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Lorton, VA US
Speaker Profile
Chris Amrhein, like most true believers in insurance, stumbled upon this business accidentally; specifically, after graduating from college and needing a job. After beginning in this business as a life-health agent, he graduated to property-casualty sales where he first met the greatest mine of comedy material existing today, the ISO forms. Following several years as a producer and independent agency manager/owner, Chris spent many years as a full-time educator/VP-Education for the Florida Association of Insurance Agents and VP-Education for the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America. Those years found him traveling about the country teaching seminars on everything from agency management to the claims made CGL. It has also taught him the absolute truth of Jimmy Buffet's famous observation about those who make a career of the property-casualty business: "If we weren't all crazy we would go insane." Chris is now a speaker, consultant, seminar leader and training developer, and resides in Lorton, Virginia, with the love of his life (and wife) Donna and youngest son Alexandru (18). His two older sons - Patrick, 36 and Kevin, 34 – are doing quite well without him. His email address chris@insuranceisfun.com and website www.insuranceisfun.com, say it all.
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Kevin serves as an instructor for several state and national education providers. Outside the classroom, Kevin authors hundreds of original articles annually for industry publications and web sites. He has appeared as a coverage expert on television and online, conducted frequent presentations via web conferencing, and is a monthly columnist for the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers. Kevin serves as a National Faculty member for the Society of Certified Insurance Counselors (CIC).
Tallahassee, FL US
Kevin Amrhein is a graduate of the University of Central Florida. He began his insurance career as a marketing intern before serving as a commercial lines agent for an independent agency in Orlando, Florida. He received the CIC designation in 2003 and has served as Senior Adviser for the Florida Insurance School Continuing Education since 2004. Kevin is a National Faculty member for The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research's Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR) programs. As a former industry journalist, he has authored hundreds of original articles for industry publications and web sites. Kevin has appeared as a coverage expert on television and in cyberspace. His first teaching gig was as a golf instructor where he was frequently kicked off driving ranges for giving free golf lessons.
Brandi Anderson started her insurance career with a Direct Writer before transferring over to the independent agency system. She has worked as a personal lines CSR, as well as a Vice President of a mid-sized agency. Brandi spent several years as Education Director with the Independent Insurance Agents of Arkansas before moving back into a marketing role within the state. Brandi currently handles marketing in Arkansas for Nationwide Insurance and was the 2017 Sales Manager of the year for that company. Brandi has taught various commercial and personal education courses over the last 15 years. She has given multiple Errors & Omissions presentations and acted as an expert witness in several court cases. She has written Ethics programs for the IIA of Arkansas as well as coverage courses for the PIA. Brandi earned her CIC designation in 2000. She also holds the Certified Professional Insurance Agent (CPIA) and Excellence In Service (EIS) designations.
Sterling, KS US
Kent E. Anthony has been President of First Group Insurance of Sterling, Kansas since 1981. He began his insurance career in 1977 as an agent with Kansas Farm Bureau Insurance. Kent has a degree in Business Administration from Northwestern Oklahoma State University and has been a CIC since 1985. Kent is also a Certified Financial Planner licensee, as well as having the Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor and the Registered Financial Consultant designations. In 1985 under Kent's management, First Group Insurance was honored by Allied Life for being their company's top life insurance producing property and casualty agency for the year. In 1992 the Kansas PIA awarded First Group Insurance their "Agency of the Year" award for a class two size agency. Kent was also named the Kansas "Agent of Merit" award winner for 2005 by the Kansas Insurance Associations 1752 club. In 2011 Kent was awarded the Kansas Outstanding Agent of the Year award by the Kansas Association of Independent Agents. Kent has served on the board of directors for the Kansas Association of Insurance Agents and chaired their Technical Affairs committee as well as their Education committee. He also is a past board member for the Associate Board of Professional Review for The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. Currently, Kent has been appointed by the Kansas Insurance Commissioner to serve on the Kansas Automobile Assigned Claims Board of Governors and the Kansas Automobile Insurance Plan Board of Governors. Kent recently completed serving for 6 years as a board member and chair for three years on the National Technical Affairs Committee for the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America. Professionally, Kent has also been a contributing expert in magazine articles for Mutual Fund Magazine, The Journal for Financial Planning, Financial Planning Magazine, and Bloomberg Wealth Manager dealing with commercial insurance, annuities, and mutual fund topics. In addition to being on the National Faculty teaching CIC and CISR courses, Kent also teaches the Best Practices E&O class and does expert witness work.
