CIAB’s Insurance Leadership Forum kicks off tomorrow in Colorado Springs and our team is looking forward to spending time with our agents in attendance. This year is especially exciting for us as it comes on the heels of a major announcement about where Central is headed in the months and years ahead as a part of our ongoing commitment to excellence.

Central is bringing a portfolio of better, bigger and smarter products on top of our existing appetite. We’ve built four commercial lines industry verticals—construction, manufacturing, real estate and transportation. We’re also building the world’s finest small business operating unit. Within personal lines, we will focus all our resources on the middle market and affluent segments.

We’ve also hired a team of superstar commercial lines directors to oversee each of our verticals (get to know them by checking out their bios below). They are dedicated to bringing you more products to sell, paving the path for new product development. 

This evolution is yet another way we’re aligning with you, our agent partners. We recognize that your needs are continually growing and changing. Our close relationships with our agents position us to continually explore ways we can adapt and scale alongside you, embracing opportunities to innovate new products that meet your growing and diverse needs. 

While we are leveraging our expertise to grow in these verticals, we remain dedicated to the driving force behind our 145 years of success: relationships built on trust and genuine care. We will continue to support these relationships with the existing appetite you have come to rely on from Central. 

We look forward to seeing you in Colorado Springs!

Manufacturing
Anne Russo
Industry Experience: 25+ years

What trend, topic, need or opportunity are you most excited about within your vertical?

Improving our technology and data to streamline the process so that our underwriters can put their skills and experience to use on larger, more complex accounts. 

What’s the most memorable, wild or unusual claims story you’ve ever heard?

The insured was a florist and this was a claim under Florist’s Professional Liability Coverage. A customer ordered flowers for his girlfriend, but they were mistakenly delivered to his wife. Chaos ensued.

What are people often surprised to learn about you?

One of my first jobs in high school was working at a gas dock at a marina on Lake Erie. I learned that it takes two hours to fill up a 75-foot yacht with diesel — and with no automatic shut-off, you’d better get good at listening for when it’s full.

What’s a cause, organization or nonprofit you’re passionate about supporting?

Anything related to animal welfare and the bond between animals and humans. The Humane Society of Delaware County, various animal rescues, Pilot Dogs.

Real Estate
Brian Mowry
Industry Experience: 14+ years 

What trend, topic, need or opportunity are you most excited about within your vertical?

The large-scale shift from a traditional office work environment to flexible work locations. How does this evolve both residential and office exposures into the future?

What’s the most memorable, wild or unusual claims story you’ve ever heard?

Multi-million dollar smoke loss on a high-rise condo building caused by a job site fire next door. The damage and cleanup required providing housing for 50% of the unit owners for six months. The neighboring site was a total loss, with exterior damage to the highrise that took over a year to correct.

If Central hosted a talent show, what would your talent be?

“Punny” dad jokes 

What’s a cause, organization or nonprofit you’re passionate about supporting?

Shriners Hospitals

General & Small Business
Brandon Corum
Industry Experience: 13 years, all with Central

What trend, topic, need or opportunity are you most excited about within your vertical?

Digital transformation

What’s the most memorable, wild or unusual claims story you’ve ever heard?

A church claim. We had to have police officers guard the doors to the preschool while work was being
done, and the city had to shut down roadways for rebuilding.

What are people often surprised to learn about you?

I enjoy not having a blueprint when building something.

What’s a cause, organization or nonprofit you’re passionate about supporting?

American Diabetes Association

Transportation
Jason McConkey 
Industry Experience: 11 years 

What trend, topic, need or opportunity are you most excited about within your vertical?

Developing and deploying our specialized underwriting.

What’s the most memorable, wild or unusual claims story you’ve ever heard?

There was a rental car company on Maui that applied for insurance, which we declined. One of the claims ended up being for a car that drove straight off the road into the ocean on the Road to Hana. I believe everyone was ok, but this just shows the importance of being able to control who drives your vehicles.

What are people often surprised to learn about you?

Personally, I can sing a bit of opera. Professionally, people are surprised to learn that I got my MBA at the University of Hawaii.

What’s a cause, organization or nonprofit you’re passionate about supporting?

Serious Fun Children’s Network, which is a global community of 30 camps and programs for seriously ill children. All camps and programs offer free recreational experiences to children with serious illnesses and their family members.

Construction
James Barto
Industry Experience: 19 years, 15 with Central

What trend, topic, need or opportunity are you most excited about within your vertical?

Developing our underwriting expertise in Construction. 

What’s the most memorable, wild or unusual claims story you’ve ever heard?

I have two. Had an insured whose pipe burst because of cold weather. They were notified by the police so they could go out and shut off the water. When they got to the building, they looked around for the shut-off for an hour while the water was still flowing. They later discovered that the police officer had parked his cruiser over the top of it. 

The second: had a jazz bar as an insured. It looked like a fairly normal operation until we received a claim related to a fatality that occurred as a result of a poorly executed pile driver performed at a wrestling event adjacent to the premises. Turned out the jazz bar was sponsoring the wrestling event.

What are people often surprised to learn about you?

I can be a wealth of obscure facts, particularly when it comes to sports, geography and history.

What’s a cause, organization or nonprofit you’re passionate about supporting?

I’m very active in my church. I also support The Salvation Army and other organizations to help the less fortunate.