Headquarters:
1350 Broadway, Suite 1400, New York, NY 10018
Year founded:
2016
Number of employees:
1,400
Phone:
914 708 8857
Email:
info@jencapgroup.com
Website:
jencapgroup.com
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/company/jencap
“Everything we do as an organization is to serve our agents in a meaningful way, which is to provide industry-leading insurance solutions when they need us the most”
Mark Maher
Jencap
JENCAP
Mark Maher
President
David Nielsen
Chief Financial Officer
John LaCava
Chief Operating Officer
Leadership
As president of Jencap Group, Mark Maher works with the management team to develop strategic plans, drive overall growth initiatives, manage carrier and broker relationships, and work with affiliate company leaders to achieve an effective cross-selling practice.
Most recently, Maher was chief operating officer of Jencap and president of its NIF Group division, a managing general agency and wholesale insurance brokerage where he served for over 30 years. He began his insurance career in 1981 as a property facultative broker at Willcox Baringer, a subsidiary of Johnson and Higgins.
Other roles he has held throughout his insurance industry tenure include property facultative underwriter at Kaler Carney and Liffler; underwriting manager for Allstate Insurance Company; assistant vice president at Delany Management for both facultative and treaty reinsurance, on and off the New York Insurance Exchange; and assistant vice president at Danmar Associates.
President
Mark Maher
David Nielsen, chief financial officer of Jencap, previously was the CFO and a founding partner of Asset Growth Partners, a boutique asset manager. He held the position of CFO at Community One Bancorp, a publicly traded Carlyle Group-owned troubled small community bank acquisition platform, where he also led the company’s financial restructuring and acquisition activities.
Nielsen’s entire 30+ year career has been spent in the financial services industry, including as chief operating officer of Wells Fargo/Wachovia’s Global Markets & Investment Bank, where he managed the operating infrastructure and led the integration of Wachovia’s wholesale businesses into Wells Fargo. He began his career in accounting and consulting at KPMG.
Nielsen has a unique mix of operating and financial experience in both large and small companies, deep operational and financial integration knowledge, and significant private equity experience.
Chief Financial Officer
David Nielsen
John LaCava has been an insurance professional since 1985 and has extensive underwriting, operational and technical experience. His corporate strategic planning and organizational leadership were instrumental in executing several agency acquisitions to grow Jencap Program Administrators’ product portfolio.
Prior to co-founding Aran Insurance Services Group (now known as Jencap Program Administrators), in 2009, he held various C-level positions, most recently as an executive vice president and director for QBE North America.
He is active in his local community, supporting and coaching various local youth sports teams, and his local charitable activities include raising over $2 million for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s childhood cancer research efforts.
Chief Operating Officer
John LaCava
“Everything we do as an organization is to serve our agents in a meaningful way, which is to provide industry-leading insurance solutions when they need us the most”
Mark Maher
Jencap
“Whether it’s getting their insurance license or rotating them through various areas of the company, our goal at the end of two years is for them to be subject matter experts in whatever vertical they decide to focus on”
Bruce Peddle
Jencap
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“Whether it’s getting their insurance license or rotating them through various areas of the company, our goal at the end of two years is for them to be subject matter experts in whatever vertical they decide to focus on”
Bruce Peddle
Jencap
“Everything we do as an organization is to serve our agents in a meaningful way, which is to provide industry-leading insurance solutions when they need us the most”
Mark Maher
Jencap
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Shad McKnight
Chief Underwriting Officer
Shad McKnight joined ISC in July 2019, bringing 20+ years of experience in the P/C space in leadership roles in underwriting, product development/management, actuarial, analytics, marketing, claims, strategy, and IT. His career also includes serving as senior VP of underwriting, product, and actuarial with Merchants Insurance Group, VP product management at CUNA Mutual, and regional AVP product and underwriting with Nationwide Insurance.
Chief Underwriting Officer
Shad McKnight
Kristin Downey
Chief Administrative Officer
Kristin Downey leads the team responsible for developing and implementing the people strategies to support Amwins’ business objectives. She also directs the management and operations for compensation and benefits, HR systems and payroll, employee relations and assistance, talent management, training and development, and marketing and communications. Downey also leads the company’s philanthropic efforts, including the Amwins Foundation.
Chief Administrative Officer
Kristin Downey
Founded in 2016 with headquarters in New York City, Jencap is one of the largest wholesale intermediaries in the United States with expertise in wholesale brokerage, binding authority, and program management.