, US
Wes Bailey is Chairman of Bailey Insurance & Risk Management, Inc. in Waco, Texas. He focuses most of his time on the insurance and risk management needs of clients who are either manufacturers, contractors or institutional type accounts. Wes began his property and casualty insurance career in 1978 after receiving a BBA degree in accounting from Baylor University. He received his Certified Insurance Counselor designation in 1980. Wes teaches a Business Insurance class each fall semester at Baylor University. He is also a Contributing Author for a textbook used in the business schools of several hundred universities across America. Wes currently serves on the board of directors of the Hillcrest Health System. Wes is Past Chairman of the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce, Past President of the Waco Business League, Past President of the Waco Rotary Club, and Past Campaign Chairman of the Greater Waco United Way. He also served as a Regent on the governing board of Baylor University for nine years from 2002 until 2011. While a Regent, he served as chairman of the Athletics Committee and the Finance Committee. He served as a director of the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas from 1998 to 2000.
Chris B. Barron is the Director of Operations and President of Carson and Barron Farms, Inc. which is in Rowley, Iowa, “Northeast Iowa”. Chris graduated from the University of Dubuque in 1992 with a degree in Communications. In 1992, Chris, along with his brother-in-law took over their Pioneer Sales agency which had been run by his father for the past 22 years. Today the Pioneer agency is still an integral part of their operation. Chris has over 27 years of experience working with and understanding customer needs while at the same time steadily growing their own farming operations. Over the last 27 years, Chris has developed many decision tools to help producers improve the profitability of their operation. Most notably, he developed “Profit Manager” which is a tool used by hundreds of corn and soybean producers across the Corn Belt. Most recently, Chris has developed a new business model to assist producers with Multi-Generational Growth through the business “Ag View Solutions LLC.” Chris has implemented this plan into his own family’s farming operation with the mission of improving quality of life and maximizing profit opportunities. Chris and his wife Alissa along with their son, Shay Foulk, work as a team consulting across the country in over 16 states and Canada helping Ag businesses and farmers with multiple business decisions including business structuring, transition and succession planning, collaborations, value assessment, margin management, and peer group facilitation.
Melrose, MA US
Educational Background: Swarthmore College, BA 1973; Honors Degree in Political Science & History University of Rhode Island, 1976-1978; Graduate Program in Business Management Professional Licenses: Producer – All Lines (Property, Casualty, Life, Health, Accident), State of Massachusetts since 1982 Licensed Insurance Advisor – State of Massachusetts since 1986 (Insurance Consultancy License) Business Activities: E&O Instructor: Certified by several major E&O carriers (Utica National; Westport/Swiss Re; Fireman’s Fund) to do both loss control seminars, loss control audits, and rehab audits. Frequent speaker for state trade associations at for-credit and continuing education credit programs. Developer of national loss control program (only approved developer). Developer of six E&O educational programs that are used nationally. E&O Auditor: Contracted by E&O carriers and/or agencies/brokerages to conduct rehab and credit audits; forms, delivers, and follows-up on recommendations for improvement in E&O safety, with attention to profitability, staffing, and growth. Education Testing Site: Developer and Producer of www.VMBhits.com, the only insurance-industry site to test specific coverage areas skills in all individual lines of coverage, insurance accounting, and E&O safety awareness. Writer: Textbook author for The Rough Notes Corporation.
Harrison Agency, Inc.
