Headquarters:
6209 Baum Dr., Knoxville, TN 37919
Year founded:
2023
Number of employees:
6
Phone:
844 513 5990
Email:
jcraven@fortifiedagencies.com
Website:
fortifiedagencies.com
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/company/fortifiedagencies/
“We prioritise embracing cutting-edge technologies, creative problem solving and continuous improvement to enhance our premium funding solutions and provide exceptional value to our clients”
Brett Bastow, IQumulate Premium FundinG
Joe Craven
Chief Executive Officer
Denny Sanford
Executive Board Member
Shaw Johnson
Executive Board Member
Leadership
Joe Craven is a seasoned insurance professional with 36 years in the industry. He has an extensive background in insurance company marketing and management. He joined Fortified as CEO in September 2022.
Chief Executive Officer
Joe Craven
Denny Sanford graduated with a BA from the School of Commerce and Business, University of Alabama, in 1977. In 1982, he and his father purchased what is now SanBuck. He is the majority owner of the company, which has three offices in south Alabama. He began his career with Continental Insurance Company in 1977 as a commercial underwriter and marketing representative.
Along with George Bentley, Aubrey Ellis, and Bill McGehee, he formed the Shared Agency Services of Alabama in 2005 and has served as its chairman for 17 years.
Sanford has been married to the former Meribeth Jill Girdner for 30 years. They have two children, Will and Sarah.
Executive Board Member
Denny Sanford
Shaw Johnson III of Clarksdale, MS, is a partner and chairman of the board at SouthGroup Insurance Services. SouthGroup is Mississippi’s largest privately owned insurance agency with 21 branches across the state. Johnson is the fourth generation to work in the agency founded in 1894 by his great-grandfather. He is proud that the agency is still going strong after 128 years of continued service to the Clarksdale community.
He has also been active in leadership roles in his industry. He is the past chairman of the Independent Insurance Agents of Mississippi. He also served on the National Board of Directors of Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers. Johnson served three years as the chairman of finance for the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America. He is also an Advisory Council Member of the Risk Management Insurance for the University of Mississippi. He has served on numerous insurance advisory councils as well as civic and local boards.
Johnson has been married to the former Beth Bennett for 29 years. They have two children, son Shaw Johnson IV and daughter Shelton Johnson. He loves to spend time with the family in their cabin along the Mississippi River in Coahoma County.
Executive Board Member
Shaw Johnson
Lou Moran III
Executive Board Member
Lou Moran III is a prominent figure in the insurance industry, hailing from Knoxville, Tennessee. He serves as the President of Inter-Agency Insurance Services.
Throughout his career, Lou III has been actively involved in various industry organizations. He has held multiple board positions with the Insurors of Tennessee, including serving as President of both the Insurors of Knoxville and the State Association.
On a national level, Lou III represented Tennessee as a board member of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (IIABA). He also served as Member of the IIABA Executive Committee.
Lou III was also instrumental in being one of the founding members of FORTIFIED, an alliance of independent insurance agencies across 13 states. With 87 independent insurance agencies and over 320 locations across the country, the alliance is currently writing just shy of $4 billion in collective premiums. At Fortified, the mission is to help independent insurance agencies remain independent.
Continuing his leadership and dedication, Lou Moran III strives to influence the insurance industry both locally and nationally, upholding a family legacy of service and excellence.
Executive Board Member
Lou Moran III
Jason Smith
Executive Board Member
Jason Smith is the managing partner of American Safeguard Insurance Group, where he oversees all operations. With 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, Smith specializes in agency operations, processes, acquisitions, and talent recruitment. Outside of work, he is a passionate outdoorsman, family man, and entrepreneur.
Executive Board Member
Jason Smith
Stevens & Associates Lawyers is a leading and trusted employment law firm based in Sydney known for delivering high-quality legal expertise in the area of employment law and industrial relations across Australia, alongside a proven track record of effectively and swiftly resolving a variety of workplace law issues.
In the past year, the firm’s growth has been notable. It has:
• experienced a 213% growth in the number of client matters, increasing from 149 client matters in the 2022 financial year to 390 client matters in the 2023 financial year
• improved its online visibility, leading to over 50 online enquiries each month and a conversion rate of client leads of up to 40%
• significantly expanded the breadth and type of matters that it advises on day to day, which has increased the firm’s skillsets, diversity and resilience
• expanded its community outreach by collaborating with local Sydney venues for client seminars and continuing active participation in a Sydney small/family business group
Stevens & Associates Lawyers has adapted to digital trends by implementing an effective strategy with SEO and web design, resulting in a structural shift that has seen increased representation of employees where the firm previously mainly advised employers.
