Jim Howard Joins Assurance Bringing Unique Expertise to Non-Profit and Religious Sectors

SCHAUMBURG, IL (April 18, 2009) – Assurance Agency, Ltd., based in Schaumburg, IL, has announced the addition of insurance broker and advisor, Jim Howard. Howard, whose official title will be Vice President, joins Assurance bringing with him years of expertise working with non-profit and religious entities. In the religious sector, he has a proven track record of working with denominations to help structure group programs which allow churches to purchase lines of coverage that can be cost-prohibitive to a single church.

Most recently, Howard was the Senior Vice President for Hefferanan Insurance Brokers. In this role, he was directly responsible for the development of new business in the Chicago area and Midwest region for both property and casualty and employee benefits, while specializing in direct marketing to religious, non-profit entities, the hospitality industry, and healthcare. Howard joined the Hefferanan organization in 2008.

Prior to joining Hefferanan, Howard’s insurance brokerage history included over nine years of experience as an Area Executive Vice President at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. His focus at Gallagher was on the development of their religious niche book of business. There he is credited with creating a group program for religious sector businesses to help alleviate high insurance costs. Howard also developed his early insurance knowledge at Country Companies Insurance.

Howard received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Illinois State University in 1980. In addition, he completed a Risk Management degree from Cambridge University in Cambridge, England. For the past 15 years, Howard has been a resident of Barrington, IL and is a member of St. Anne’s Catholic Church.