First Acceptance senior VP of finance to resign
John Barnett will leave his post as senior vice president of finance at First Acceptance Corp. on Feb. 28, according to a form filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
First Acceptance, which sells auto insurance to higher-risk drivers, has yet to announce a replacement. Barnett’s departure is the latest in a string of personnel moves made during the past two years and involving high-ranking officials with the Green Hills-based company.
In March of 2011, then-President Edward Pierce stepped down, while Kevin Conn left as chief financial officer at about the same team (read more here). Later that year, Chief Executive Officer Stephen Harrison resigned. Similarly, Harrison’s brother Tom, who co-founded the company and served as executive vice president and secretary until 2007, sold his 7 million shares of company stock and exited (read more here).
Despite the personnel changes, analysts at A.M. Best said in November the financial health of First Acceptance was stable enough to justify the company's retaining a ‘B’ financial strength rating, likely spurred, in part, by a $13 million capital injection two months prior.