Columbia, MO US
Sam Bennett is an active retail producer, presenter, and partner in Harrison Agency, Inc. of Columbia, Missouri. He began his insurance career in 1987 and has been an Independent Insurance Agent from the beginning. He has worked with individuals, families, and small businesses his entire career. In this capacity, he has worked in the personal lines, commercial lines, and life and health marketplaces. As a result of working with many types of clients, many carriers, and many coverage needs, Sam has grown to understand and appreciate the myriad ways an insurance professional must work with markets and clients in today's insurance world. Sam obtained his Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation in 1997. He has taught coursework for The National Alliance in their CISR program since 2000, has presented in their CIC program since 2004, and in 2009 became a National Faculty Member of the Society of CIC. Sam is also a National Faculty Member in the Agribusiness and Farm Insurance Specialist (AFIS) program. He has been called upon to offer insurance education in conferences and symposiums across the country over the past several years and has provided service in the capacity of expert witness. Sam currently serves as President of the Missouri Insurance Education Foundation. A former Missouri "Young Agent of the Year", Sam's true passion is cooking. He, his wife, Lisa, and daughters, Lindley and Brittan, offer their culinary talents to many local organizations for the purpose of fundraising for those organizations.
Market Retrievers
Jon has spent his career developing digital marketing initiatives for higher education, fundraising efforts, media companies, and donor engagement campaigns. He has a background in journalism, content development, web design, email and social media marketing, analytics, and is responsible for helping clients form an overall marketing and content strategy.
Alexandria, VA US
Christopher J. Boggs, CPCU, ARM, ALCM, LPCS, AAI, APA, CWCA, CRIS, AINS, joined the insurance industry in 1990. He is the Executive Director of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (Big "I") Virtual University. His current duties involve researching, writing, and teaching property and casualty insurance coverages and concepts to Big "I" members and others in the insurance industry. During his career, Boggs has authored more than 300 insurance and risk management-related articles on a wide range of topics as diverse as Credit Default Swaps, the MCS-90, and enterprise risk management. In addition to this, Boggs has written 13 insurance and risk management books. Boggs is a regular speaker at industry events, speaking for groups such as the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC), the National Society of Insurance Premium Auditors (NSIPA), the American Association of Managing General Agents (AAMGA), the Institute of Work Comp Professionals (IWCP), and the CPCU Society. A graduate of Liberty University with a bachelor's degree in Journalism, Boggs' background includes work as a risk management consultant, loss control representative, producer, claims manager, and quality assurance specialist
Mount Joy, PA US
Carissa entered the insurance industry in 2006. She’s worked in many aspects of the industry, including both on the company and agency sides. She currently works as a Commercial Lines Account Executive for Gibbel Insurance in Lititz, PA. Previously, she worked as a commercial underwriter on risks across the upper Midwest. She credits her underwriting experience for her enjoyment of reading forms and new employee training. Through development of classes for training commercial underwriters, she realized a true passion for teaching insurance. She holds the AINS and CRIS designations.
Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services, Inc.
Itasca, IL US
Kevin Brady is a Vice President of ARTEX Risk Solutions; a division of Arthur J. Gallagher Co. from Itasca, Illinois. He specializes in the development, implementation, and marketing of group, rent, segregated cell, single parent captives and program business. Kevin's career spans captive and self-insured group workers compensation program development/management as well as retail brokerage. He is a National Faculty member of the Society of Certified Insurance Counselors, speaking at Commercial Casualty Institutes and James K Ruble Seminars. He is a contributing author to The National Alliance Research Academy publications as well as a National Faculty member of the Certified Risk Managers (CRM) Program, speaking in the Finance course. He has been a featured speaker across the country and Puerto Rico on Captive development, Risk Financing and insurance coverage topics. Kevin has served on the Society of Certified Insurance Counselors Board of Governors.
