Profiles

The professional staff at Socius Insurance Services, Inc. has experience in a wide variety of insurance services.


Patrick E. Hanley
President
phanley@sociusinsurance.com

A graduate of Saint Michael's College in Colchester, VT, Patrick started his insurance career with American International Companies in 1987, underwriting miscellaneous Professional Liability risks. In 1990, Patrick started working for Swett & Crawford in New York as the manager of their Mortgage Bankers Professional Liability program. In 1991 he joined Swett and Crawford in San Francisco as Vice President and Financial Services Manager, brokering Directors' and Officers' Liability, Professional Liability and Employment Practices Liability for both publicly traded as well as privately held companies.

Patrick is currently responsible for managing the overall operations at Socius, and he plays an active role in the development of new clients. In addition to his underwriting and brokering experience, he regularly conducts continuing education classes in D&O, E&O, EPLI and Ethics in Insurance.

Patrick is on the board of directors of the California Insurance Wholesale Association (CIWA), the executive, stamping and legislative committees of the California Surplus Line Association, the executive committee of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) Foundation and a member of the Agents and Brokers Advisory Committee (ABAC), working with the California Department of Insurance on various regulatory issues.


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Carol Rizzo
Chief Operating Officer
crizzo@sociusinsurance.com

Carol started her insurance career with Aetna Casualty Insurance Company in 1966, underwriting property & casualty for the New York World's Fair in Flushing Meadow, New York. In 1968 she joined Carman Brokerage Corporation as an Account Manager handling construction risks. In 1986 Carol relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area and began her career in California as the Operations Division Manager for Nationwide Insurance Company. In 1994 Carol joined Woodruff-Sawyer and Co. as Manager of the Directors and Officers team where she managed their 11 person team and was also responsible for marketing and maintaining their largest publicly traded D&O accounts. Carol joined Socius in 2001 primarily handling the marketing of large publicly traded Directors and Officers Programs. In April of 2002 she was promoted to C.O.O


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Casey Bivens
Producer/Management Liability Broker
cbivens@sociusinsurance.com

Casey started his insurance career in 1996 at The CIMA Companies in Alexandria Virginia. Joined Ausco, Inc in Chicago, IL in 1998 as an EPL Underwriter where he helped develop and maintain a book of EPL business. He then joined Cooney, Rikard & Curtin, a wholesale agency, as an Associate Broker in early 1999 where he worked on maintaining a book of Management Liability business. Casey moved to California in 2000 and joined Socius in early 2001 and is currently working in the San Francisco office as a producer in the Management Liability Department.


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Chris Hook
Producer/Property & Casualty
chook@sociusinsurance.com

Chris started his career in 1983 with Cigna Insurance Company as an underwriting assistant, responsible for large municipalities focusing on property & casualty, workers' compensation, errors & omissions, directors and officers liability. Following that, in 1991 he joined McGee & Thielen, a retail agency located in Sacramento, where he worked as a marketing manager and eventually broker until 1999. Then Chris joined Crouse & Associates in Sacramento, where he continued to expand his book until 2004, when he joined Socius and opened their Sacramento office. Chris specializes in large commercial and residential construction including developers, general contractors and trade contractors. He also has extensive experience with hard to place products, OL&T and property related risks including COC, inland marine and earthquake coverage.


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Darren Chilimidos
Practice Leader/Property & Casualty
dchilimidos@sociusinsurance.com

Darren Chilimidos started his career as a wholesale broker in 1987 and, except for a three-year period as marketing manager for a local retailer, has been on the wholesale side. He joined Socius Insurance Services, Inc. in 2000. Darren's specialty is hard to place casualty business including residential developers and subcontractors, products, and multi-state OLT.


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Elizabeth Ready
Business Development Manager
eready@sociusinsurance.com

Elizabeth started her insurance career with Mitchell and Mitchell Insurance Agency in 2003, underwriting new business and renewals for CNA's Lawyers Malpractice Program. She briefly joined Alexander, Morford and Woo, Inc. as a Technical Assistant on D&O, E&O, and EPLI accounts before moving to AIG in 2006 as Specialty Professional Liability Underwriter. There she was responsible for corporate accounts in the Western and Pacific Northwest regions. She joined Socius in June 2008.

Elizabeth has more than three years experience underwriting various professional liability risks. She graduated from the University of California Santa Barbara, where she earned her B.A. in Environmental Studies.


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Eric Shapiro
Producer/Management Liability
eshapiro@sociusinsurance.com

Eric, who launched Socius' Tampa, Florida office in 2005, specializes in management liability. He joined ECM after a successful career at CNA Specialty Lines, serving in various managment positions in several offices, most recently as Assistant Vice President in its Orlando, Florida office where he managed the Specialty Lines regional operations for the South and Northeast regions. Shapiro brings extensive experience in underwriting all lines of management liability, including Public and Private Company D&O, EPLI, Fiduciary, Fidelity, Professional Liability and Medical Malpractice. Prior to working at CNA, Shapiro worked at AIG. He is a graduate of the University of South Florida, and earned his MBA from New York University.


