Below you will find information on U.S. Risk underwriters and brokers. Use the drop-down menu to filter by office location, program or specialty.
Brett Amick
Senior Vice President
- General liability
- Excess
- Auto
- Broad form pollution for environmental, energy and industrial contractors and facilities
Brett joined U.S. Risk as a Senior Vice President/Broker in the Houston office. He has over 25 years in the insurance industry and specializes in environmental, industrial and energy risks.
Product specialties
- General liability
- Excess
- Auto
- Broad form pollution for environmental, energy and industrial contractors and facilities
Rodney Ariza
Broker/Underwriter
Rodney joined U.S. Risk in 2021 as a broker and underwriter in the Dallas office. He has over 21 years of experience in the E&S wholesale business. Rodney brokers and underwrites packages, property, contractors, excess and variety of casualty classes.
Product specialties
- General contractors (commercial and residential)
- Artisan contractors (commercial and residential)
- Excess liability
- Property
- Lessor’s risk
- Habitational (dwellings, apartments, etc.)
- Builder’s risk
- Miscellaneous E&O
- Restaurants
- Bars and taverns
Gary Atkins
Executive Vice President/Regional Director
Gary specializes in brokerage of casualty lines with an emphasis on energy, oil and gas, contractors (industrial, commercial and residential), environmental, equipment rental, and product-driven accounts. He has 38 years of experience in the insurance industry with the last 26 years as an E&S wholesale broker.…
Read moreGary specializes in brokerage of casualty lines with an emphasis on energy, oil and gas, contractors (industrial, commercial and residential), environmental, equipment rental, and product-driven accounts. He has 38 years of experience in the insurance industry with the last 26 years as an E&S wholesale broker. Gary joined U.S. Risk in 2000.
Product specialties
- Artisan/trade contractors
- Drilling rigs/oilfield property
- Environmental
- Excess liability
- Excess maritime employers (workers’ compensation)
- Foreign coverages
- General contractors
- Liquor liability
- Offshore oil drilling and service risks
- Pollution contractors
- Products liability
- Refinery/oil and gas contractors
- Refinery/petrochemical risks
- Residential and roofing contractors
- Umbrella
Drew Atkins, CIC
Broker
Drew joined U.S. Risk in 2015 as a broker in the Houston office. Drew currently brokers casualty for a variety of classes, including contractors, hospitality, manufacturing and habitational. He also works on casualty accounts that are difficult to place due to losses or to the industries in which they work.
Drew earned his Bachelor of Finance and Accounting from Texas Christian University.
Product specialties
- General contractors
- Artisan contractors (residential/commercial/industrial)
- Restaurants
- Bars/taverns
- Nightclubs
- Manufacturing
- Habitational
- Inland marine
- Excess/umbrella
- Liquor liability
Lori Ault
Executive Vice President/Branch Manager
Lori serves as EVP/Branch Manager for U.S. Risk and is based in Florida. Lori has over 25 years of insurance industry expertise with a unique background in wholesale/MGA, carrier, and retail experience with a focus on property and casualty, executive liability, excess and surplus lines, and benefits third party administration including ERISA compliance. Lori holds a Bachelor’s degree from Ohio University in Business Administration and is licensed in Property & Casualty and Life & Health/Variable Annuity.
Product specialties
- Commercial property
- Commercial casualty
- Umbrella and excess liability
- Inland and ocean marine
- Products liability
- Flood
- Environmental
- Professional and management liability
Tim Bennett, , CIC
Senior Broker
Tim joined U. S. Risk in 2013 and has nearly 25 years of experience in the insurance industry. For more than 20 years, Tim has focused on management, professional and cyber liability as well as fidelity/crime bonds. His book of business encompasses a broad array of professional exposures with a heavy focus on financial institutions including banks, insurance companies, assets managers, private equity, venture capital, hedge funds, mutual funds, trust companies, family offices, mortgage bankers/brokers, specialty lenders and much more. With experience in underwriting, sales and product development, Tim is here to assist his agent partners with the placement of accounts that are standard, complex and distressed risks.
Product specialties
- Cyber/privacy liability
- Financial institutions D&O
- Side A DIC
- Excess liability
- Financial institution bonds
- Insurance company E&O/D&O
- Mortgage brokers and bankers professional liability
- Professional liability (including financial services risks)
- Mortgage impairment
- Lender-placed and REO insurance
- Commercial crime/kidnap and ransom
- Broker/dealer and investment advisor E&O
- EPLI
- Fiduciary liability
- Trust E&O
Mason Benson, CRIS, MLIS
Underwriter
Mason joined U.S. Risk in 2021 as an Underwriter in the Orlando office. He brings nearly a decade of experience and proven ability of working with hard-to-place risks while partnering with highly rated national carriers.