Jencap is at the forefront of identifying emerging and niche risks. For example, the firm’s innovative cannabis site pollution liability program is specifically designed for cannabis cultivators, processors, manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors; addressing significant gaps in coverage for cannabis operations.
“Jencap’s superpower is the unmatched expertise of our brokers. They ask the right questions, understand every nuanced policy form, know which carriers are the best match for a risk, and have in-depth knowledge that yields creative and comprehensive insurance solutions for our agents’ toughest risks,” shares Mark Maher, President of Jencap.
Aside from its expansive list of carrier contracts, Jencap boasts 27 exclusive programs, which are uniquely designed to fill specific gaps in the marketplace and create valuable solutions for agency partners.
“Our thriving agency partnerships, long-tenured carrier relationships, and strong leadership team are proof of Jencap’s values-centric work environment,” says Maher. “Everything we do as an organization is to serve our agents in a meaningful way, which is to provide industry-leading insurance solutions when they need us the most.”
“Whether it’s getting their insurance license or rotating them through various areas of the company, our goal at the end of two years is for them to be subject matter experts in whatever vertical they decide to focus on”
Bruce Peddle
Jencap
Donna Hargrove
General Counsel
Mark Bernacki
Chief Underwriting Officer
Julie Prewitt
Senior Vice President, Marketing
Simon Williams
Chief Strategy & Distribution Officer, Arch Insurance International
and Active Underwriter, Syndicate 1955
Since 2008, Donna Hargrove has served as general counsel of Amwins and is responsible for identifying and managing all legal risks for the company. She advises executive leadership and the board of directors on a range of business issues, including corporate governance, risk management, and regulatory compliance. Prior to joining Amwins, Hargrove served as corporate in-house counsel for BB&T Insurance Services. Earlier in her career, she served in private practice with Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, concentrating on mergers and acquisitions and general corporate matters.
General Counsel
Donna Hargrove
Mark Bernacki is the chief underwriting officer of Amwins, the first to serve in the role. Prior to that, he served as president of Amwins Special Risk Underwriters. In addition to his leadership in underwriting, Bernacki runs the Amwins Alternative Risk Transfer Team for Amwins.
Chief Underwriting Officer
Mark Bernacki
Julie Prewitt has worked on nearly every aspect of marketing and advertising in her nearly 20 years in the industry. Her team at REInsurePro manages branding, advertising, events, content, digital campaigns, and agent engagement and plays a key role in product development.
Senior Vice President, Marketing
Julie Prewitt
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Accordingly, 2023 was a tremendously successful year for the firm, having closed approximately $3.5 billion in total written premiums.
“To be the best wholesaler, you must employ the best brokers and support staff in the business. Jencap is laser-focused on retaining and attracting the best talent in the industry, and we credit this ongoing effort to much of our rapid growth,” adds Maher.
As part of Jencap’s ongoing efforts to retain employees and invest in new talent, the company launched the Jencap Success Academy, a two-year training program for college graduates that provides a full-time job position and high-level technical skill-building. Similarly, Jencap’s Internship program provides students entering their sophomore or junior year of college with the opportunity to explore different departments at the firm.
“Whether it’s getting their insurance license or rotating them through various areas of the company, our goal at the end of two years is for them to be subject matter experts in whatever vertical they decide to focus on,” explains divisional president, Bruce Peddle.
To serve its growing employee base and book of retail clients, Jencap continues to invest in new technology. They have adopted an innovative AMS platform and recently launched the TSIQ underwriting submission system, along with successfully completing an Oracle GL/AP rollout in 2023.
“At the end of the day, our dedicated team members do what they say they are going to do. We have a responsibility to protect our carrier partners, while operating with integrity and speed for our retail partners,” says Peddle.
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“We will continue to strengthen our service proposition and customer experience as a key differentiator, as we build on the momentum we have achieved to date across multiple business lines and territories,” says McLean. “Our im is to continue to grow our market relevance and strengthen our partnerships with our strategic brokers as we expand our leadership position in key sectors.
“We will also continue to invest in talent. We are committed to drawing from the broadest pools of talent, and to creating an environment that attracts and retains stellar employees. We recognise the importance of building teams that are diverse, collaborative, and innovative and are dedicated to cultivating a supportive and inclusive workplace culture in which all our employees can thrive.”
