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.
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
Stanley Cieslak
Property Broker
Stanley joined U.S. Risk in 2020 as a property broker in the Houston, Texas office. He specializes in CAT exposed property, large layered placements, builder’s risk, and the development of proprietary property programs. Stanley earned a bachelor’s degree in Insurance and Risk Management from Olivet College.
Product specialties
- CAT exposed property
- Layered property placements
- Wind and hail
- DIC—Flood and earthquake
- Builder’s risk
- Catastrophic risk modeling
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
Heather Crampton
Broker
Heather joined U.S. Risk in 2019 and has had 40 years experience in the insurance industry. She currently works with several binding authority companies and brokerage markets, writing various types of classes, including hospitality, contractors, habitational, manufacturing and more.
Product specialties
- Restaurants
- Bars/taverns
- Contractors
- Habitational
- Manufacturing
- Garage
- Commercial auto
- Inland marine