Fish Tales Fish Tales
VOL 1 - 2024
The biannual company newsletter of Bass Underwriters. With 17 growing locations nationwide, a lot can happen in six months! Keep up with the happenings of our vibrant employees.
The Executives a note from
Did you know that Bass Underwriters was incorporated on August 10, 1994?
This August marks 30 years since our incorporation. While we may not have opened our doors that day, it is certainly when our journey began. Over the past three decades, Bass has laid the groundwork to ensure a solid foundation for today and our future. We've come a long way since those early days at 1067 Shotgun Road. Today, we are nearly 600 employees strong, spread across 17 locations, writing business for 300 markets—and we’re not stopping here!
The Excess and Surplus Lines Industry is on the rise. It has enjoyed double-digit growth for the past five consecutive years, peaking at 32.3% in 2021. The continued shift away from admitted business has driven sustained growth in the E&S sector, with $86.5 billion in E&S premiums written in 2023 alone. Factors such as the legal climate, lack of capacity in reinsurance, the cost of capital, and the overall growing complexity of risks have contributed to this shift. Looking ahead, analysts are forecasting that the E&S industry is expected to continue on this upward trajectory with a compound annual growth rate of 15% in the coming years. Our infrastructure, market breadth, and ability to adapt and innovate have positioned us to not only participate but lead in this exciting journey.
As we pass the midpoint of the year, we are pleased to report that we closed Q2 with $395 million in Net Written Premium year-to-date, representing a significant 26% increase compared to the previous year. We are well on our way to recording an $800 million year! If we can maintain this pace throughout 2025, we will be a $1 billion company by Q4 of 2025, a milestone we look forward to celebrating. These achievements are a direct result of the hard work and dedication of our extraordinary staff, and for that, we extend our sincerest gratitude. It is your passion and dedication that continue to drive our success, and we are honored to have each and every one of you as part of our team.
As I approach my 20th year at Bass, it has been amazing to witness each of your contributions propel this incredible organization to unprecedented heights. On behalf of the executive team, thank you for helping us create these results and great memories along the way. You have been instrumental in shaping the success story of Bass. The future is bright!
-Jennifer Sanes
Just In DesignationsWho's New to Bass
1/1/24 - 6/30/24
Timothy Flay
Brad Banister
Blerina Berisha
Jessica Alvarez
Yulaykis Rosas
Kifra Oziri
Maria Aguilera
Lucia Jimenez
Sean Donahoe
Kaylie Bordeaux
Samuel Midden
Kristine Toledo
Patricia Wasserman
Karen Kuefler
Alexander Mazzei
Thaddeus Grzeszkowiak
Cassandra Fields
Anthony Manna
Luke Sanchez
Stephanie Drouet
Christian Longhta
Cross Corinti
Tanner Boley
Joseph Galang
Blake Cover
James Durda
Mark Reyes Gainesville, FL
Dylan Bosse
Justin Holtz Orlando, FL
Marko Salazar
