Headquarters:
Greensboro, NC
Year founded:
1994
Number of employees:
269
Phone:
888 264 3388
Email:
info@smartchoiceagents.com
Website:
smartchoiceagents.com
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/company/smart-choice
“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
Andrew Caldwell
CEO
Joe Fisher
COO
Ashley Wingate
Executive Vice President, Sales and Distribution
Leadership
Andrew Caldwell was named CEO of Smart Choice in April 2025, after serving as president for more than 10 years. Prior to that, he was the executive vice president of business development. Caldwell is responsible for maintaining the company’s core vision and principles, expanding the size and scope of the network, and implementing strategies for revenue growth.
Since joining Smart Choice in 2003, he has held numerous leadership positions, including vice president, accounting director, and director of commission accounting.
CEO
Andrew Caldwell
Joe Fisher was named COO in January 2022. Previously, he served as executive vice president of strategic alliances, president of Smart Choice® Franchise Corp., and executive vice president of business development. As COO, Fisher works to establish and refine managerial and administrative procedures, reporting structures, and operational controls within the company. He joined the company in February 2006.
COO
Joe Fisher
Ashley Wingate was named executive vice president, sales and distribution of Smart Choice® in January 2024. He is responsible for the overall operation of the Smart Choice Agents Program, serves as the liaison to major company partners, and spearheads the expansion of the program into new states.
Wingate had previously served as senior vice president and vice president, personal lines. He began his career with the company in 2005 as a territory manager in North Carolina.
Executive Vice President, Sales and Distribution
Ashley Wingate
Carol Drake
Senior Vice President, Personal Lines
Carol Drake was named senior vice president, personal lines in January 2024. She joined Smart Choice® as vice president of corporate strategy in September 2017 and is primarily responsible for working with Smart Choice’s carrier partners to design strategies that maximize profit for both agencies and carriers.
From 2013 to 2017, she was the vice president of national accounts at Grange Insurance and vice president of marketing from 2003 to 2013. Drake has an extensive background in insurance and began her career with The Midland Life Insurance Company in 1991, where she held several positions, including director of business integration and marketing.
Senior Vice President, Personal Lines
Carol Drake
Dan Bruck
Chief Marketing Officer
Dan Bruck was named chief marketing officer of Smart Choice in February 2021. He has an extensive background in marketing leadership, spearheading the marketing efforts of Fortune 500 companies and smaller, growing companies. Bruck most recently served as CMO at Fasetto and also has held top marketing positions at Novarad, getAbstract, Q’Straint, and Stanton Group.
Chief Marketing Officer
Dan Bruck
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
Brandon Flinchum
Chief Financial Officer
Oliver Travieso
Senior Vice President, Commercial Lines
David Wilson
Senior Vice President, Specialty Markets
Pam Chhabra
Manager – Residential Strata
Brandon Flinchum joined Smart Choice as CFO in August 2024. He previously worked with a national CPA firm, serving various industries ranging from insurance to manufacturing and distributing. Flinchum received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in accounting from Appalachian State University. He is a licensed CPA in North Carolina.
Chief Financial Officer
Brandon Flinchum
Oliver Travieso was named senior vice president, commercial lines in January 2024. He joined the Smart Choice team as vice president of commercial lines in October 2015. His background is mainly in commercial insurance, both in sales and underwriting.
Prior to Smart Choice, Travieso was sales director at CNA Insurance, where he led a group of sales representatives for the Southeast. He is primarily responsible for overseeing commercial line carrier partner relationships and setting the commercial strategy for the field.
Senior Vice President, Commercial Lines
Oliver Travieso
David Wilson was named senior vice president, specialty markets in January 2024. He joined Smart Choice as vice president of sales in August 2017 and is primarily responsible for overseeing the express markets carrier relationships.
Formerly, he was personal lines practice leader at Regions Insurance Group from 2013 to 2017, and prior to that, senior national account executive at MetLife from 2004 to 2013. Wilson also worked as a local market manager in Florida from 1999 to 2004, and began his career as an agent in 1996, writing PC and life.
Senior Vice President, Specialty Markets
David Wilson
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
“The logic is putting agency owners back in control, rather than being controlled by the companies and vendors they represent”
Doug Witcher,
Smart Choice
“Many top Smart Choice agencies believed only a few short years ago that they were destined to be the little agency in town … Many believed that they simply did not have what it takes to represent the top carriers in our industry. They know now that is not true”
Doug Witcher,
Smart Choice
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
Smart Choice: built to lift independent agencies
For many independent insurance agencies, the ceiling is set early: too little premium volume to win appointments with top-rated carriers, and a reputation built on writing the non-standard business no one else wants. Smart Choice built its insurance network around removing that ceiling.
By pooling the buying power of thousands of independent agents, the company gave small agencies access to markets they could not reach alone and, in founder Doug Witcher’s words, the “Freedom to Succeed”. Now, with expanded offerings, Smart Choice is supporting scratch, former captive, and larger agencies with their growing needs.
Local roots, bigger markets
The freedom begins with market access, the single biggest barrier for the agencies the company sets out to serve. Through Smart Choice, agents gain access to more than 100 carriers and 300 products across personal, commercial, and life markets, spanning 48 states.
The network now counts over 12,000 independent agencies and more than 120 carriers, representing over $12 billion in written premiums. For an agency deciding whether to join an insurance network, that reach reframes what once looked like a permanent ceiling.
Witcher defined the shift as one of belief as much as capability. “Many top Smart Choice agencies believed only a few short years ago that they were destined to be the little agency in town, known for writing primarily the non-standard customers in the community,” he says. “Many believed that they simply did not have what it takes to represent the top carriers in our industry. They know now that is not true.”
Keeping agents in the driver’s seat
Just as important as market access is the control agents keep over their own business. Smart Choice partners retain 100 percent ownership, a sharp contrast with the terms an insurance aggregator imposes, under what the company describes as the industry’s most agent-friendly contract.
There are no joining and monthly marketing fees; agents can earn more with their commission cap and receive 100% of their commissions as leadership agents; and contingencies and bonuses are shared. “The logic is putting agency owners back in control, rather than being controlled by the companies and vendors they represent,” says Witcher.
Support on the ground
Local territory managers, many of them former agency owners or carrier-side veterans, provide training and hands-on guidance. Because they understand products, sales, and the day-to-day realities of running an agency, they can help partners grow and diversify into new lines of business.
For agents, the difference often comes down to mentorship at the right moment. Brett Allen of the Brett J. Allen Insurance Agency credits that early support for his trajectory. “I attribute a lot of my success to the support I’ve received from Smart Choice,” he says. “Growth comes easier with mentorship and guidance. As long as you listen to your trusted advisors, you’re going to be all right.”
Smart Choice has also turned inward recently, completing a full review of its technology platforms and processes and moving early on AI-based solutions to sharpen agency support. The aim stays constant: helping agents reach their full potential on their own terms and timetables.
