NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Insurance Media Association today announced that Karen DeMartine, a PR and marketing communications professional with more than 15 years of experience representing insurance companies, has been elected president of the group, the premier network for professionals engaged in corporate and marketing communications in the insurance industry. DeMartine is executive vice president of Miller DeMartine Group (www.mdgpr.com).
At the same time, Walter Podgurski, chairman and CEO of the Insurance Media Association, also announced that Tina Angelone was elected vice president; and Marc Eiger was elected secretary.
"As we complete our second year, it is clear that there is a real need for a group that brings together the professionals that work closely with the media to promote the insurance industry," Podgurski said. "As recent events demonstrate, the insurance industry is under unprecedented pressure from regulators and shareholders to deliver on the commitment it makes to its customers. One of the most important assets that any company can have under these circumstances is its hard-won brand positioning, and our members are among the primary caretakers of that brand."
DeMartine added, "Now more than ever before, the insurance industry needs to do a better job of promoting and positioning itself, making sure that the media - and the audiences it serves - has a clear and accurate understanding of the value that the industry brings to customers. While some are pointing to the industry's problems, we see an opportunity to redefine the essential element of trust between insurers and insureds, whether they are corporations or individuals."
About the New Officers
Karen DeMartine is executive vice president of Miller DeMartine Group (www.mdgpr.com), a full-service public relations and marketing communications agency based in Westport, CT. She is a former senior account executive at Ogilvy, Adams & Rinehart in New York, where she specialized in helping large, foreign-based companies establish a media presence in the U.S., and also served on the firm's mergers and acquisitions communications team. DeMartine established her own corporate and marketing communications firm in 1991, and merged the company with another PR agency to form Miller DeMartine Group in 1997. She graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor's degree in 1983.
Tina Angelone is marketing director for the specialties business unit of Zurich (www.zurichna.com) in North America. Her responsibilities include developing integrated marketing strategies and providing marketing communication direction for the unit's business objectives and positioning. Prior to joining Zurich, she was a public relations manager for the Association for Computing Machinery. Angelone is also a member of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS).
Marc Eiger is media relations manager for the financial services practice of Standard & Poor's (www.standardandpoors.com). He has also served as a public relations specialist at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young. His agency experience includes work at The Financial Relations Board and Howard J. Rubenstein Associates. He graduated from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and earned an MBA in Marketing from Hofstra University.
About the Insurance Media Association
The Insurance Media Association (www.insurancemedia.net) was formed in 2002 and today has more than 600 members from some 500 organizations. The IMA is the premier network for professionals engaged in insurance media, including insurance company corporate public relations personnel, PR agency representatives, insurance media reporters and journalists, and company principals who do much of their own PR. Members practice the disciplines of corporate communication, employee/internal communication, marketing communication, public relations/external communications, media relations, community relations, public affairs, investor relations and government relations. The organization is the sponsor of the Insurance Media Association Global Excellence (I.M.A.G.E.) Awards, which recognize achievement in improving professionalism among insurance communicators and in furthering the public's knowledge of insurance and related areas.