The firm’s recognition as a “Fast Firm” attests to its momentum in the employment law space.
“IQumulate is on a technology journey, and we’re just getting started”
Wayne Tower,
IQumulate Premium Funding
Terry “T” Thompson
Executive Board Member
Elizabeth Bounds
General Counsel
Nealy Farshadi
Principal, Strategic Client Relations
Pam Chhabra
Manager – Residential Strata
Terry “T” Thompson has over 30 years in all aspects of the insurance industry, ranging from working as a producer, manager, agency owner, and carrier marketing representative. Highlights include serving both as president and in other senior executive roles at the Gary Thompson Agency for over 20 years. Thompson has also worked for EMC in both a marketing and consulting capacity throughout the Midwest.
In addition to his distinguished insurance career, Thompson enjoys Husker sports, the Royals and Chiefs, as well as an occasional not-too-serious golf game. He resides in the Lincoln area with his wife, Stephany, and is proud of his two grown children, Taylor and Jack.
Executive Board Member
Terry “T” Thompson
Elizabeth Bounds oversees Brown & Riding’s legal, risk management, and claims departments. As the company’s chief legal resource, she reviews and negotiates corporate contracts and manages the firm’s litigation, internal legal resources, and relationships with outside counsel.
She also works closely with B&R’s senior management in developing overall risk management strategies for the firm and is directly accountable to the Board of Directors for implementing risk control measures and for the facilitation and oversight of corporate liability insurance placements. In the claims department, she takes an especially active role in policy interpretation and client claims advocacy.
General Counsel
Elizabeth Bounds
Nealy Farshadi is instrumental in helping strengthen and grow Brown & Riding’s client relationships. She maintains and improves quality procedures, oversees B&R’s ISO certification, and manages the firm’s client feedback program. Her contributions enable the executive management team to act on client input effectively. As a result, B&R’s client feedback scores greatly exceed the average and continue to improve each year.
Farshadi also supports and furthers the growth of B&R and its employees by contributing to professional development within the organization and being a resource to staff.
Principal, Strategic Client Relations
Nealy Farshadi
Stephen McMillan first entered the financial services Industry when he joined GE Capital as a finance analyst in 2008, from which he progressed through roles working both onshore and offshore. From there, he moved into Pacific Premium Funding as a financial planning and analysis leader in 2012 and was a key resource in the evolution of the business, first with the successful sale to Macquarie Pacific Funding and then the following progression into IQumulate Premium Funding, where he is now the commercial manager.
As commercial manager, McMillan leads a team that is responsible for commercial analysis and business support, identifying and reporting improvement initiatives, and the securitization and treasury functions of the business.
Commercial Manager
Stephen McMillan
One culmination of these efforts has been the real-world, needs-based IQEdge solution. A one-stop online quoting tool designed for both the Australian and New Zealand markets, IQEdge delivers quotes in under 60 seconds. Plus, the solution offers quote comparison and quote versioning capabilities, enabling users to review vital historical and financial data in a single page view.
IQEdge can streamline and automate application processing, underwriting document verification and payment collection, cutting the need for manual labour and minimising processing errors. A digital “self-service” platform, IQEdge, reduces the need for customer and administrative support. Meanwhile, borrowers can access their accounts, make payments and manage their policies independently and through sales and support teams, which are always available for further assistance.
“We’ve created a quality platform that simplifies the quoting process yet amplifies the customer experience,” says Gordon. “It’s a real game changer.” IQumulate offers an online digital quoting tool to clients. The best-in-market solution enables IQumulate to tailor funding offerings to brokers that align with their prefered distribution channel.
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What does IQumulate have in mind for the future?
“IQumulate is on a technology journey, and we’re just getting started,” says Wayne Tower, CEO. “Through continuous engagement with our clients, partners, marketplace and industry, we will listen to the needs as they arise and position our business to be agile and respond to changes as they occur.
“Faster decision-making innovations such as AI-powered decision support systems can expedite the underwriting and approval process, leading to quicker responses to clients. This can improve client satisfaction and potentially attract more business, with the potential to allow IQumulate to capture a larger market share, whilst continuing to deliver service excellence to clients.”