Bliss McKnight
Springfield, IL US
Nicole Broch spent over a decade as an Independent Insurance Agent and Manager of a successful partnership between a community financial institution and a local independent agency in Springfield, Illinois. After leaving the retail agency side of the industry, Nicole spent time supporting agents in Central and Southern Illinois for NatGen Premier and The Hanover Insurance Group for personal lines products. Currently, Nicole is a Senior Account Executive for Bliss-McKnight, Inc, supporting agents, brokers, and public entities throughout Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. She attended The Hartford School of Insurance and achieved her National Underwriter awarded Personal Lines Coverage Specialist (PLCS) designation in 2005. She went on to receive the National Alliance CISR designation in 2007 and CIC designation in 2009. Nicole teaches National Alliance CIC and CISR modules, IIABA Errors & Omissions, Ethics, and customer service and professional development topics for IIAs, PIAs, and trade associations throughout the country. Originally from the Orlando Metro area of Florida, Nicole earned her undergraduate degree in English from Florida State University and her Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of South Florida. Nicole has two children, Natalie and T.J., and enjoys traveling, active vacations that include bike riding, kayaking, and hiking, and weekend golfing (badly). Nicole volunteers in her community for her local chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and the Girl Scouts of Central Illinois.
Reno, NV US
Paul Burkett is the President and CEO of Snoaspen Insurance Group, Inc. which specializes in risk management consulting, insurance teaching, and expert witness services for agents' errors and omission carriers. Paul began his career as a Loss Control Representative for SAFECO Insurance Company after serving as an Officer in the United States Air Force. During his career with SAFECO, Paul served as a Loss Control Supervisor, Loss Control Manager, Commercial Sales Representative, Division Commercial Lines Underwriting Manager, and Regional Workers Compensation Manager. From Safeco Insurance Company, Paul worked for Frank B. Hall & Company as a Vice President in charge of Risk Management Services. Paul was responsible for design and implementation of alternative insurance programs such as pools, self-insurance, and captives. From Frank B. Hall, Paul assisted in establishing the Meadowbrook of Colorado office and focused on developing specialized group programs. Paul assisted in establishing TUITIONGard which specialized in coverages for private student loans provided through banks in the United States. This operation has recently been sold and the operations are being phased out over the next few years. Paul has a Juris Doctorate from Concord School of Law, an undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota and has completed graduate work at the University of Oklahoma in Public Administration. Paul has obtained the following designations: Certified Risk Manager (CRM), Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), Associate in Risk Management (ARM), Associate in Loss Control Management (ALCM), and Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU). Paul is a National Faculty member of The National Alliance and has served on the Board of Governors of the Society of Certified Insurance Counselors.
Stephen is a Senior Offensive Security Consultant at Echelon. He has worked in a diverse range of industries through his years of experience in offensive cybersecurity consulting services. Stephen has worked as a penetration tester for firms that target small-medium sized businesses which provided a solid foundation of both technical skillsets and empathy for the hidden challenges businesses face today. Stephen's core interests and focus within cybersecurity include enterprise networking, as well as offensive security tool development in languages such as C, Python, Go, and Rust. He enjoys managing his personal home network and participating in training courses such as MalDev Academy and collaborating with friends and colleagues on an advanced cloud network they have created.
, SC
Chappy Chapman is Chief Growth Officer of Correll Insurance Group, a privately held independent insurance agency with offices South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas and Mississippi. Prior to joining Correll, Chappy was an account executive with Riley & Associates, an independent insurance agency that has been in operation in the Charleston area since 1936. Before joining Riley & Associates, for six years, Chappy served as General Manager of White Insurance Group, an independent insurance agency with offices in Black Mountain and Arden, North Carolina. He began his insurance career in 1974, after graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of South Carolina. The majority of Chappy's experience has been in the Independent Agency System; however, he has spent time on the company side as Marketing Manager of Old Charleston Insurance Company and Branch Manager of Medical Mutual Insurance Company of North Carolina. Additionally, Chappy has served as Director of Education for the Independent Insurance Agents of South Carolina. He is a member of The Alliance National Faculty and is an Educational Consultant of the Society of Certified Insurance Counselors. He earned his Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation in 1980 and his Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation in 1982.
