Dan Castle

Experience

• 

  Hall Insurance Agency

  Aug 1991 - Oct 1996

  Commercial Lines Producer

  I was asked by the owner to come work at his agency when he presented me with the Rotary scholarship. He was the President of the local Rotary Club who presented their academic scholarship when I was a Senior in High School. I came to work as a college student when I wasn't in class. This developed into a 20+ hour position during college. I worked on personal lines new applications and endorsements until he asked me to move into the commercial lines department. From there I started soliciting, quoting, and writing commercial insureds. I remained as one of his key associates until I decided to move onto Auto-Owners Insurance Company. I wanted to do something outside of my hometown and I knew I liked the values I saw in the Auto-Owners associates I worked with through the agency. Show less

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  Auto-Owners Insurance

  Oct 1996 - May 2016

  Responsibilities include leading the company-wide Auto Physical Damage Claims Department (over one billion dollars in premium), the Quick Claims Department (processes 220,000 claims per year), the Claims Resource Center (Claims Call Center handling over 100,000 calls per year), and Claims Liaison for the Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas regions. Immediate reports include 10 Claims Managers. Position reports to the Assistant Vice President of Claims.- Led implementation of Guidewire ClaimCenter for automobile claims- Built new Auto Claims Catastrophe unit- Reduced Dealer Blanket leakage through a new training and controls initiative- Implemented automated auto appraiser assignment system Show less Responsibilities include running one of the largest claims branches in the company. The branch included 13 claims representative, 4 support staff, and one supervisor. The branch was responsible for the handling of all claims in Utah and Idaho. The branch handled auto, homeowners, commercial property, commercial liability, and workers compensation claims. During my time as the manager, we took over the workers compensation claims for Arizona and Colorado and opened the Work Comp West Claims Branch. This branch eventually obtained an assistant manager position to relieve some of my duties. We then opened a Boise Claims Branch to take over the handling of Idaho claims. This branch also obtained an assistant manager to take over the operation due to the constant growth of the Utah claims branch. Show less As a Senior Claim Representative I was responsible for the handling of a field claim territory expanding over the St. Paul metropolitan territory. I specialized in the handling of large property claims, liability claims including in-suit claims, and many construction defect claims. This was during the height of construction defect claims in the St. Paul/Minneapolis metro where multiple CD claims were received per week. When I wasn't on a property inspection, I was in mediation for construction defect claims. I also mentored much of the new staff and assisted the manager in many duties. Show less As a Claim Supervisor, I reported to the Claim Manager of the branch. This was the second largest claims branch in the company at the time. It handled most of southern Florida in all P&C lines which included the Workers Compensation branch. Half of the branch reported to me for file handling and performance reviews. My time with the branch was cut short due to being activated by the federal government for the Iraq War. Not knowing the timeline in which I would return, I asked our leadership to fill my current position and move my wife and newborn back to the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro to await my return. This request was generously granted. Show less The Marketing Representative position entailed a large learning curve for a claims professional. I spent three weeks in the regional underwriting office training on underwriting guidelines. I then spent two weeks riding with a Senior Marketing Representative learning the basics of the position. After that, I began making my own schedule to meet each agency in my territory which spanned from Minneapolis to South Dakota and down to Mankato. The goal was to help the agencies increase their production of property and casualty business with our company while also convincing them to increase their life/health/disability application rate. This position required a great deal of relationship building and time management. During this time, the P/C production flourished and I took the territory from 46th place to 19th place in life/health/disability production. Show less My territory included half of Indianapolis along with six other counties spanning nearly to Illinois. There was a large amount of rural territory to cover along with some very urban areas of Indianapolis. I was a resident adjuster working from my home most of the time. I learned time and territory management very quickly. This was during the time of paper files and no computers. I had files, a phone, a fax machine, and field checks. My agencies new what time I would be at their agency each day of the week. They had claims waiting on me to inspect and knew how to contact me at any time. During a branch audit, I was ranked as top claims handler in the branch. Before leaving this position, I trained in my replacement who held the position for the next 14 years. Show less

  • Director

    Aug 2014 - May 2016

  • Claims Manager

    Jun 2012 - Aug 2014

  • Claims Manager

    Mar 2008 - Jun 2012

  • Claims Manager

    Jun 2006 - Mar 2008

  • Senior Claims Examiner

    Oct 2005 - Jun 2006

  • Senior Claim Representative

    Aug 2003 - Oct 2005

  • Claims Supervisor

    Aug 2002 - Aug 2003

  • Marketing Representative

    Mar 1999 - Aug 2002

  • Field Claim Representative

    Mar 1997 - Mar 1999

  • Branch Claim Representative

    Oct 1996 - Mar 1997
• 

  IAT Insurance Group

  May 2016 - Feb 2017

  Property Claim Manager

  Built a team from the ground up ensuing an organizational restructure. Identified areas of strengths to build upon as well as opportunities to improve. • Built a branch of 13 property examiners and two administrators to handle an average of 650 new claims per month with a premium growth rate of 32% in the first year• Identified areas of leakage in estimates and coverage resulting in reduction of average indemnity payouts as well as a reduction in IA expenses• Trained new Examiners as well as mentored seasoned Examiners• Implemented new procedures for processes and forms• Implemented metrics to include closing ratios, claim file audit scores, same-day contact, subro referral rate, and closing age. Show less

• 

  UPC Insurance

  Apr 2017 - Aug 2017

  Property Claim Manager

  Joined a fast-growing team in need of a strong combination of leadership and technical skills to build an effective organization built around internally trained staff.• Used data-driven metrics to reduce cycle times for first indemnity payment and closing• Reduced aging files by 5% in the first month• Working on initiatives to decrease leakage through policy education• Building business rules for decreased expenses through desk adjustment.

• 

  USAA

  Aug 2017 - now

  Leading the creation, formation, implementation, and expansion of the first commercial claims team and platform at a leading national carrier.- Successfully built a commercial claims organization from the ground up using Agile methodologies combined with claims fundamentals.- Configured Guidewire ClaimCenter in less than a year to launch an MVP product.- Upskilled existing adjusters, managers, and directors to handle commercial claims through policy and process training.- Created an inventory of risks and controls which are reviewed and refined as the organization scale Show less - Worked with the Auto Physical Damage department to drive improved customer experience within the glass replacement and repair process as well as their roadside assistance experience while mitigating external risk exposure.- Through multiple business agreements, followed by policy endorsement changes, reduced glass litigation exposure by 90% within 2 years.- Negotiated and managed multiple $200 million third party contracts to bring significant savings combined with added-value services. Show less

  • Senior Experience Owner, Small Business Insurance Claims

    Apr 2020 - now

  • Business Process Consultant

    Aug 2017 - Apr 2020