Cody MacDonald-Rawson
Matthew Snage Atlanta, GA
Nicholas Denfeld
Peyton Ponder
Jake Schantz
Encino, CA
Sebastian Koran
Houston, TX
Regan Richert
Emmett Kulick
Mishael Villalvazo
Las Vegas, NV
Nickolas Lomonaco
Ramon Fierro
Sacramento, CA
Adan Martinez
Alec Werhane
Anthony Anderson
Antonio Ralph
Angel Arteaga
John Sharkey
Brady Phillips
Jacob Harris
Portland, OR
Grant Cutler
Long Island, NY
Vincent Caputo
Jordan Fertig
Pittsburgh, PA
Timothy Williams
Daniel Timko
Austin, TX
Aaron Castro
Promotions
1/1/24 - 6/30/24
Underwriting
Daniel Rogan - Underwriter - Plantation, FL
Christian Gallego - Underwriter - Plantation, FL
Trent Erikson - Underwriter - Plantation, FL
Cori Rascati - Underwriter - Gainesville, FL
Becky Cumbaa - Underwriter - Gainesville, FL
James Willis - Underwriter - Gainesville, FL
William Mason - Underwriter - Orlando, FL
Jonathan Rios - Underwriter - Houston, TX
Montana Parsons - Underwriter - Houston, TX
Hugo Blising - Underwriter - Houston, TX
John Connolly - Underwriter - Long Island, NY
Paul Carter - Underwriter - Sacramento, CA
Bennett Chester - Underwriter - Los Angeles, CA
Jean William Rivera - Underwriter - Las Vegas, NV
Connor Hennebury - Underwriter - Las Vegas, NV
Jackson Redding - Underwriter - Portland, OR
Matthew Dugan - Underwriter - Pittsburg, PA
Eric Abbott - Underwriter - Pittsburg, PA
Austin Phelps - Junior Broker - Plantation, FL
Alvaro Cruz - Junior Broker - Plantation, FL
David Norfleet - Junior Broker - St. Petersburg, FL
Kyle Cassidy - Junior Broker - Atlanta, GA
Jeb Crissman - Junior Broker - Charleston, SC
Daulton Jackson - Junior Broker - Mobile, AL
Ryan Houser - Junior Broker - Pittsburg, PA
Elaine Phelps - Associate Broker II - Plantation, FL
Evan Carpluk - Underwriter Assistant - Plantation, FL
Roselena Hernandez - Underwriter Assistant - Plantation, FL
Daniel Giron - Jr. Underwriter Assistant - Los Angeles, CA
Elayne Parkes - Ops Support Team Lead (Garage/Transportation)Gainesville, FL
Debbie Clein - Senior Operations Manager - Plantation, FL
Carla Quevedo - Ops Support Associate III - Policy Issuance (Team Trainer)Plantation, FL
Jennifer Leath - Operations Specialist - Plantation, FL
LaToya Wilson - Assistant Operations Manager - Plantation, FL
Marina Boligan - Ops Support Associate - Binders - Plantation, FL
Katrina Gray - Ops Support Supervisor - Binders & Endorsements - Plantation, FL
Timothy Reyes - Ops Support Associate III - Binders (Team Trainer) - Plantation, FL
Rachael Torres - Operations Specialist - Plantation, FL
Operations Accounting
Simone DuCille - Senior AR Agent Liaison - Plantation, FL
Heather Shepherd - Senior AR Agent Liaison - Plantation, FL
Cheryl Royes - Senior AR Agent Liaison - Plantation, FL
Designations
1/1/24 - 6/30/24
Plantation, FL St. Pete, FL
Gabriel Lopez API
Brad Banister AINS
Sara Hussain AIS
Marsha Segree AINS
Christopher Johnson AINS
Franklin Russell AINS
Zachary Rosen AINS
Joseph Cantlupe AINS
Francisco Barahona AINS
Eval Leal AINS
Alexander Mazzei AINS
Shaye Soto AINS
Alexandre Clayton AINS
Nicholas Blakely AINS
Orlando, FL
Elijah Jordan AINS
Mason Grathwohl AINS
Cody MacDonaldRawson AINS
