Headquarters:

Valhalla, NY

Year founded:

1994

Number of employees:

10,400+

Phone:

914 749 8500

Email:

info@tangramins.com

Website:

usi.com

LinkedIn:

linkedin.com/company/usi-insurance-services

“It’s our willingness to consider unique circumstances and offer innovative solutions where other carriers may not”

Christine Schneider, Arch Insurance

Bill Johnson

CEO, Chairman, and Founder

Jerry Pickett

President

Adam Baillie

Chief Strategy Officer

Leadership

Bill Johnson, the visionary force behind The Liberty Company, embarked on a transformative journey in 1987, when he founded the company armed with nothing but a desk and a phone. Graduating magna cum laude in computer science from California State University, Northridge, Bill has an entrepreneurial spirit that led him to establish Liberty. After a triumphant stint in the film industry, he returned as CEO in 2018, steering Liberty into a new era of growth. His leadership is not just a story of success; it's a testament to resilience, vision, and an unwavering commitment to excellence.

CEO, Chairman, and Founder

Bill Johnson

Joining The Liberty Company in 2003, Jerry Pickett spearheaded its transformation from a single office to a national brokerage powerhouse. Armed with a business degree from the University of Redlands, he now focuses on recruiting new producers, drawing from his extensive senior management experience in a mortgage broker firm with 1,500 employees.

President

Jerry Pickett

In his role as chief operating officer (COO), Adam Baillie stands as a key architect of the company’s success. Selected for his decade-long track record of operational excellence and strategic insight, Adam oversees all aspects of Liberty’s business segments. From his early days as a producer to his transformative leadership as managing partner, Adam has been instrumental in steering Liberty's remarkable 16-fold revenue increase and shaping its unique culture of entrepreneurial success.

Chief Strategy Officer

Adam Baillie

“It’s our willingness to consider unique circumstances and offer innovative solutions where other carriers may not”

Christine Schneider, Arch Insurance

Leadership

“It’s our willingness to consider unique circumstances and offer innovative solutions where other carriers may not”

Christine Schneider, Arch Insurance

Leadership

Bernadetta Scholz

Chief Financial Officer

Bringing over 15 years of finance expertise, Bernadetta Scholz, Liberty’s CFO, has navigated internal and SEC financial reporting, IPOs, and global accounting. Formerly CFO at CLA, she spearheads Liberty’s financial strategy, contributing to its international corporate operations and expansion.

Chief Financial Officer

Bernadetta Scholz

Vincent Kellaher

Senior Vice President, Property and Casualty Claims

Vincent Kellaher currently serves as senior vice president of claims at Arch Insurance. He provides leadership and technical claim direction for property and casualty claim lines of business. Prior to joining Arch in August 2015, Kellaher served as chief claim officer for Carolina Casualty and Gemini Transportation Underwriters, a division of WR Berkley. Prior to WR Berkley, he worked for Zurich Insurance, serving in both domestic and international claim assignments. From 1996 to 2007, he directed and managed Zurich 36 Field claim offices in the US.

Senior Vice President, Property and Casualty Claims

Vincent Kellaher

USI Insurance Services is one of the largest insurance brokerage and consulting firms in the world, delivering property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk, program and retirement solutions to large risk management clients, middle market companies, smaller firms and individuals. Headquartered in Valhalla, NY, USI connects over 10,000 industry-leading professionals from approximately 200 offices to serve clients’ local, national, and international needs. USI has become a premier insurance brokerage and consulting firm by leveraging the USI ONE Advantage, an interactive platform that integrates proprietary and innovative client solutions, networked local resources, and enterprise-wide collaboration to deliver customized results with positive, bottom-line impact. To learn more about USI or to view available career opportunities, please visit jobs.usi.com.

Brian Kristiansen

Senior Vice President, Financial and Specialty Claims

Francine Minervini

Senior Vice President and Chief Technical Claims Officer

Dan Draper

Group Chief Underwriting Officer

Simon Williams

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

Brian Kristiansen joined Arch in 2012 and currently oversees Arch’s executive assurance, healthcare, professional liability, cyber, surety, and warranty and lenders solutions claims groups. Prior to joining Arch, Kristiansen held various positions in the claims groups at two other insurance carriers. He began his insurance career at a New York City law firm, where he represented insurance carriers in connection with management liability coverages.

Senior Vice President, Financial and Specialty Claims

Brian Kristiansen

Francine Minervini is the chief technical claims officer. She joined Arch in 2007 as an assistant vice president in the casualty division and has held various roles of increasing responsibility in the claims department, ultimately being promoted to senior vice president in 2018. Prior to joining Arch, Minervini held several claims handling roles with AIG. She has her JD from the New England School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Seton Hall University. She is licensed to practice law in both New Jersey and New York.