Neel Choate began his insurance career in 1982 as a claims adjuster in Dallas, Texas. His training included several years with Continental Ins. (now CNA) in all facets of the property and casualty business. He also held positions with Kemper, EBI and a mutual carrier in Texas. In addition to his claims background, he has been an Underwriting Officer, National Accounts Underwriter, Middle Markets Underwriter and Operations Manager and Officer, with additional experience in building carrier fronting operations and re-insurance programs. He served as the catastrophe claims and operations manager during Hurricanes Hugo and Andrew. Following his insurance carrier experience, Neel has been an independent insurance agent as a producer, sales manager and has built start-up agencies. Currently, Neel is the Director of Training and Education for Higginbotham in Fort Worth, Texas. The agency maintains over 75 locations across 16 states. With close to 3000 employees, Neel's department, HIGG U, fulfills all training programs for each position, including multiple 6-month programs for trainees new to the industry. In addition to his training and education duties, Neel serves as a resource and mentor in matters of risk assessment and policy coverage as well as actively producing and maintaining a book of business for the agency. Through the Insurance Institute of America, Neel earned his Associate in Claims designation in 1989 and earned his CIC designation in 2008. A graduate of Jacksonville State University in Alabama, Neel holds a BS degree in Marketing and Economics. As a member of CISR Faculty, Neel teaches insurance courses throughout the country. Neel is active in the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of Texas as well as his local chapter. He is a regular lecturer for classes at the University of Texas at Dallas Insurance and Risk Management Department as well as extensive involvement with the insurance department at the University of North Texas. Recently he has also given lectures and served on multiple panels regarding working with the generational differences in today's workforce.
Chris Christian began her insurance career in 1985, joining GAF Insurance Services, a retail agency. After six years with GAF, Chris moved to the carrier side, opening the San Diego branch office of RLI Corporation, an underwriter of specialty lines insurance. The San Diego office was dedicated to directors and officers liability coverage and was the launching pad for Chris's specialization in professional liability. By 1997, when Chris departed RLI to join London American General Agency, she had established herself as an underwriter of hard-to-place nonprofit directors and officers liability accounts, healthcare directors and officers liability, and managed care errors and omissions coverages. At London American, Chris launched two underwriting facilities for healthcare-related errors and omissions and directors and officers coverages, as well as brokerage facilities for professional liability and property/casualty lines. Chris joined US Risk Brokers in November 2005 as Vice President and Senior Broker, specializing in professional liability. She has earned her Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and Registered Professional Liability Underwriter (RPLU) designations and is a frequent industry speaker and author. She is also active in industry associations.
Davis Agency
Peoria, IL US
Todd Davis is the Owner and Operator of Davis Agency Insurance in Peoria, IL. Todd was licensed and started his insurance career at age fifteen working for the family agency in the office. The agency was started in 1924 by Todd’s grandfather. After attending Bradley University with a major in Mechanical Engineering (later returning for a degree in Marketing and Public Relations), he re-entered the family agency with his father. IN 1985, he became a partner in the agency, then purchased the agency in 1992. The Davis Agency is a multi-line independent agency.
Todd earned the CIC designation in 1995. He has taught Errors and Omissions Loss Prevention Seminars, as well as a wide range of Personal Lines and Commercial Lines courses for the IIA of Illinois. He has also been involved in teaching insurance classes in various high schools in Peoria.
Todd served as the President of the Peoria Area Association of Professional Independent Insurance Agents in 1992 and again in 1996. He served as a board member of the Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois from 1990 to 1992. After consolidation of the PIIAI, Todd served as a member of the Board of Directors. Todd received the PIIAI Young Agent of the Year award in 1996.
During his extensive insurance career that began in 1969 with USF&G Insurance Company, Patrick has served as a Commercial Underwriter, Underwriting Manager, Sales Manager, Excess and Surplus Lines Underwriter, and an Independent Insurance Agent. Patrick is the founder of Risk Management and Insurance Education Services that provide insurance consulting, training, expert witnesses, and litigation support services to insurance companies, agents and insured.
Bruce deJong is Director of Talent Management, Learning and Leadership Development at Mutual of Enumclaw; a northwest regional commercial, farm, and personal lines insurer. He has been working in Claims and HR within the P&C industry for 35 years and has a Master’s degree in Applied Behavioral Science. Bruce serves as a curriculum development advisor for the CIC program, and has been teaching with The National Alliance since 2018. Bruce also provides CE classes for Mutual of Enumclaw’s agents, is a seminar presenter for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, and the Property Loss Research Bureau. He is also an executive coach and helps employees experience a rewarding insurance career by identifying and aligning their strengths. Working in both Claims and HR provides unique perspectives for Bruce’s present work of facilitating thoughtful discussion and cultivating an engaging learning environment.
