Geico

GEICO

Insurance News & Features

“TUCSON, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GEICO’s board of directors recently named Martha Furnas a vice president of the company. Furnas leads a sales, service and claims staff of 830 associates from the Tucson operations office at 930 N. Finance Center Drive. The office has primary responsibility for the states of Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. She previously served as assistant vice president for the Tucson service center. ‘Martha has done excellent work for us in Tucson, and has demonstrated throughout her career the ability to manage areas to improve results,’ said Bill Roberts, GEICO executive vice president. ‘We look forward to benefiting from her experience and skill for many years to come.’ Prior to becoming an assistant vice president in 2004, Furnas served as director of sales and service in the Tucson office. She has been in charge of that GEICO office since it opened in 2003. Furnas joined GEICO in 1981 and held positions of increasing management responsibility in sales, service and underwriting in the company’s San Diego regional office. She was selected to participate in the executive assistant program at the GEICO headquarters in Chevy Chase, Md., in 2001. Furnas is a graduate of the University of Redlands in California with a degree in business administration.”

“FREDERICKSBURG, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GEICO’s board of directors recently named John Zinno a vice president of the company. In his new assignment he’ll serve as president of GEICO Insurance Agency (GIA), with offices in Fredericksburg, Va., and Buffalo, N.Y. A company subsidiary, GEICO Insurance Agency is a personal lines insurance agency that provides a wide variety of non-automobile property insurance products to customers including homeowners, renters, boat, motorsports and other coverages. Previously Zinno served as an assistant vice president. Zinno joined GEICO in 1973 as a management trainee in Woodbury, N.Y. He was named director of sales and service for the Fredericksburg, Va., regional office, went on to serve as assistant vice president of GEICO’s centralized services in Macon, Ga., and was later named president of GEICO’s Safe Driver Motor Club. From 2004 to 2006, Zinno served as assistant vice president and general manager of GEICO’s regional operations in the Buffalo, N.Y., office. Zinno graduate from the University of Maine where he earned a B.S. degree in marketing.”

“WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GEICO can dip even deeper into its pool of insurance expertise now that 11 more GEICO associates have earned their Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters (CPCU) designations and will be inducted into the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters Society at the end of August. The 11 GEICO associates each completed an eight-course track of insurance studies, including both graduate and undergraduate classes. The coursework covers such disciplines as risk management and assessment, insurance law and regulation, ratemaking, claim adjusting, reinsurance, contract law, personal insurance operations, financial markets, and the CPCU code of ethics. The CPCU designation is considered the premier designation in the industry. New GEICO CPCUs around the country are: Michael Cowan, underwriter, Norfolk, Va., Mark Donze, auto damage manager, Baltimore, Md., John Farabee, command center supervisor, Lakeland, Fla., Amie Harrell, claims supervisor, Chesapeake, Va., Ann’Di Panagiotou, claims supervisor, Woodbury, N.Y., Joey Potts, senior business analyst, Chevy Chase, Md., Jeffrey Skalinski, claims examiner, Virginia Beach, Va., Fred Swann, continuing unit examiner; Macon, Ga., Samuel Tse, personal injury protection supervisor, Brooklyn, N.Y., Armando Valdes, senior accountant, Silver Spring, Md., Barbara Whittemore, service supervisor and trainer, Lakeland, Fla., According to an American Institute for CPCU survey, 91 percent of CPCUs said the designation provided increased job progression and 98 percent said that the designation provided evidence of professional competency. GEICO provides financial support to those enrolled in CPCU studies; GEICO also offers associates several core business classes to help them advance in their careers. ‘Our associates have many opportunities to move ahead,’ said Chairman Tony Nicely. ‘We want them to be fully prepared when they do so they can give our customers the very best information and assistance possible.’ GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company) – as part of Berkshire Hathaway – is the third-largest private passenger auto insurer in the United States*. GEICO provides auto insurance coverage for 9 million policyholders and insures more than 15 million vehicles. As a member of the Berkshire Hathaway group of companies, GEICO is rated A++ for financial strength by A.M. Best Company and ranks at the top of several national customer satisfaction surveys.”

“BUFFALO, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GEICO will begin accepting job applications immediately for its new subsidiary operation in Amherst, N.Y., which will sell and service homeowners, renters, boat and other coverage. New York Governor David Paterson was in Amherst this morning at the company’s subsidiary, GEICO Insurance Agency, to make the announcement at a press conference there. He pointed out that GEICO’s decision to locate a new operation in Western New York was very important for the local and state economies. GEICO Chairman Tony Nicely said, ‘We are very pleased with what our associates here have accomplished in serving our policyholders throughout the Northeast. We’ve grown substantially through their efforts. Their dedication has also helped them take advantage of GEICO’s career opportunities. We know this new GEICO operation and the new associates we’ll welcome shortly will be every bit as successful.’ John Zinno, vice president of GEICO Insurance Agency, announced that the new operation is expected to create 300 new jobs over three years. He says there are job opportunities in the sales and service areas and invites candidates to apply online by going to www.geico.jobs. Click open “Search Jobs” and select the Buffalo location. ‘We would be very interested in talking to people who have strong customer service skills,’ noted Zinno. ‘We are at the heart of it all a service company. If we can provide the service that our customers deserve, we expect to continue a steady pattern of growth.’ Zinno started up GEICO operations locally when the company opened its Buffalo office in Amherst in 2004. He said that he could always count on hiring from a pool of very valuable people ‘We’ll be able to expand our business by tapping into the talented workforce in Western New York. GEICO is committed to providing more of our customers with the valuable insurance products they need like homeowners, renters, and boat coverage. We are excited that Western New York will help us achieve this goal.”