Brett Petruzzelli AINS
Maxwell Olson AINS
Marko Salazar AINS
Haddon Schlarbaum AINS
Peyton Purdy AINS
Corey Riddle AINS
John Nicholson CPCU
Austin Blais AINS
Joseph Galang AINS
Charleston, SC
Alex Walts AINS
Michael Mans AINS
Conor McCabe AINS
Alex Walts AINS
Houston, TX
Montana Parsons AINS
Lindsey Cox AINS
Aaron Castro AINS
Austin, TX
Jared Herrick AINS
Atlanta, GA
Jared Herrick AINS
Gainesville, FL
Kevin Dionne CPCU
Vasili Courialis AINS
Donald Morrow AINS
Mobile, AL
Daulton Jackson AINS
Long Island, NY
John Connolly AINS
Sacramento, CA
Adan Martinez AINS
Pittsburgh, PA
Jacob Steinmetz AINS
Portland, OR
Jackson Redding AINS
Bass Anniversaries
1/1/24 - 6/30/24
Matthew Achenbach
Jason Clark
Pamela Falcione
IIeana Mendez
115 15 5
YEARS YEARS YEARS
20 20 20
YEARS YEARS YEARS
Amber Simmons
Aaron McNulty
Janet Revell
Drew Bittorf
Raisa Lyons
Todd McGough
Allyson Whitney-Caputo
110 10 0
YEARS YEARS YEARS
5 5 5
YEARS YEARS YEARS
Peter Adkins
Rene Alvarado
Rosemarie Ambrosio
Kevin Baca
Nicholas Blakely
Marina Boligan
Anna Browning
Daniella Calvo-Torres
Michael Caradulis
Alexandre Clayton
Adam Courtney
Makenzie Davis
Emileysha Diaz
Jannai Doyle
Crisitian Gil
Daniel Graham
Ashley Gravell
Kimberly Hernandez
Jaime Johnson
Elijah Jordan
Tammy Karafa
Tyler Knierim
Peter Castro
Kelly Celidonia
Henry Contich
Cassandra Delimon
Terence Ferguson
Drake Futch
Ashleigh Gavaletz
Daniel Gomez
Kaitlin Lecourt
Alexandros Makris
Samuel Martinez
Patricia Mejia
Anthony Navarro
Andrea Oken
Cole Parkerson
Montana Parsons
Heather Pope
Christina Rees
Timothy Reyes
Corey Riddle
Haddon Schlarbaum
Alejandro Seard
Cooper Sears
Jeremy Smith
Melissa Torres
Raymond Valdivia
Erik Wade
Hannah West
Chris Wheeler-Sabatino
Jackson Scott
Mary Shoaf
Austin Smith
Jim Tran
Hannah Yates
Joshua Lackey
Jonathan Lye
Bass Blessings Babies
David Naranjo welcomed baby Zara on 1/23/24
Peter Malasavanh welcomed baby Violet on 3/20/24
Chris Ueding welcomed baby Brooks on 6/25/24
Joe Nelsen welcomed baby Owen on 7/6/24
James Ezelle welcomed twin babies Elizabeth Anne and Mary Catherine on 1/18/24
Mary Zinn welcomed baby Caden on 4/21/24
William Bender welcomed baby Rowan
Bass Blessings Brides & Grooms
Morgan Harris (FTL) got engaged in Madrid, Spain
Juan Garcia (FTL) got engaged to his fiancé and they purchased their first home together
Maria Nieto (FTL) got engaged in Peru
Chris Kicas (NYLI) with his fiancé at her bridal shower
Lucas Prado (HOU) got married on March 2nd
Dylan Bosse (GAI) got engaged to his fiancé
Bass Happenings Conventions
Alexandros Makris and John Connolly at the MetroRap convention in New York
Noah Taylor, Kevin Dionne, Jamie Willis, Becky Cumbaa, Janelle Mack, and Ryan Licata at FAIA in Orlando
Billie Moss, Hugo Bilsing, and Jeremy Green at the Houston Insurance Day
Peter Malasavanh, William Bender, and Devon Lewis at the Louisiana’s PIA convention
Bass Happenings Career Fairs
Jimmy Phelps and Natalie Raymond at the ULM career fair
Brady Rook Branch Bobb Sta
Michael Solis, Peyton Purdy, and Jimmy Phelps at the FSU career fair
Bass Happenings Corporate Race
