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ABOUT

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.

New poultry confinement building undergoing construction

4-time winner (2021-2024) 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, ARU employee

Carole Sackowitz

Director of Accounting

Karen Dugan, ARU employee

Karen Dugan

Staff Accountant

Logan Bass, ARU employee

Logan Bass

Accounting & Billing Coordinator

Taylor Campbell, ARU employee

Taylor Campbell, CPA, MSA, ABV

Chief Financial Officer

Agribusiness Risk Services

Alex Shaw, ARU employee

Alex Shaw, AIC, AFIS

General Manager

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Amy Cox

Senior Claims
Professional

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Chris Frechette, AIC

President and Chief Operations Officer

Sarah Young, ARU employee

Sarah Young, AFIS

Claims Operations Supervisor

Operations & Technology

Amanda Bryant, ARU employee

Amanda Bryant, ARM, ANFI, BPM, LGBC

Director of Operations

Andrei Bernovski, ARU employee

Andrei Bernovski

Software Development Manager

Chandler Griffith, ARU employee

Chandler Griffith

Marketing Coordinator

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Dana Gantt, AINS, AIS

Regional Marketing Specialist

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Faizan Ali

Full Stack Developer

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Farid Nagji

Chief Operations Officer

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Hannah Hebrink

Associate Business
Analyst

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Jeff Lewis

Technology Delivery
Director

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Jezreel Kumar, CISR

Junior Data Analyst

Lejla Kusari, ARU employee

Lejla Kusari

Programmer Analyst

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Muhammad Aleem Asghar

Quality Assurance Engineer

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Muneeb Zia

Full Stack Developer

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Nathan Lyons

Underwriting Operations Assistant

Nelson Carneiro, ARU employee

Nelson Carneiro

Senior Software Engineer

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Nithya Vijayan, CSM, CSPO, SAFe 6 Agilist

Business Analyst

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Rizwan Siddique

Systems Manager

 

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Shaheer Arshad

Mobile Developer

 

Underwriting & Loss Control

Brittnee Beevers, ARU employee

Brittnee Beevers, LVN, LGBC, CPOSP

Risk Control Supervisor /
LC+ Product Owner

Amanda Constanza, ARU employee

Amanda Constanza, MPH, AIDA

Vice President - Underwriting & Analytics

Brad Taylor, ARU employee

Brad Taylor,
CPCU, AFIS, ARM

Underwriting Manager

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Brant Neal,
AIM, AFIS

Product Director - Admitted

Brock Hoskin, ARU employee

Brock Hoskin, ARM

Associate Underwriter

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Courtney Reid

Underwriting Assistant

Curtis Barham, ARU employee

Curtis Barham, CPCU

Senior Advisor

Elizabeth DiMarco, ARU employee

Elizabeth DiMarco

Underwriter

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Jessica Todd, ACLS, CCLS

Vice President - Property

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Jennifer Limper

Underwriting Assistant

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Janelle Duffy, AFIS

Senior Production Underwriter

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Hunter Gordon, CPCU, ARM, AIDA, AIC

Underwriter

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Joseph Strickland

Chief Underwriting Officer

Lindsey Tingler, ARU employee

Lindsey Tingler

Associate Underwriter

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Michael Azarigian,
MBA, AIC, CPCU

Director of Loss Control

Paulo Monteiro, ARU employee

Paulo Monteiro,
AINS, API, AIS, AIC

Underwriting Assistant

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Rivan Chowdhury,
AINS, AIS

Underwriting Assistant

Ryan Lamoreux, ARU employee

Ryan Lamoreux

Associate Underwriter

Ryan Lay, ARU employee

Ryan Lay,
MS, GSP, CRM, AINS

Loss Control Manager

Sierra Ready, ARU employee

Sierra Ready

Associate Underwriter

Tony Pickens, ARU employee

Tony Pickens

Underwriting Assistant

Tyler Guilmette, ARU employee

Tyler Guilmette

Loss Control
Underwriting Manager

Will Johnson, ARU CEO & Co-Founder

Will Johnson, CIC, AFIS

CEO & Co-Founder

Reinsurance &
Specialty Services

Matt Rose, ARU employee

Matt Rose, CPCU, ARe

Senior Advisor

Acclerant Logo

ARU is an affiliate of international carrier group Accelerant Holdings.

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