DeCotis Specialty Insurance

Thomas DeCotis, CIC

Chief Executive Officer

Jocelyn Dewey, CPCU, ASLI, AAI, ACSR

Chief Underwriting Officer and Director of Personal Lines

Jessica Wrigley, CISR, CLCS

Director of Commercial Lines

Leadership

Thomas DeCotis is the CEO of DeCotis Specialty Insurance, a second-generation, independently owned wholesale broker and MGA serving agency partners nationwide. After graduating from college, he joined the family business and gained hands-on experience in underwriting, production, and operations before assuming executive leadership. Under his guidance, the company has expanded beyond its Rhode Island roots into the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southwest, while deepening its specialty insurance capabilities. A past president of the New England Surplus Lines Association, DeCotis currently serves on PIWA, the Rhode Island Governor’s Insurance Council, and WSIA’s Legislative Committee. He is also passionate about mentoring emerging insurance professionals and remains active in community sports and animal rescue.

Chief Executive Officer

Thomas DeCotis, CIC

Jocelyn Dewey is chief underwriting officer and director of personal lines at DeCotis Specialty Insurance, where she oversees underwriting strategy and portfolio growth for the personal lines division. With more than 22 years of industry experience and over 15 years at DeCotis, she is widely recognized for her expertise in surplus lines underwriting, risk assessment, and agency relationship management. Dewey leads the development of disciplined underwriting strategies while maintaining key carrier partnerships, including Lloyd’s of London relationships. A former chief operating officer at DeCotis, she previously held underwriting roles at The Hanover Insurance Group and Travelers. She holds a BS in Business Management from Green Mountain College and several professional designations and is active in the insurance community, including as a past president of the Massachusetts Association of Insurance Women.

Chief Underwriting Officer and Director of Personal Lines

Jocelyn Dewey, CPCU, ASLI, AAI, ACSR

Jessica Wrigley is the director of commercial lines at DeCotis Specialty Insurance, leading the commercial division and supporting the firm’s strategic growth. She partners closely with agency and carrier stakeholders, oversees complex commercial placements, and helps shape commercial strategy with a practical, relationship-first approach. With more than 16 years of experience across carrier, agency, and wholesale roles, Wrigley brings a well-rounded industry perspective and a strong ability to connect strategy with execution. She began her career with Liberty Mutual Insurance, later worked as a producer, and served as a senior territory manager with Safeco before joining DeCotis. Wrigley holds a Bachelor of Science in Business, Management, and Marketing from Merrimack College and maintains CISR and CLCS professional designations.

Director of Commercial Lines

Jessica Wrigley, CISR, CLCS

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Ludmila Koval, CPCU, AIS, AINS

Director of Marketing and Digital Services

Ludmila Koval is the director of digital services at DeCotis Specialty Insurance, where she leads the company’s digital transformation efforts. She oversees agent-facing quoting platforms, carrier integrations, and AI-driven automation designed to streamline underwriting and operational workflows. With more than 20 years of insurance industry experience, Koval focuses on building modern technology capabilities that improve efficiency and elevate service for retail agency partners. After relocating from Ukraine in 2006, she began her US insurance career, drawing on a master’s degree in philology and early experience in radio broadcasting, advertising, and public relations. Outside of work, Koval enjoys hiking, skiing, traveling, and playing guitar.

Director of Marketing and Digital Services

Ludmila Koval, CPCU, AIS, AINS

Kristen Liguori

Chief Financial Officer

Kristen Liguori is the chief financial officer of DeCotis Specialty Insurance and a member of the company’s Board of Directors. She joined DeCotis in 1992 as a broker, but her strong financial and analytical skills soon led her into the accounting department, where she advanced under the guidance of a trusted mentor. Over the years, Liguori has helped shape the company’s financial strategy and supports the CEO’s vision for sustainable growth and success. Beyond her corporate responsibilities, she oversees the Joan DeCotis Foundation, which funds lung cancer clinical trials and research, and is actively involved with Hasbro Children’s Hospital. Liguori is married and a proud mother of three.

Chief Financial Officer

Kristen Liguori

DeCotis Specialty Insurance has built its reputation on a clear mission: to make independent agents look like heroes to their clients. As an independently owned excess and surplus (E&S) MGA and wholesale broker, the firm specializes in helping retail agents navigate complex, non-standard risks. Independence has always served as a competitive advantage for DeCotis. As a privately owned firm, it can move quickly to make decisions based on what benefits its agency partners—not outside investors. That agility has helped fuel its evolution from a local MGA into a leading regional wholesale broker across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and areas of Southeast. At the core of DeCotis’ approach is a commitment to partnership. The firm works closely with its agency customers to structure solutions for hard-to-place risks, combining underwriting expertise with a responsive, service-driven model. “Responsiveness is a priority for us. In the wholesale and surplus lines market, timing and communication can make a significant difference, particularly when agents are trying to place difficult risks”. Long-standing relationships with carrier partners, including Lloyd’s, allow DeCotis to deliver solutions across a wide range of complex personal and commercial risks—from excess homeowners and layered commercial property to specialized coverages such as wind and flood deductible buybacks. Technology plays an increasingly important role in supporting that approach. The launch of DeCotis Express, a proprietary online quoting platform, now allows agents to self-serve standard E&S risks, including coastal property, directly from their desktops. DeCotis continues to invest in digital tools that streamline the quoting process, allow for electronic payments, enhance workflow efficiency, and improve the overall agent experience. At the same time, DeCotis maintains a strong focus on its people and culture. The firm emphasizes collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement, with employees empowered to refine processes and contribute to the client experience, guided by core values of: ■ dedication ■ expertise ■ collaboration ■ ownership ■ trust ■ integrity ■ social responsibility Looking ahead, the firm is focused on balancing technology investment with its relationship-driven approach. In a rapidly evolving market, DeCotis Specialty Insurance positions itself not as the largest player but as one of the most sincerely aligned with its partners’ success – a technically adept, relationship-focused MGA determined to ensure agents remain indispensable to their insureds