Andrell Huertas, Andrea Oken, Alena Platonova, Cari Berry, Viviana Figueroa, Heidy Rodriguez, Crystal Barreto, Melonie Niels, Brandi Ross, Carla Quevedo, Toni Scott, Jazmine Green, Jennifer Leath, Arben Duriqi, John Blanchett, Shaye Soto, Brad Banister, Noah Taylor, Sayonara Brenes, Pamela Barwa, Carolina Seville, Joseph Cantlupe, Cristian Gil, Roselena Hernandez, Blerina Berisha, Sisi Amanuel, Pollyana Alfonso, Kristie Taylor, Maria Nieto, Camila Palaco, and Jordan Alvaranga
Bass Happenings Valentine’s Day
The Plantation office enjoying their valentine’s candy bags
Maxwell Ekleberry and Zach Rosen
Hortence Malbons, Shaye Soto, Roselena Hernandez, and Waed Azzeh
Chris Bilello, Joseph Cantlupe, and Alexandre Clayton
St. Patrick’s Day
Bass Happenings
Long Island Office: Karman Dhillon, Frank Zazzarino, Greg Long, Michael Wojcicki, Adam Kicas, Grace Butler, Michael Logrieco, John Connolly, Vincent Caputo, Thomas Monahan, James Fox, Nicholas Natale, Tommy Schildknecht, David Dragotti, Alexandros Makris, Chris Kicas, Dylan Black and Scott Nicolosi
The St. Petersburg office celebrating St. Patrick’s Day
Bass Happenings
Charleston office: Tyler Fuchs, Jeb Crissman, Dylan Harris, Tyler Brown, and Steve Jolley
Plantation office: Henry Lamberti, Blerina Berisha, Christopher Johnson, Pamela Barwa, and Kifra Oziri
Bass Happenings
The St. Petersburg office celebrating 4th of July
Camila Palaco, Miguel Villanueva and the Plantation team enjoying the food trucks
Bass Happenings
The Plantation office celebrating the Florida Panthers
Billie Moss at the Astros game with Beazley
The Orlando office celebrating NHL hockey
Bass Happenings Busy Bass
Reid Schmidt meeting with some of the Plantation Underwriter Assistant team
Charles Wojtczak, Michael Caradulis, Maxwell Ekleberry, Austin Phelps, Gianluca Martinello and Ryan Licata at the underwriting bowling event
Noah Taylor, Gabriel Trent, Andres Barrantes, and Ian Leggett at the cornhole tournament
Nick Sumbles, Chris Bilello, Michael Glick, Andres Barrantes, Milan Stefanovic, Michael Monroy, Jimmy Phelps, and Jake Jackson at the crown retreat
The 2024 leadership retreat
The Atlanta office celebrating Darrell Riveiro’s birthday with Milan Stefanovic
Bass Happenings
Kris Hines, Jordan Alvaranga, Aleks Clark, Andres Barrantes, Michael Glick, and Sara Hussain at Top Golf with IFG
Ashleigh Turner, Craig Perloff, and Staurt Williams, Kevin Chapman, Graham Kilby from Bishopsgate
Haddon Schlarbaum, Hayley Orr, Evan Wright, Peyton Purdy, and Charlie Hoffman at Top Golf
Chris Walkerow, Nicole Maxwell, Jared Herrick, Aaron Castro, and Emilio DeSilva at the Austin FC game
Makenzie Davis, Shelby Way, Austin Shufflebarger, Adam Courtney, John Sharkey, Paul Evans, Kathryn Kilpatrick, and Candace Reyes doing a murder mystery team building
Marko Salazar and Hunter Heath, the Orlando team golf tournament winners
Bass Happenings
Orlando Office: Marko Sakazar, Cody Rawson, Michael Guzman, Elijah Jordan, Kayla Jordan, Landon Higginbotham, Cort Graham, Brett Petruzzelli, and Maria Cross celebrating Elijah’s baby shower
Reid Schmidt and Reid Schmidt Jr
Bass Happenings Fun on the Green
Milan Stefanovic and James Gainey with the leadership speaker, Vince Papale
