ABOUT
Agribusiness Risk Underwriters (ARU) was conceived in 2016 by a North Carolina-based family of independent agents who specialized in serving the poultry confinement niche. Time and time again, the family had watched markets enter into the poultry space without doing the necessary homework. These markets consistently followed a pattern that became as predictable as clockwork. They would: 1) jump into the market guns blazing, 2) give all their agents the product, without regards to agent expertise (or lack thereof), 3) write loads of new business because of very low rates / lax underwriting / no loss control, 4) experience inevitable unprofitable loss ratios, and then 5) non-renew the entire book. This constant churning of markets entering and exiting the poultry space created terrible conditions for both insureds and agents.
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ARU was founded to build a consistent and sustainable poultry confinement solution and end the fear and frustration caused by decades of poultry confinement market volatility. Unlike its predecessors, ARU did substantial and rigorous homework, investing millions of dollars building an approach to sustainably underwrite the poultry class. The keys were: a focused analysis of poultry house risk characteristics, a deep dive into thousands of actual poultry house claim files, the development of a 100% proprietary poultry confinement insurance policy, the creation of rigorous poultry-specific loss control methodologies, and building the technology to tie it all together.
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In the years since ARU’s launch, there have been multiple large, high-profile market exits from the poultry confinement insurance space. Meanwhile, ARU’s methodologies and disciplined processes have facilitated the company growing into one of the world’s largest writers of poultry confinement risks, all while maintaining a profitable book of business.
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In 2021, ARU began an expansion into other “hard to place” farm / ag property classes, using the same R&D, underwriting / loss control, and technology framework that underpinned the company’s success in the poultry space. ARU now offers solutions for a wide array of farm / ag property risks, providing retail brokers, wholesalers, and carriers a solutions-oriented underwriting approach and access to substantial capacity.
3-time winner (2021, 2022, 2023) of the Triad Business Journal's Fast 50 Award - the list of fastest-growing businesses in the Triad area.
Meet the Team
Accounting & Billing
Carole Sackowitz
Accounting Manager
Karen Dugan
Staff Accountant
Logan Bass
Accounting & Billing Coordinator
Taylor Campbell, CPA, MSA, ABV
Chief Financial Officer
Agribusiness Risk Services
Alex Shaw, AIC, AFIS
General Manager
Amy Cox
Senior Claims
Professional
Brittnee Beevers
Risk Control Supervisor /
LC+ Product Owner
Chris Frechette, AIC
President and Chief Operations Officer
Sarah Young, AFIS
Claims Operations Supervisor
Operations & Technology
Amanda Bryant,
ANFI, BPM, LGBC
Operations Manager
Andrei Bernovski
Software Development Manager
Chandler Griffith
Marketing Coordinator
Dana Gantt, AINS, AIS
Regional Marketing Specialist
Faizan Ali
Full Stack Developer
Farid Nagji
Chief Operations Officer
Hannah Hebrink
Associate Business
Analyst
Jason Lied, BPM
Systems Manager
Jeff Lewis
Technology Delivery
Director
Muhammad Aleem Asghar
Quality Assurance Engineer
Nelson Carneiro
Senior Software Engineer
Lejla Kusari
Software Engineer
Shaheer Arshad
Mobile Developer
Tal Einhorn
Executive Vice President of Operations
Underwriting & Loss Control
Amanda Constanza, MPH, AIDA
Underwriting Manager
Brad Taylor,
CPCU, AFIS, ARM
Underwriting Manager
Brock Hoskin, ARM
Associate Underwriter
Courtney Reid
Underwriting Assistant
Curtis Barham, CPCU
Senior Advisor
Elizabeth DiMarco
Underwriter
Jessica Todd, ACLS, CCLS
Vice President - Property
Jennifer Limper
Underwriting Assistant
Joseph Strickland
Chief Underwriting Officer
Janelle Duffy
Senior Production Underwriter
Lindsey Tingler
Associate Underwriter
Paulo Monteiro,
AINS, API, AIS, AIC
Underwriting Assistant
Ryan Lamoreux
Associate Underwriter
Ryan Lay,
MS, GSP, CRM, AINS
Loss Control Manager
Sierra Ready
Associate Underwriter
Tony Pickens
Underwriting Assistant
Tyler Guilmette
Production Underwriter
Will Johnson, CIC, AFIS
CEO & Co-Founder
Reinsurance &
Specialty Services
Matt Rose, CPCU, ARe
Senior Advisor
ARU is an affiliate of international carrier group Accelerant Holdings.