The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has elected William L. Windsor Jr., an executive with Nationwide Insurance, as chairman of the institute’s board of directors.

Windsor serves as associate vice president at Nationwide Insurance’s Office of Consumer Safety. He succeeds Floyd M. Yager as the IIHS board chairman. Yager, senior vice president and chief data officer at Allstate Insurance Group, will continue to serve as an IIHS board member.

“Bill has represented Nationwide on the Institute’s Board of Directors for many years, and we are happy to see him take the helm as we face new challenges in highway safety,” said David Harkey, IIHS president, in a released statement. “I know the Institute will benefit from Bill’s leadership and commitment to our mission.”

Based in Virginia, IIHS is best known for its vehicle safety ratings and road safety research. The organization’s mission is to reduce motor vehicle-related deaths, injuries and property damage.

In related news, the affiliated Highway Loss Data Institute announced the election of Michael Petrarca as chairman of its board of directors. Petrarca is senior assistant vice president at Amica Mutual Insurance.

HLDI shares the same mission as IIHS but focuses on research based on insurance claims data. Both organizations are funded by the auto insurance industry.