“As forward-thinkers with a digital and ‘do it better’ mindset, we collectively and proactively look to learn and improve on our customer experience for our clients, paving the way for successful business outcomes for our clients and our business in the coming years ahead.
“We’re excited for the future and look forward to what’s on the horizon.”
Adam Basaldella
Manager – Claims
Stephen McMillan first entered the financial services Industry when he joined GE Capital as a finance analyst in 2008, from which he progressed through roles working both onshore and offshore. From there, he moved into Pacific Premium Funding as a financial planning and analysis leader in 2012 and was a key resource in the evolution of the business, first with the successful sale to Macquarie Pacific Funding and then the following progression into IQumulate Premium Funding, where he is now the commercial manager.
As commercial manager, McMillan leads a team that is responsible for commercial analysis and business support, identifying and reporting improvement initiatives, and the securitization and treasury functions of the business.
Product Manager
Claire Watson
Stephen McMillan first entered the financial services Industry when he joined GE Capital as a finance analyst in 2008, from which he progressed through roles working both onshore and offshore. From there, he moved into Pacific Premium Funding as a financial planning and analysis leader in 2012 and was a key resource in the evolution of the business, first with the successful sale to Macquarie Pacific Funding and then the following progression into IQumulate Premium Funding, where he is now the commercial manager.
As commercial manager, McMillan leads a team that is responsible for commercial analysis and business support, identifying and reporting improvement initiatives, and the securitization and treasury functions of the business.
Commercial Manager
Stephen McMillan
“When I took over leadership in 2021, I wanted the organization to be more than a market access platform. I wanted to build a community where members of the DAIS network truly view us as partners in their business”
Joe Stankowich,
Direct Access Insurance Services (DAIS)
“The core value proposition of DAIS has always been providing our agency partners with broad direct market access to preferred P&C carriers while leveraging the collective strength of the group to maximize agency revenue”
Joe Stankowich,
Direct Access Insurance Services (DAIS)
Ivan Verescuk
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
Shaun O’Brien
Head of Underwriting
Emily Walker
Head of Strata and Development
Rex Oakman
Head of Operations and Risk
Sandy Newton
Head of Underwriting
Andrew Mitchell
Manager – NSW
Michael Prokopis
Manager – Southern Region
Pam Chhabra
Manager – Residential Strata
Jeffrey Valdivia
Manager – Commercial Strata
Adam Basaldella
Manager – Claims
Community-focused, agent-owned, and with selective protection, Fortified is an alliance of independent insurance agencies. By connecting like-minded agencies, Fortified can reinforce the strength of independent agencies in the marketplace. Their collaboration allows partners to provide the best insurance and risk management solutions to their clients.
Committed to trustworthy service, our partners provide a range of products from the most reliable insurance carriers for just about any insurance need for both personal and commercial clients.
Keeping independent agents independent, Fortified is dedicated to ensuring the independent agency system remains competitive and prosperous for years to come. Its combined member agencies write over $4 billion in insurance premiums for more than 300,000 clients in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota – and its reach continues to expand.
Built around partnership
The DAIS approach reflects a deliberate vision of what an insurance agency network should be. Senior vice president Joe Stankowich has been involved with DAIS since 2015 and assumed leadership in 2021. Since 2015, the network has grown from 13 retail agency partners to more than 140 independent insurance agencies nationwide.
“The core value proposition of DAIS has always been providing our agency partners with broad direct market access to preferred P&C carriers while leveraging the collective strength of the group to maximize agency revenue,” Stankowich says.
“When I took over leadership in 2021, I wanted the organization to be more than a market access platform. I wanted to build a community where members of the DAIS network truly view us as partners in their business.”
A high-touch model at scale
Despite its growth, DAIS maintains a high-touch approach. Every partner has direct access to senior leadership, which serves as a trusted advisor on operations, strategy, and growth.
The network continues to expand carrier relationships, technology resources, and business solutions that help agencies compete and grow. Through educational webinars, agency roundtables, and an annual conference, DAIS has created a collaborative community that extends beyond market access.
For agencies seeking direct carrier access, profit-sharing opportunities, and true partnership, DAIS offers a compelling alternative to traditional insurance aggregators, agency clusters, and insurance agency alliances.