Senior Vice President and Chief Technical Claims Officer

Francine Minervini

Dan Draper was appointed group chief underwriting officer in September 2022. He had previously served for more than two years as group head of underwriting at AXIS. Prior to that, he had been group chief risk and actuarial officer at VIBE. Before joining VIBE, Draper spent eight years with AXIS, holding a number of leadership roles that included group chief actuary, chief risk analytics officer, and insurance segment chief risk officer. Before that, he held managerial positions at the Financial Services Authority, XL Capital, and EY.

Group Chief Underwriting Officer

Dan Draper

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

Sarah M Stewart

Associate Vice President, Leasing and Call Centre Operations

Karen Bannister, CM

Vice President, Marketing

Dave Longbottom

Chief Technology Officer

Alex Ventura

Head of Marketing

Damian Palovick

Senior Vice President of Underwriting AXA XL – Delegated Authority Programs, North America

Dr. Mary Lavoie

Head of Risk Management and Senior Vice President AXA XL – Delegated Authority Programs, North America

Mark Bernacki

Chief Underwriting Officer

Ryan Armijo

Chief Operating Officer, Underwriting Division

Bob Petrilli

President, Underwriting Division

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USI INSURANCE SERVICES

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Medal

Small business

Brokers’ Pick – Professional liability

Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance

Turnaround time – claims

BDM support

Broker communication, training and development

Overall service level

BDM support

Medal

Overall service level

Broker communication, training and development

BDM support

Turnaround time – claims

Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance

Brokers’ Pick – Professional liability

Small business

Medal

Overall service level

Broker communication, training and development

BDM support

Turnaround time – claims

Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance

Brokers’ Pick – Professional liability

Small business

“We value technical expertise, fact-based and data-driven analysis, communication, and collaboration”

Francine Minervini, Arch Insurance

“We value technical expertise, fact-based and data-driven analysis, communication, and collaboration”

Francine Minervini, Arch Insurance

“We value technical expertise, fact-based and data-driven analysis, communication, and collaboration”

Francine Minervini, Arch Insurance

property and casualty employee benefits personal risk program and retirement

Headquartered in Valhalla, NY, USI connects over 10,000 industry-leading professionals from approximately 200 offices to serve clients’ local, national, and international needs. USI has become a premier insurance brokerage and consulting firm by leveraging the USI ONE Advantage, an interactive platform that integrates proprietary and innovative client solutions, networked local resources, and enterprise-wide collaboration to deliver customized results with positive, bottom-line impact. To learn more about USI or to view available career opportunities, visit usi.com.

technical excellence portfolio management data analytics focusing on communication collaboration

These factors are actively and routinely reaffirmed by senior vice president and chief technical claims officer Francine Minervini. She says, “We value technical expertise, fact-based and data-driven analysis, communication, and collaboration. Our process incorporates communication throughout the life of the claim and encourages communication with insureds, brokers, claims management, and our underwriters and actuaries.” Eager to develop and become better, Arch has a raft of future plans to boost its offerings amid the rapid pace of technological change. “We are in the midst of a system transformation that will modernize our claims system; we are also working with Strategic Analytics to introduce AI into the claims mail process,” shares Shiva Altadonna, senior vice president, claims shared services. “As a starting point, it will allow us to identify and route First Notice of Loss even faster to our claims professionals for handling and give quicker peace of mind to our customers that we are fanatical about responsiveness.”

“It’s our willingness to consider unique circumstances and offer innovative solutions where other carriers may not,” says Christine Schneider, senior vice president, casualty claims. “Also, strategically executing on opportunities based on market conditions has continuously supported Arch’s growth.” Leadership encourages all segments of the business to be bold, take calculated risks, celebrate accomplishments, and learn from mistakes. The focus is placed on the goals of each initiative, along with the necessary specific strategies. A key factor in Arch’s success has been the implementation of a new claims system that interlinks with the firm’s ‘North Star’ of placing employees in a position where they can add value on a daily basis. Senior vice president, financial and specialty claims Brian Kristiansen says, “We segment claims by line of business and hire employees with experience in those lines. We provide them with additional training and mentoring to ensure the continued development of expertise in those lines.” Another driver of Arch’s market-leading performance is its investment in data analytics and data transformation, increasing its ability to utilize business intelligence to improve product offerings and the abilities of its claims department, with a strong emphasis on claims handling and claims excellence. In addition, the firm continuously seeks feedback from the broker community on any areas where they would like to see potential improvement, particularly in claims service. Arch Claims specifically has done considerable work around communication with brokers over the past year, including an extensive survey to solicit feedback on the claims experience. Schneider says, “Through their commentary, we strive to be able to build even more trusting, respectful, and responsive relationships with all of our partners.” The claims department underscores the importance of: