Washington-based Symetra Life Insurance Company has hired four additional regional sales executives to support group life and disability income (DI) insurance sales through benefit consultants, brokers and third-party administrators in select territories across the US.

Lou Ascanio, who will be the regional sales executive-Group Life and DI in North Carolina, South Carolina region, joins the company from The Hartford, where he worked as a group life and DI sales manager.

Prior to joining The Hartford, Ascanio worked as managing general agent at Colonial Life & Accident and regional sales vice president at CIGNA Group Insurance.

Symetra has appointed Jake Brower, an account executive at The Hartford as the regional sales executive-Group Life and DI for Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky.

Brower also worked as a group life and DI insurance sales leader for CIGNA Group Insurance.

Mark Crisler has been appointed as leader for Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming regions.

Crisler served as senior account executive at The Hartford, and also held sales positions at CNA Insurance and Phoenix Home Life representing group life, disability, dental and stop-loss insurance products.

The company has appointed Carl Perry as sales executive-Group Life and DI for Maryland, Virginia, Washington.

Perry worked with group life and DI insurance of The Hartford, and also served as a senior account executive for The Standard Insurance Company.

Symetra Benefits Distribution vice president Rick Lyons said: "Lou, Jake, Mark and Carl are great additions to our stellar group life and DI sales team, which now covers the entire country."

The appointments are part of Symetra’s expansion plans for group life and DI business, announced in January 2011.

The company hired three regional sales directors in July 2011, followed by addition of five regional sales executives in December 2011.