Marci Veronie - Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing Marci began her career with Avemco in 1986. She supervises all our underwriters and helps them serve our customers better. “I am passionate about representing the company that stands for aviation insurance. My job is to help the underwriters help our customers. And I’m proud of what we offer.” In March 2018 Marci was elected to serve as Chair of the Board of Directors of Women in Aviation International for a term of two years. In April 2019, she received the prestigious Good Company Award from Tokio Marine, and in April 2020, was nominated for the Geneva Association’s “Women in Insurance” Award.
Kim Skipper - CPCU, Aviation Underwriting Manager Since 1987, Kim has been forming relationships and even friendships with our customers. She says, “I love the fact that my experience combined with being a direct underwriter allows me to deliver immediate answers to the customers.”
Luke Barnette - Assistant Underwriting ManagerLuke joined Avemco in 2007. He says,” what I love about Avemco is the great diversity of people you get to deal with. There are the young folks just starting out in aviation, the people who fly for business, and the older pilots who've been flying for decades. It's a wonderful mix." He devotes his free time to hunting and fishing in the woods and lakes of Maryland.
Paul Athey, CPCU - Aviation Underwriter SupervisorPaul has extensive insurance industry experience, as an underwriter and claims specialist working with homeowners, auto owners and boat owners for more than 28 years before joining Avemco in 2020. While Paul never imagined that he would be writing aircraft insurance, he’s found that pilots are great people to be around.
Tom Colbert – Senior Aviation Underwriter Tom had an easy transition into aircraft insurance from his two decades as a claims specialist working with owners of antique and classic cars. He sees similarities between the owners of those vehicles and the pilots he now assists. Both are detail-oriented and have a great passion for their all-consuming avocations.
Max Conrad - Aviation UnderwriterMax came to Avemco in February of 2022 from a background as an airframe and avionics technician. His experience under the cowling is a bonus for our customers who might want to talk “shop” and find that Max truly understands their language. Away from Avemco, Max enjoys working out, kayaking, and being with family.
Will Miller - Aviation UnderwriterWill comes to us with a background in economics and finance with an aptitude for problem-solving, growing client relationships, and providing excellent customer care which will serve him well at Avemco. He has traveled extensively throughout his life, including a hiking trip to Iceland and trips to Spain, Greece, China, Costa Rica, and other exotic locations.
Alexis Palios - Aviation Underwriter Alexis Palios arrived at Avemco in 2020 with her insurance skill set already in place. Her background at a major, Fortune 500 insurance company entailed seven years of auto underwriting, a year of claims, and an additional six years in quality assurance, client services, and creating and teaching insurance curriculum. She is looking forward to meeting our insureds at events.
Lucas Price - Aviation Underwriter Lucas is a recent college grad and is excited to put his business administration and customer service skills to use. He says, “Most everyone I interact with is genuine and positive; it really makes a world of difference and I’m grateful to be part of a team that produces such an awesome environment.” Outside the office, Lucas stays busy as a new dad and a high school girls’ basketball coach.
Justin Reed - Aviation Underwriter SupervisorJustin has extensive insurance industry experience, handling automobile accident claims for more than 18 years before joining Avemco. Although airplanes are a different animal, he finds the importance of exceptional customer service the same. Justin says it’s all about helping people.
JT Routzahn - Aviation UnderwriterJT Routzahn joined Team Avemco in October of 2022 with decades of insurance experience behind him. During his career, JT has been a commercial underwriter, operations team manager, and claims adjuster. He finds that talking with pilots is the most enjoyable part of his job. In his spare time, he loves to play golf, hang out with his college-student son, and serve on the board of a local bank.
Bryon Schwartz - Senior Aviation UnderwriterBryon earned his commercial rating for both single- and multi-engine aircraft in 1990 and joined Avemco in 1999. He says, ““Being a pilot is really helpful in this position because I can understand exactly what customers’ needs are, and I can hopefully provide pilots with proven sources of loss prevention strategies.”
Owen Smith - Aviation Underwriter Owen joined Avemco after graduating from St. Mary’s College with a degree in economics and a minor in business administration. He was drawn to Avemco because of the tight-knit team atmosphere. Owen enjoys talking with our pilots and hearing about their adventures and airplanes.
Sherri Webster - Aviation Underwriter Supervisor Sherri has lived in the Frederick, MD area for most of her life. Before joining Avemco in 2020, she had already racked up more than 30 years of experience in the insurance industry. When you ask her the difference between Avemco customers and her previous experience as an auto underwriter, she says, “Avemco customers are just so happy and love to talk about their airplanes, flying, and how much they love Avemco.”
Michael Donovan - PresidentMichael began his career with HCC in 1983 as an assistant aviation underwriter and since that time has served in various positions, including Director, Executive Vice President and President (of HC Aviation). He has been an officer of Avemco since 2007 and currently serves as President and Director of Avemco Insurance Company.
Tom Fraley - Senior Vice President, Support Operations Tom started at Avemco in 1997 and has continually watched the complexity of Information Technology expand. “My favorite part of this job is tackling the challenges associated with ever-evolving technologies and applying them to make Avemco a more efficient company.”