Tulsa, OK US
John Dismukes has been involved in the insurance business in Oklahoma since 1969. He has worked for an insurance company as a marketing representative, independent insurance agent, and served as Director of Education for the Independent Insurance Agents of Oklahoma from 1996 to July 2000. John received his CPCU designation in 1977, his AAI designation in 1984, and his CIC designation in 1994. He has served as President of the Independent Insurance Agents of Greater Tulsa and President of the Northeastern Oklahoma Chapter of CPCU. John is a National Faculty member of The National Alliance and serves as Educational Consultant. John formed his own independent training and consulting firm in 1998, and now conducts educational seminars all over the United States. He and his wife, Barbara, have two sons and are members of the Harvard Avenue Christian Church in Tulsa.
Garland, TX
Twane Duckworth has been a dedicated public servant with more than 15 years of municipal government practice. He has served in a legal capacity as an Assistant Attorney General for the District of Columbia and Assistant General Counsel for the City of Jacksonville. As an insurance professional, he has operated as the Chief of Risk Management for the City of Jacksonville from 2012 until late 2020. In this role he oversaw the City’s $100MM self-insurance fund as well as the procurement of miscellaneous insurance policies. These policies cover various exposures including marine, aviation, property, workers’ compensation, cyber liability, crime, and general liabilities. He is currently a Managing Director for the Dallas suburb of Garland, Texas and oversees their Risk Management Department. Twane is also a valued public speaker. He has innumerable televised appearances before Jacksonville’s 19‐member City Council. He has also served as a law school adjunct professor teaching ethics and public speaking for lawyers. Additionally, he was the opening speaker before hundreds of risk managers as the President of Florida’s 43rd Annual RIMS Educational Conference. He most recently graduated from Florida State University’s business school in 2020 with a Master of Science in Risk Management and Insurance degree. Prior to that he earned his law degree from Georgetown University in 2004 and a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Florida Memorial University in 2001. He continues to reinforce his degrees with professional certifications including his CIC designation, earned in 2019, and a CRIS designation (Construction Risk Insurance Specialist) from IRMI, as well as an ARM designation (Associate in Risk Management). Twane firmly believes in contributing to the risk management community as demonstrated through his volunteer commitments with various insurance organizations, including serving as Director on the board of the Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc.
, AZ
Joni Fairbrother is the Insurance Agents Professional Liability Program Administrator representing the IIAB of Arizona and has been with the Association since 1984. Previously, Joni worked with Hastings Mutual Insurance Company in Hastings, Michigan, in their multi-lines commercial underwriting department. While attending Michigan State University, Joni began her insurance career processing claims with a health care administrator. Joni obtained her Property-Casualty License in 1974 and worked as a producer with an independent insurance agency prior to becoming an underwriter. She obtained her BS degree from Stratford University. Joni is the Association's instructor for the "License-Plus" classes, many of the CISR courses, member benefit seminars, as well as the Errors & Omissions Claim Prevention Seminars. She also assists in coordinating the education schedule for the Association, along with doing research for the classes and for special projects. Joni is a member of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America Professional Liability Committee, and the Task Force on Insurance Agent & Broker E&O Loss Control. She has also authored several articles on insurance technical matters as well as Agent E&O issues. Joni became a CIC in 1988 and received her RPLU (Registered Professional Liability Underwriter) in 1998.
Robin Federici , CPCU, AAI, ARM, AINS, AIS, CPIW has been writing and presenting insurance education programs to the insurance industry for over 30 years. She formed Insurance Education & Training Associates (IETA) in 2003, after serving the Independent Insurance Agents of Rhode Island (IIARI) for sixteen years; first as Director of Education and subsequently as Assistant Executive Vice President. This followed a lengthy career in both underwriting and sales with insurance agencies and companies. Even during her agency and company days, Robin created education courses to present to her peers as a volunteer instructor for IIARI. Robin is a technical insurance and agency management expert with the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America’s Virtual University. This role, coupled with her extensive background in both the agency and company ranks, and her love of teaching, adds a unique dimension and immediate and practical value to the programs she presents to insurance professionals countrywide. Robin is also the author of Swiss-Re’s current E&O program – “E&O Management – Meeting the Challenge of Change”.