Over the years, Mason has developed a strong specialty and clout for property and casualty risks for several classes including construction, real estate/habitational, manufacturing/products, and hospitality. With his expertise, he is able to deliver the best results in today’s challenging marketplace.
Product specialties
- Commercial property
- Commercial casualty
- Excess liability/umbrella
- Inland marine
- Professional liability
- Management liability
Sheila Boatman
Vice President/Senior Broker/Underwriter
Sheila specializes in miscellaneous medical malpractice professional and general liability coverages. She started in the E&S business in 1989 and helped establish the Houston Healthcare Division of U.S. Risk in 2000. She is a Senior Underwriter with underwriting authority through our exclusive miscellaneous medical program through underwriters at Lloyd’s.
Sheila also has extensive experience as a senior broker. She partners with leading underwriters of highly rated national carriers to provide the expertise needed in today’s challenging market. Some eligible classes include surgery centers, home health agencies, staffing agencies, medical clinics, adult daycare, diagnostic imaging labs, MRI centers, DME, CRNAs, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and many more.
Product specialties
- Adult daycare
- Allied/misc. healthcare
- Assisted living centers
- Clinics
- For-profit D&O
- Hospitals
- Medical laboratories
- Non-profit D&O
- Physicians
- Professional liability
- Social services
Beth Boisseau-Coots, CIC
Vice President, Sales
Beth Boisseau-Coots joined J.B. Lloyd and Associates in 2006, and became part of the U.S. Risk team when the company was acquired in 2016. She specializes in insurance products for banks and real estate investors.
Product specialties
- Commercial general liability
- Cyber liability
- Directors and officers liability
- Financial institution bonds
- Foreclosed liability insurance
- Lender placed insurance
- Outsourced insurance tracking for lenders
- Real estate investor insurance
Cason Burdett, CIC, ARM
Vice President/Senior Underwriter
Cason joined U.S. Risk in 2012. He manages our in-house Energy & Environmental Division, which is responsible for underwriting general liability, professional liability, excess liability and inland marine in the oil and gas sector. In addition to his underwriting responsibilities, Cason is also a broker for all lines of energy coverage, handling mid-sized to large accounts. Prior to U.S. Risk, Cason was with AIG for six years as a business development manager and primary casualty underwriter.
Product specialties
- Operators and non-operators
- Oilfield consultants
- Drilling contractors
- Well servicing contractors
- Roustabouts
- Pipeline operators
- Many other supporting classes
Luke Butler
Senior Broker
- Energy
- Marine
- Contractors
- Public Entities
- Large TIV Cat-exposed property
- LRO
- Downhole tool coverage (LIH)
Luke has had 22 years of commercial insurance production experience in both retail and wholesale. He is a 1989 graduate of the University of Southwestern Louisiana, and has been with U.S. Risk since March 2019.
Product specialties
- Energy
- Marine
- Contractors
- Public Entities
- Large TIV Cat-exposed property
- LRO
- Downhole tool coverage (LIH)
Aaron Cardwell, CIC, RPLU
Vice President
Aaron specializes in solutions for all types of financial institutions. He began his underwriting career in 2001 working with financial institution crime bonds, D&O, bankers professional, and cyber insurance for financial institutions at St. Paul Insurance Company, which later merged with Travelers. He joined U.S. Risk with the acquisition of J.B. Lloyd & Associates in 2016. Aaron also works with lender-placed hazard and flood and mortgage impairment/errors and omissions insurance. Both of these unique programs are endorsed by the Texas Bankers Association and available throughout the U.S. Aaron works with banks, credit unions, mortgage bankers, mortgage servicers, real estate investors, insurance companies, investment advisors, and other financial institutions.
Product specialties
- Bankers professional liability
- Civil money penalties coverage
- Cyber liability and breach response
- Financial institution crime bonds
- Force placed/foreclosed hazard and flood
- Directors and officers liability
- Employment practices liability
- Lender liability
- Lenders single interest
- Monthly reporting policies for residential real estate investors
- Mortgage impairment/mortgage E&O
- Mortgage insurance tracking
- Repossesed auto
- Trust errors and omissions
Scott T. Carroll
Executive Vice President/Program Director
Scott has over 25 years of insurance industry experience that ranges from large company underwriting to small brokerage administration experience. He currently manages Take1, an all-lines underwriting program focused on the entertainment (film, TV, DICE, touring entertainers) and communication industries (audio, video, sound and lighting equipment specialists; event planners and event production service firms).