“Monarch E&S has the products, talent, expertise, and reputation to get deals done with our strategic partners and clients, which is essentially table stakes”

Yiana Stavrakis, Monarch E&S Insurance Services

Brian Johnson

Director of Commercial Lines Underwriting

Susan Wilson, AAI

Director of Operations

Christopher Welty

Chief Human Resources Officer

Simon Williams

Chief Strategy & Distribution Officer, Arch Insurance International and Active Underwriter, Syndicate 1955

Brian Johnson, MBA, CPCU, ARM, ARe serves as Director of Commercial Lines Underwriting at DeCotis Specialty Insurance, where he leads underwriting strategy and binding authority placement across the commercial lines division. With 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, Brian brings deep technical expertise and a strong understanding of the E&S marketplace. He joined DeCotis in 2013 as Regional Underwriting Director for the Northeast and has played a key role in expanding the firm’s commercial capabilities. Brian holds an MBA from Clark University and is recognized for his underwriting expertise and disciplined approach to risk selection.

Director of Commercial Lines Underwriting

Brian Johnson

Susan Wilson, CIC, AAI, leads operations at DeCotis Specialty Insurance, drawing on more than three decades of experience across personal and commercial lines. She joined DeCotis in 2018, leveraging a strong retail agency background and long-standing industry relationships. Susan oversees day-to-day operations, IT coordination, and process improvement, while supporting account management as needed. Her career includes roles in account management, new business marketing, and servicing complex commercial accounts. In 2024, Susan joined the DeCotis Leadership Team, helping guide the company’s operational strategy and growth.

Director of Operations

Susan Wilson, AAI

Christopher Welty is dedicated to aligning employees with Brown & Riding (B&R)’s vision and values, fostering mutual growth for all. During his tenure, B&R has more than quadrupled in size. He has helped successfully integrate the company through two mergers and has been a strong advocate for many of the company’s important benefit plan enhancements and development programs. He excels at collaboration and has been a key contributor in establishing and promoting the company’s culture and offering programs and opportunities to help employees build a rewarding career. Welty joined B&R in 2007 as an HR assistant. His dedication and talent earned swift advancement, culminating in his appointment as the firm’s chief human resources officer in 2019.

Chief Human Resources Officer

Christopher Welty

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

Partner

Kimi Shah

Partner

Kimi Shah

maintaining an in-house team of more than 20 programmers to facilitate fast improvements direct bill options to streamline the payment process for the agent and the insured providing IVANS policy downloads that enable up to 30 percent labor savings to independent agencies delivering online capabilities including rating, policy documents, payments, and claims reporting

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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.”

Monarch’s sister company, Capitol Special Risks, is now part of the Monarch umbrella to provide retail broker customers with expertise and markets in the professional, management, and cyber liability space. “I am very proud of our young and dynamic leadership team,” says Derek Borisoff, chief executive officer of Monarch E&S. “Stefanie McLeod, vice president of personal lines, and Devon Borisoff, vice president of commercial lines, are led by Yiana Stavrakis, our very capable president. All three are known standouts in our industry who lead by example in both work ethic and desire to solve problems. Our firm’s outstanding performance is a result of their positive communications with our people, superb carrier relationships, and proactive management style.” As a full-service MGA and wholesale brokerage, Monarch gives retail insurance brokers access to many different lines of business through its commercial lines, personal lines, professional lines, transportation, mining/energy, CAT property, earthquake, and flood departments. “Monarch E&S has the products, talent, expertise, and reputation to get deals done with our strategic partners and clients, which is essentially table stakes,” says Yiana Stavrakis, president at Monarch E&S. “How do we go above and beyond? We aim to work on every deal, regardless of size, as if it were our personal account and provide our retail brokers with problem-solving competencies to handle hard-to-place risks. Most competitors do not provide the same level of service for smaller brokers and risks as they do for larger ones. Monarch thrives when it comes to providing solutions for small to mid-market risks.”

relationships and teamwork embracing and driving change holding teammates accountable pursuing excellence with humility giving back to the community

Furthermore, talent acquisition and retention pose a significant challenge and are at the forefront of most business leaders’ minds during this unique time. The insurance industry has been aware for years of a looming talent shortage caused by the Baby Boomer generation’s retirement and is now experiencing a war for talent. “Monarch has been able to overcome this talent acquisition challenge by staying true to who we are, a family environment with national resources, which is something we will continue to encourage and promote,” says Stavrakis. “When working for a team like ours, you are not another cog in the wheel but have the opportunity to make your mark and grow with us as we build out Monarch 2.0.” Monarch E&S Insurance Services is licensed in every state and is continuously finding ways to enhance its team, client, and carrier partner experiences. Get ready for the royal treatment as Monarch 2.0 expands digitally.

“I am very proud of our young and dynamic leadership team. Our firm’s outstanding performance is a result of their positive communications with our people, superb carrier relationships, and proactive management style”

Derek Borisoff, Monarch E&S Insurance Services

Yiana Stavrakis, Monarch E&S Insurance Services

relationships and teamwork embracing and driving change holding teammates accountable pursuing excellence with humility giving back to the community