Devils Lake, ND US
Robert Ford is Senior Vice President, and Director of the Property Casualty Division for American Insurance Center. Bob started in the insurance business at age 19, when he was hired by Nodak Mutual Insurance Company as a territory producer in Wahpeton, North Dakota, and later transferred to Dickinson North Dakota. Bob returned in 1978 to Devils Lake, North Dakota to work in and purchase the family run agency. He has been with Ford Insurance Agency ever since. Bob has since involved himself in the insurance industry participating in several programs. Early in his career he started training with the IIAA of Iowa at the University of Iowa on an annual basis with their agency management school. These sessions were led by nationally known Dr. Emmett Vaughn. Those sessions helped Bob to lay the foundation for a good understanding of the insurance industry and the agency company relationships. Bob's next step was to become involved with the local association. He was elected to serve on the Board of Directors for North Dakota PIA (Professional Insurance Agents), and served in that position for 13 years. During that time his favorite activity was chairing the education committee. He held that position for eight years. Bob especially enjoyed that because in his view education is critical to a successful career. He has been privileged to serve as North Dakota PIA President and has also served as North Dakota PIA National Director. In trying to further his education, Bob became involved in the CIC (Certified Insurance Counselor) program and has completed that designation. In addition, he has earned the following designations; CISR (Certified Insurance Service Representative), CPIA (Certified Professional Insurance Agent), and CLCS (Commercial Lines Coverage Specialist) Enjoying education so much, Bob continues his educational pursuits by teaching many insurance workshops each year around the country, and is also a member of the national faculty for the Society of Certified Insurance Counselors. As for local service to his community, he is heavily involved in Bethel Evangelical Free Church. He serves there in several capacities.
Litchfield, IL US
Tom Franzen (CIC, ARM, ARM-P, MLIS) has had a long and fulfilling carrer of over 40 years in the insurance and risk management industry. His career has taken him from company-based work to the agency side of the industry. He continues to work with risk management clients. An attendee of McKendree College, Tom received his CIC designation in 1979, his ARM designation in 2008, ARM-P credentials in 2010, and added the MLIS designation in 2018. His passion for sharing knowledge with others in the industry has led him to opportunities such as consulting, serving as a faculty member for the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research, and various speaking engagements with convention groups about insurance and risk management related topics. He is also an active member of the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS). Tom recognizes being a professional in his community means giving back where his skillset and insights are applicable via volunteer service roles, such as Board Member of First National Bank of Litchfield and recently serving for multiple years as Chairman of the Board at St. Francis Hospital.
Big I Illinois
Brett Gerger, CIC Brett has over 20 years of experience in the insurance industry as a regulator. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Illinois at Springfield and in 2021 earned his CIC designation. Brett currently serves as the Director of Education & Agency Resources with the Big I Illinois.
St. Louis, MO
Angie Heavener is currently the principal of Insurance Training Plus, a professional training and consulting firm focused on education and agency operations, that she began in 2002. She began her insurance career in 1971 joining her family's agency. She held numerous positions in the agency consisting of CSR, producer, and eventually agency owner. In 1993, she sold her agency to join the staff of the Professional Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois. She began as Assistant Vice President of Marketing/Instructor and was shortly promoted to Vice-President of Education. Angie served as education chairperson for the IIAI and PIIAI, as well as a committee member for the IIAA. She has also been active on numerous other state and national committees. Angie received the Young Agent of the Year Award in 1991, obtained her Certified Insurance Counselor designation in 1994, and her Certified Professional Insurance Agent designation in 1999. Angie teaches numerous continuing education and management seminars and is a frequent speaker at state conventions. She is a national faculty member of the Society of Certified Insurance Counselors, conducts internal Errors and Omissions audits on agencies throughout the country, and writes articles for various state insurance association magazines.