Product specialties
- Entertainment
- Special events
- Sports and recreation
Marnine Casillas
Senior Associate Broker
Marnine joined U.S. Risk in 2018 as a Senior Associate Broker in the Los Angeles office. She maintains the renewal entertainment book for what was formerly L.A. Xcess Insurance Company, which was acquired by U.S. Risk.
Marnine has over 20 years experience in the insurance industry. She started on the retail side at Aon/Albert G. Ruben, moved to underwriting at the former Entertainment Brokers International (currently OneBeacon), then moved to the wholesale side of insurance with Partners Specialty Group.
Product specialties
- Feature films and television series
- Annual DICE (Documentary, Industrial, Commercial, Educational) producers
- Equipment rental houses
- Loan-out (shell) corporations
- Performing artists
- Event and concert promoters
- Standalone specialty coverage—Non-appearance/event cancellation, high-limit disability
- Multimedia Liability—Film, TV and DICE producers, musicians, distributors, broadcasters, publishers
- Kidnap, ransom and extortion
- Network security and privacy
- Group accident and health
- Foreign coverage
Sera Chalayan
Underwriter/Broker
Sera began her career as a banker, moved to wholesale brokerage briefly, and spent the majority of her career with an admitted carrier. She has worked in customer service, account management, human resources, marketing, underwriting, and sales. She served as President of the Emerging Insurance Professionals and on the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation’s associate board. From 2016–2018, Sera spent 15 months in the Czech Republic, earning an MBA. In January 2018, she joined the sales team at Gallagher as Area Vice President of the Los Angeles office. In May 2019, Sera joined U.S. Risk as an underwriter with specialty program ArmorPark, focusing on parking garage and valet operations.
Product specialties
- Parking garage and valet operations
Chris Chiodetti
Vice President/Underwriter/Broker
Chris underwrites and brokers packages, monoline property, monoline general liability, excess liability, H&NO auto, professional and inland marine coverages for a large variety of property and casualty classes.
Product specialties
- Churches
- Contractors (artisan and general)
- Distributors
- Habitational (dwellings, apartments, etc.)
- Hotels/motels
- Lessor’s risk
- Manufacturers
- Mercantile
- Shopping centers
- Truckers
- Vacant warehouses
- Many more
Chris Christian, CIC, RPLU
Vice President/Senior Broker
Chris stumbled into insurance in 1985 as a temporary employee at GAF Insurance Services, a bank-affiliated insurance agency in San Diego. After six years with GAF, Chris moved to the carrier side, opening the San Diego branch office of RLI Corp, an underwriter of specialty lines of insurance. The San Diego office was dedicated to directors and officers liability coverage, and was the launchpad for Chris’s specialization in professional liability.
Product specialties
- Allied/misc. healthcare
- Computer consultants
- Cyber liability
- D&O (including difficult-to-place)
- Environmental
- EPLI
- Errors and omissions
- Fiduciary
- Financial institutions D&O
- Insurance agents E&O
- Lawyers
- Nursing/convalescent Homes
- Pollution contractors
- Professional liability
- Software design/development
Carl Cohen
Senior Underwriter
Carl has been a licensed underwriter in the insurance industry since 1981. Earlier in his career, he was a retail agent in Westchester County, New York, followed by branch manager positions at Morstan General Agency from 2008–2014 and M.J. Kelly from 2016–2019. He has been with U.S. Risk since September 2019. Carl holds a BA in history from Iona College.
Product specialties
- Commercial
- Personal
- Life
- Health
Amanda Compton
Underwriter
Amanda joined U.S. Risk in August 2019 when the company acquired U.S. Brokers Network, who she joined in 2015 as an assistant to the agency. In 2017, she obtained her P&C producer license and has been working as an underwriter for professional liability (errors & omissions) ever since.
Amanda is an alumnus of the University of Missouri, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 2012. In 2018, Amanda received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs.
Product specialties
- Professional Liability (Errors & Omissions)
Leslie Craft
Senior Vice President
Leslie joined U.S. Risk in 2003. She has over 30 years of experience in the property and casualty insurance industry, with backgrounds in both retail and Wholesale. She earned her CIC designation in 1997.
Product specialties
- Artisan contractors
- Hospitality
- Manufacturing
- Product liability
- Liquor liability
- Builders risk
- Contractors liability
- Habitational
- Property
- General liability