Essex Corp., a leading seller of annuities through banks, has snared a competitor's marketing director to head up a new life insurance department.
The New York-based firm has appointed Thomas G. Waters as vice president for life insurance.
Mr. Waters was hired away from Independent Financial Marketing Group, White Plains, N.Y. Independent sold $1 billion of annuities and mutual funds last year, less than half of Essex's sales, according to Kenneth Kehrer & Associates, a consulting firm in Princeton, N.J.
"Essex is committed to creating a life insurance program that can be successfully marketed by our banking partners," said Kevin Crowe, chief executive.
Essex, which administers investment product sales programs for more than 200 banks, sold $2.6 billion of annuities and mutual funds last year, according to Kehrer.