Headquarters:

Tucson, AZ

Year founded:

2007

Number of employees:

Phone:

520 917 5295

Email:

marketing@rightsure.com

Website:

rightsure.com

LinkedIn:

linkedin.com/company/rightsure-insurance-group

“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

Jeff Arnold

Founder

Shaun Monet Kunkel

Vice President, Finance

Felicia Garcia

Executive Vice President

Leadership

Jeff Arnold has been called a thought leader and a global ambassador for the insurance industry. He is the president of RightSure, a hybrid platform that is part insurance agency, part insurtech, and part aggregator. He is a two-time bestselling author and enjoys writing and speaking on All Things Insurance. In his nearly 30 years as an industry leader, Arnold has participated in over 60 transactions involving the sale or purchase of agencies, MGAs, and companies. Renowned for his expertise in mergers and acquisitions (he pioneered new “deep diving” due diligence standards), he has managed deals ranging from a few hundred thousand to more than $1 million.

Founder

Jeff Arnold

Shaun Monet Kunkel has experience with Fortune 500 firms, startups and mid-market companies that make her a natural fit for overseeing RightSure’s finance functions. A Chicago-area native, she has three years of experience operating within the firm, its affiliates or subsidiary operations. Kunkel has been instrumental in transforming RightSure’s accounting and finance department and assisted the firm with receiving an unparalleled three national awards as the firm continues its rise as a national player in the insurance technology “insurtech” space. She began her career with Etna Insurance/Assurance, a family-owned agency while attending the University of Arizona. After receiving her bachelor’s in English and minors in business and Japanese, she went to Japan to teach English. Upon return, she got her MBA from Thunderbird with an emphasis in business and minoring in Japanese. Her education in international business drew her to work for AIG, where she began as a consultant for the claims service centers in the western region, primarily as a data analyst. During her seven-year career with AIG, she moved onto sales and marketing, and finished her career as vice president of sales for claims in the southern region.

Vice President, Finance

Shaun Monet Kunkel

Knowledge is power, and Felicia Garcia is passionate about sharing her insurance knowledge with both her clients and her colleagues. Felicia started working at RightSure in 2002. At the time, she was attending Pima Medical Institute with plans of becoming a dental hygienist, but insurance grew on her. She started out doing customer service work, but over the years, she’s worked her way up to her current position of director of sales operations. “Insurance is my life,” she says, adding she loves gaining “the knowledge behind every coverage.” She also loves sharing that knowledge, and as the director of sales operations, she’s in an excellent position to do just that. Her duties include managing scheduling and doing payroll, but she also trains employees to become agents and answers any questions they have. When there’s a call overflow, she’s happy to pick up the phone and speak directly to clients. “What I really enjoy is being able to give clients the knowledge of insurance,” she says. She’s knowledgeable in automobile, motorcycle, and home insurance, and she understands the products offered by different carriers as well as the various state guidelines.

Executive Vice President

Felicia Garcia

BRETT BASTOW, IQUMULATE PREMIUM FUNDINGs

Leadership

Juliette Burke

Vice President, Compliance

Juliette Tetley-Burke won’t take offence if you call her an insurance geek. She didn’t always plan on a career in insurance. For 10 years, she worked as a teacher. When she decided that a career change was in order, she learned that Jeff Arnold needed someone with an education background for corporate training. After several rounds of interviews, she decided to become a licensed insurance agent and accepted the position. That was almost 15 years ago, and she’s been working in insurance ever since. “Understanding insurance is a process that never seems to end,” she says, though it’s clear she doesn’t mean it in a negative way. “Learning more about the policies, state regulations and ever-changing technology is a full-time endeavor, but a challenge I truly enjoy.” Her grandfather was an insurance agent, and she jokes that she must have insurance in her genes. She has a bachelor’s degree in education from UCSD, as well as her CISR designation, and she’s working toward her CIC designation. When she first started working as an agent, she specialized in flood insurance. These days, she continues to answer a lot of questions about flood insurance, but her specialty has broadened significantly. As the vice president of operations, she does a little bit of everything: walk-ins, phone calls, accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, scheduling – whatever needs to be done. She continues to assist the clients she’s acquired over the years, and she also helps when other agents are dealing with difficult or unusual insurance situations. “I try to get to know all the different products,” she says, adding that she’s also familiar with the various carriers RightSure works with. She’s ready to assist with any type of coverage, whether it’s for a single motorcycle or a $5,000,000 umbrella policy.

