence for musculoskeletal and amputee rehabilitation in the areas of clinical care, education and research.