JAMES (JIM) ALMY has joined Preferred Mutual Insurance Company as director of commercial-lines underwriting. He has more than 20 years of commercial-lines underwriting experience. Prior to joining Preferred Mutual, Almy was an underwriting manager for Utica National Insurance Group, as well as the commercial-lines underwriting supervisor, and senior/account commercial lines underwriter at that firm, according to his LinkedIn profile. Almy earned his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and holds the chartered property and casualty underwriter (CPCU), chartered financial consultant (ChFC), and associate in underwriting (AU) designations.