State Fund Appoints Two New Executive Officers

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- State Compensation Insurance Fund announced today the appointments of a new Chief Risk Officer and Chief Financial Officer, completing the search to fill remaining vacancies on its executive team.

Ken Van Laar was selected as the new CRO, while Daniel J. Sevilla, Jr., who has served in an interim role since October 2010, was also confirmed today as the new CFO. Both appointees bring extensive industry experience to California's largest workers' compensation insurance provider.

Van Laar, a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, joins State Fund from CompWest Insurance Company, where he was a senior vice president and chief underwriting officer.

He began his insurance-industry career in 1983 at Transamerica Insurance Group, and then moved on to Industrial Indemnity in 1988, where he was the chief pricing actuary until 1994.

Van Laar was Liberty Mutual's first regional actuary between 1994 and 1999, where he was responsible for developing pricing and risk selection methodologies in seven western states. He later became vice president & chief actuary of Liberty Mutual's Middle Market. In this role, Van Laar was responsible for developing Middle Market pricing strategy for the A-rated insurer.

A fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries, Van Laar has also played valuable roles in several regulatory and research groups in the California market. They include committee positions at the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB) and the California Workers' Compensation Institute (CWCI).

As CRO, Van Laar will oversee underwriting, actuary, and risk management functions, as well as State Fund's risk committee.  

Sevilla comes to the CFO job a highly-accomplished senior finance executive, with expertise in strategic and financial planning, business and financial analysis, and management reporting.  

His experience includes serving as vice president of Financial and Operational Planning and Analysis at AAA of Northern California, Nevada, Utah, and California State Automobile Association Inter-Insurance Bureau from 2007-2010.  He served Fireman's Fund Insurance Group in several key roles, including vice president in the Commercial Insurance Division from 1994-2001, vice president of Finance in Commercial Business from 2001-2002.  He was promoted to senior vice president of Financial Services in 2002, and in 2005 was appointed senior vice president of Operations.

Sevilla earned a bachelor of science degree with an accounting specialty from the University of San Francisco.

As CFO, Sevilla is responsible for directing State Fund's overall financial policies, including financial forecasting, accounting, budgeting, and tax reporting.

Both executive officers' compensation packages include an annual salary of $288,000, annual bonus eligibility equivalent to 15 percent of salary, a monthly recruitment and retention payment of $1,200, and California state civil service benefits.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Established in 1914 by the state legislature, State Fund is California's largest provider of workers' compensation insurance and a vital asset to California businesses. Completely self supporting, State Fund plays a stabilizing role in California's economy by maintaining an open door policy that ensures that all employers have a strong and stable option for their workers' compensation needs.

SOURCE State Compensation Insurance Fund