TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Stephen S. van Wert, Esq., has been named Executive Vice President responsible for all program insurance operations at Brown & Brown, Inc.'s (NYSE: BRO) Tampa headquarters location. These programs include the Company's nationally acclaimed Professional Protector Plan for dentists, the Lawyer's Protector Plan, Optometric Protector Plan, Manufacturers Protector Plan, Railroad Protector Plan, the Wholesalers & Distributors Preferred Program, and several other industry specific insurance programs.
Mr. van Wert, who joined Brown & Brown in 1998, graduated summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University and then with honors from Duke University with a law degree and a master's degree in economics. After practicing law with firms in both New York and Atlanta, he joined Brown & Brown as a licensed Florida insurance agent and earned his way into the Company's "Top Producer" ranks in just seven months. In 1999, he was selected to head the Company's Lawyer's Protector Plan. He now brings this proven expertise to the management of the overall operations of Brown & Brown's Tampa based program business.
Linda Downs, Regional Executive Vice President of Brown & Brown, responsible for the Tampa Programs and Mid-Atlantic Retail Divisions, noted, "Through Steve's guidance of the Lawyers Program over the past four years, he has proven himself as an energetic and extremely successful leader. We are confident that this expanded involvement will benefit all of our programs and help propel them to the next plateau of success."
Brown & Brown, Inc. and its subsidiaries provide a broad range of insurance and reinsurance products and services, as well as risk management, employee benefit administration, and managed health care services through offices located across the United States. The company is ranked by Business Insurance magazine as the nation's sixth largest independent insurance intermediary organization. Our Web address is www.bbinsurance.com. More information on certain of the programs referenced above can be found as follows:
Lawyer's Protector Plan Lawyers.protectorplan.com
Optometric Protector Plan Optometric.protectorplan.com
Wholesalers & Distributors
Preferred Program www.wholesalersins.com
Manufacturers Protector Plan www.mppins.com
Railroad Protector Plan www.rrppins.com
SOURCE Brown & Brown, Inc.
-0- 01/14/2003
/CONTACT: Linda S. Downs, Regional Executive Vice President, Brown & Brown, Inc., +1-407-660-8282/