INSURANCE

New Chief Named for Insurance Department Unit: Colin McRae, general counsel of the former Transamerica Insurance Group, was named chief executive of the California Insurance Department’s Conservation and Liquidation Division, Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi said. The division, which oversees the management of some $750 million in assets of failed insurance companies, was the subject of a harshly critical state audit report last year that cited significant weaknesses in the way it handled its money. Garamendi demoted the former division chief and fired the No. 2 administrator. McRae will earn $195,000 in the new job, becoming the department’s highest-paid employee. Garamendi, a candidate for California governor, has a salary of $95,052.