Jeff is an experienced claims professional with over 36 years in the insurance industry. He has handled complex, large-value first-party and third-party claims and litigation as a staff claims representative and as an independent consultant, and his experience spans commercial and personal lines property and liability coverages. He has held various leadership roles in the industry, ranging from Adjuster-in-Charge to Claims Supervisor to District Claims Manager to Regional Claims Manager to Claims Director, and has lead claims operations of more than 100 employees. He has also been involved in quality assurance programs and creating and managing vendor and panel counsel programs. He has positively impacted the organizations he has been a part of by leading teams and processes; creating new teams and processes; and by implementing innovations to build on and improve existing processes

In his current role, Jeff directs all claim-related litigation and panel counsel relations for Builders Mutual Insurance Company, a North Carolina-based insurer of contractors and construction related trades and suppliers in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. His team is responsible for handling all litigated matters involving the company’s insureds and suits filed by and against the company arising from claim-related activities and decisions. Due to the nature of Builders Mutual’s exclusively construction-related portfolio, this involves mostly construction defect related lawsuits but also includes other commercial general liability and commercial auto litigation.

Jeff is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor’s degree in political science/pre-law. He holds an executive certificate in law from Vanderbilt University Law School and has obtained several other professional designations and certifications including Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Senior Claim Law Associate (SCLA), Certified Litigation Management Professional (CLMP), Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS), and Associate in Claims and Clams Management (AIC-M) designations.

As for professional affiliations, he is a member in good standing the Society of Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters; a fellow of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance; a member of the Virginia Claims Association; a member of the Society of Claim Law Associates; and a past member of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel.

Jeff has also been a featured speaker and panelist at several professional conferences and meetings, speaking on additional insured coverages; litigation strategies; handling and managing complex claims and litigation; strategies for combating the “Reptile Theory” (n/k/a “The Edge”) in personal injury and construction defect settings; Certificate of Insurance issues; preparing litigation to prevent and mitigate “Nuclear Verdicts®”; and claims handling and litigation strategies in construction defect class action lawsuits. He has also lent his experience to multiple training seminars across a wide range of claim handling topics.

Jeff lives just outside Raleigh, NC, with his wife, Susan, and their two Golden Retrievers, Gracie and Ellie. They have three adult children and one daughter-in-law who all live in the area. He enjoys golf; movies; game nights with friends; reading; and all things UNC, including, despite the pain it often causes him, attending Tar Heel home football games in the fall.