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Gus Constantinou
Producer/Property & Casualty
gconstantinou@sociusinsurance.com

Gus joined Socius early in 2008 specializing in writing General Liability, Property, Excess and Pollution for the Construction Industry and other complex coverage placements. He has over 21 years experience in commercial insurance, loves a challenge and brings creative solutions in identifying opportunities to increase sales.

Gus started his career with AIG in New York as an Excess and Umbrella underwriter. He also worked for Fireman's Fund as a package underwriter, and worked as a retail broker in Northern California. From there Gus transitioned to Excess and Surplus Lines Broker where he gained the majority of his current experience. Most recently he was with Colemont and prior to that he was with Hull & Company and Yates & Associates.

He is a graduate of San Francisco State University with a major in Political Science. In his spare time he is a self defense instructor for youth and adults through Elk Grove Community Services District.


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Jenni Wickstrom
Producer/Property & Casualty
jwickstrom@sociusinsurance.com

Jenni is Vice President Property & Casualty at Socius Insurance Services, specializing in workers' compensation, general liability,hard-to-place products and property risks. She has dramatically expanded the company's practice in that area. Prior to Socius, Jenni spent two years with American International Group where she worked as a Business Development Manager and Program Specialist. Jenni is an expert in the industry, with 30 years of insurance broker and carrier experience, working both in the Bay Area and western United States.


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Kevin Kershisnik
Producer/Property & Casualty/Management Liability
kkershisnik@sociusinsurance.com

Kevin's 19 year career began as a property and casualty agent. In 1987 Kevin moved to San Diego where he held marketing manager positions for two regional companies to develop all lines of business including Management Liability. Kevin then moved to the insurance company side as a statewide marketing manager with full underwriting authority. In January 2000 Kevin joined Socius in their Southern California office to assist in the expansion of the Management Liability department and help establish Southern California's Property and Casualty brokerage unit. Kevin has also been instrumental in developing an Intellectual Property program for Socius.


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Kirk Denebeim
Producer/Management Liability
kdenebeim@sociusinsurance.com

Kirk began his insurance career in 1980 as an ocean marine underwriting trainee. After several years in marine insurance as an underwriter and then a broker, Kirk moved into commercial property & casualty brokering, where he spent the next 13 years in account management, production and product development roles. He began focusing exclusively on corporate, management and professional liability in 1997, and joined Socius in April 1998. He became a producer for Socius in January 2000.


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Lisa Masa
Empower Program Administrator
lmasa@sociusinsurance.com

Lisa is based in Socius' San Francisco office, serving as the Socius Empower Program Administrator, managing all aspects of the Empower EPL Program. In this capacity, she is responsible for the Empower team, charged with marketing, business development and client management for Socius Empower clients.

Previously, Lisa managed Socius' Select Accounts Unit, in addition to managing Socius' surplus lines processes. As the Select Accounts Unit Manager, Lisa serviced approximately 85% of Socius' total management liability renewals. Lisa's specialty is Directors and Officers Liability and Employment Practices Liability.

Lisa joined Socius in 1998 as a production assistant, and in 2001 she was promoted to a unit manager where she supervised administrative staff as well as oversaw the state surplus lines processes.

Lisa is California Surplus Lines Association liaison, scheduling necessary training and updating staff accordingly. In addition, Lisa is actively involved with both PLUS as well as the NAIW (National Association of Insurance Women).


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Paul J. Lefcourt
Principal/Practice Leader/Management Liability
plefcourt@sociusinsurance.com

Paul is Senior Vice President, Co-Founder and Management Liability Practice Leader for Socius, located in the Walnut Creek, California office. He specializes in Directors and Officers Liability, Employment Practices Liability and Errors and Omissions Coverages; and has placed D&O coverage for over 100 IPOs, and has guided coverage design for over 300 small to mid-cap, publicly traded companies. Paul is routinely consulted as an expert source by carriers when creating new EPL, D&O and E&O coverages. He has been published in several insurance trades, and is active in PLUS, BIG I DAY, SLA, and CPCU as a member and conference speaker. Prior to founding Socius, Paul worked as a broker for Swett & Crawford, San Francisco, and prior to that at AIG, San Francisco, as a D&O, EPL and Fiduciary Liability underwriter. Paul also develops and teaches several accredited continuing education courses covering D&O, E&o and EPLI.


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Rodney Nubin
Producer/Property & Casualty
rnubin@sociusinsurance.com

Rodney began his insurance career in 1997 at Auto-Owners Insurance Company, Inc. in Lansing, Michigan, where he was an underwriter handling Property & Casualty risks; and eventually became Underwriting Supervisor. He later took on marketing responsibilites, sales and promotions effort for a 5 county region in Illinois. Rodney joined Socius insurance to help open the Chicago office, where he focuses on Property and Casualty risks for the Midwest region. Rodney graduated from Eastern Michigan University, where he earned his B.S. in Marketing.


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