Jesse Fenton, Philip Rizzuti, Michael Monroy, and Victor Moreno at Big I Day
James Gainey, Kevin Cullinan, Chase Jackson, Alex Buck, Eric Huntley, Milan Stefanovic, Ed Jackson, and Dominic Monda at the golf outing leadership retreat
Bass Happenings Savoring Success
Arizona Office: Hayden Miller, Tom Sweigart from Ategrity, Lacy Fridley, and Austin Schafer at happy hour
Magda Kita, Debbie Rascati, Milan Stefanovic, Rachelle Garcia, Stephen Karafa, and Cari Berry having dinner with Tower Hill Insurance Group
Ed Jackson, Milan Stefanovic, Kris Hines, Rolando Rodriguez , Chris Bilello, and Jeffrey Daddario having dinner with RLI
The St. Petersburg office at happy hour with Westchester
Natalie Raymond and Debbie Rascati having dinner in Gainesville
Stephen Karafa, Allison Wilson, and Debbie Rascati with Kim Futch from Cornerstone Insurance
The St. Petersburg office having l h ith Pl t id A P l
The St Petersburg office at happy hour with MAMI
In The Community Bass Gives
In The Community Charity
Melanie, Jillian Barnes wife, Shane Mihok, Drake Futch, Billy Smith and Alex Buck at Brittany's Hope for Huntington's Charity Golf Tournament
Shessy Moreno, Victor Moreno, Aleks Clark, and Jason Clark at the 4Kids Banquet Fundraiser
Natalie Raymond, Viviana Figueroa, Stephanie Fleitas, Shelby Newman, and Shessy Moreno at the 4Kids Galentines fundraiser
The Chronicles of Bill Turgeon
Bill Turgeon, Jason Clark, Austin Phelps, and Jimmy Phelps at a Florida Panthers Game
Bill Turgeon and Milan Stefanovic make a pit stop at the famous Buc-ee’s on their way to the Mobile office
Bill Turgeon, Stephen Shea, James Gainey, Dominic Monda, and Chris Kicas
Bill Turgeon and Jordan Fenton, our Bass Pickleball Tournament champions
Bill Turgeon, Todd McGough, Matt Forchette, Stephen Shea, Chris Kicas, Magda Kita, and Chase Jackson
Bill Turgeon and the Orlando Office
Bill Turgeon and the Encino Office
Bill Turgeon, Eric Huntley, Adam Wilson and their families
Insurance Technologies
Brandi Ross, Aden Katz, Jonny Lye, Allison Perera, and Matthew Morrall at a happy hour event
Pollyana Alfonso, Yordano Martell, Krystal Wallace, Jesse Peinado, Vladimir Martell, Martino Benjamin, Porfirio Bonet, Daniel Gomez, Carlos Gonzalez, Ruben Padron, Jake Jackson, Pierce Gainey, Grant Walker, and Aaron Jerez at K1 indoor kart racing
Kart Racing Winners: Jake Jackson, Pierce Gainey, and Yordano Martell
What's Next Upcoming Events
August
8-2 National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day
8-5 FSLA 2024 Annual Convention
8-5 - 8-19 Open Enrollment
8-8 YA Conference Savannah GA
8-12 YRP Birmingham Golf Tournament
8-21 LAAIA Annual Convention
September
*9-2 Labor Day
9-20 Fishing for Dreams Tournament 9-22 - 9-25 WSIA in San Diego
October
10-2 UGA RMI Fall Career Fair
10-8 Sacramento I Day
10-9 FSU RMI Career Fair
10-10 PAIA Big I Day Golf Tournament
10-13 IIABSC Annual Convention
10-14 Big I Day El Paso
10-15 Big I Day El Paso Golf Tournament
10-31 Halloween
November
*11-28 Thanksgiving Day
*11-29 Day After Thanksgiving
December
12-13 Corporate Branch Christmas Party
*12-24 Christmas Eve
*12-25 Christmas Day