Vice President, Compliance

Juliette Burke

Cristi Carrington

Chief Distribution Officer

Cristi Carrington has worked in the insurance industry for nearly 30 years and is the point person for Brown & Riding’s carrier relationships. She manages the underwriting division and has developed many specialized programs for the company during her tenure, including a Habitational program, DIC, MPL, All Risk, including Wind & Earthquake, and a nationwide risk purchasing group for a top 40 nationally ranked retailer. Carrington currently serves on WSIA’s Board of Directors and is also the organization’s PAC committee co-chair. She also serves as president of the Surplus Line Association of Washington.

Chief Distribution Officer

Cristi Carrington

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

Christopher Welty, PHR, SHRM-CP

Chief Human Resources Officer

Elizabeth Bounds

General Counsel

Nealy Farshadi

Principal, Strategic Client Relations

Pam Chhabra

Manager – Residential Strata

Christopher Welty joined Brown & Riding in 2007 as an HR assistant and swiftly advanced within the company. His dedication and talent led to a series of promotions, culminating in his appointment as the firm’s CHRO in 2019. During his tenure, Welty has seen B&R more than quadruple in growth. He helped successfully integrate the company through two mergers and has been a strong advocate for many of the company’s important benefit plan enhancements. 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.

Chief Human Resources Officer

Christopher Welty, PHR, SHRM-CP

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.”

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, creating a competitive advantage with the potential to allow IQumulate to command premium pricing or capture a larger market share. “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

Product Manager

Claire Watson

Commercial Manager

Stephen McMillan

Claire Watson

Product Manager

Claire Watson

Product Manager

Claire Watson

“Our model has not been one focused on DEI, but creating a space where people are valued, talent is rewarded, and committed professionals are constantly re-recruited. It has definitely paid large dividends”

Jeff Arnold, RightSure

“Our staff are constantly trained not to sell policies, but rather, to seek a connection with any and all who interact with us”

Felicia Garcia, RightSure

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

RightSure Insurance stands out in the industry for its unwavering commitment to creating a superior client experience – on every single transaction, every single time. The company’s reputation is built on its “Famously Friendly Humans,” a team dedicated to making every interaction memorable and meaningful. “Great cultures are not some mission statement on a conference room wall or a website. A company with exceptional culture has a palpable air about it that can be felt the moment you enter its offices, speak with its people, or interact with its web properties,” says Jeff Arnold, founder of RightSure. This sentiment is echoed by visitors and clients alike, who often remark, “Your culture is amazing – where do you find those kinds of people?” RightSure’s unique approach combines the warmth of its people with advanced technology. Their proprietary tech stack, infused with artificial intelligence, supports but never overshadows the human connection at the heart of every client relationship. “Our staff are constantly trained not to sell policies, but rather, to seek a connection with any and all who interact with us,” explains Felicia Garcia, executive vice president. “I think the singular focus on developing Famously Friendly Humans’ ability and empowering each of our staff with superior human relation skills is likely one of the single most important things we do.” The company’s culture is intentionally cultivated. Committees for benefits, compensation, and succession planning ensure every voice is heard and every perspective valued. “Our committees allow us to get insight from all layers of the agency, and each committee member represents the voice of their constituents,” leadership notes. 

Employee growth is a continuous journey at RightSure. Every team member is engaged in ongoing succession planning and participates in “Famously Friendly Training,” which includes over 200 modules on client interactions and industry-specific designations. This investment in people has led to remarkable loyalty: half of RightSure’s staff have been with the company for more than 15 years, and many for as long as 30 years. “Our model has not been one focused on DEI, but creating a space where people are valued, talent is rewarded, and committed professionals are constantly re-recruited. It has definitely paid large dividends,” Arnold says. RightSure’s true differentiator isn’t just technology or accolades; it’s the staff who make key connections with clients. “The humans who give RightSure their time, talent, and energy each day are the largest asset we have. Our differentiator is not our tech nor our most awarded brand. Our people being our best asset are constantly rewarded, re-recruited, and acknowledged for all contributions.” Recently, a simple job posting for “famously friendly humans” drew an overwhelming response, validating RightSure’s belief that putting people before tech and humans before process is the key to sustainable success. As the company continues to celebrate and empower its staff, new initiatives and growth naturally follow. RightSure Insurance proves that when people come first, excellence is the inevitable result.