EPIC's Suzanne McGarey, Matias Ormaza and Louis Hefter Honored as Risk & Insurance Magazine 2018 Power Brokers

SAN FRANCISCO, March 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, a retail property, casualty insurance brokerage and employee benefits consultant, announced today that Managing Principal Suzanne McGarey and Senior Vice President Matias Ormaza have been recognized as 2018 Power Brokers by Risk & Insurance Magazine. Principal Louis Hefter was named a finalist.

"We are honored that three of our team members have been recognized by Risk & Insurance among their 2018 Power Brokers," said Pete Garvey, CEO of EPIC. "Suzanne, Matias and Lou personify EPIC's core values of providing the highest quality of service while always putting people first. They are well-deserving of this prestigious industry recognition."

A Power Broker is an individual who stands out among their peers for the exceptional client work they delivered over the past year. While brokers play many key roles in the insurance industry and risk profession, a Power Broker award recognizes problem solving, customer service and industry knowledge, in particular.

Managing Principal Suzanne McGarey was selected in the Employee Benefits category for her work helping clients develop effective benefits strategies. She helped a private equity firm revamp its benefits offerings to recruit the best of the best by conducting a survey of employees to determine what benefits are found most valuable.

Senior Vice President Matias Ormaza was selected in the Construction category for his work in supporting a client's conversion from a public company to private, a credit facility refinancing and a large acquisition, in which the client credited Ormaza for years of work that culminated in these accomplishments. Ormaza made recommendations to another client that saved them over $1 million in premium this year.

Principal Louis Hefter was named a finalist in the Transportation category for his work in alternative risk insurance programs.

About Suzanne McGarey, Managing Principal at Ascende – a Division of EPIC

Suzanne McGarey joined Ascende – A Division of EPIC in 2001. Today her primary focus is on the firm's delivery of health and welfare consulting and business analytic services. She also provides oversight and integration of services for the company's additional consulting practices. She guides the practice leaders and managing consultants in developing cohesive strategies to advance our clients' business objectives. In addition, she meets with industry leaders and participates on executive advisory councils for the major health insurance carriers to engage in developing trends and represent the issues our clients face.

Her experience at Ascende includes managing the design, funding, administration and communication of employer-sponsored health and welfare plans. She provides expertise on the technical requirements, financial impacts and administrative mandates associated with the Affordable Care Act, as well as its wide-ranging effects on the industry.

McGarey began her career with Towers Perrin, where she worked in both the health and welfare and communications practices and gained experience analyzing employer welfare plans, researching compliance issues and developing employee communications. She later joined Business Health Companies, Inc. to assist in the development of a Houston-based Preferred Provider Organization (PPO), the Houston Healthcare Purchasing Organization (HHPO). Her responsibilities entailed marketing the network and developing ancillary services to assist clients in reducing health care expenditures in self-funded medical plans. McGarey played a key role in the success of the HHPO, which is now a cornerstone of a national network.

McGarey graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She earned the Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) and Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designations and actively served on the board of the Houston Chapter of the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists (ISCEBS), including as president.

About Matias Ormaza, Senior Vice President at Greyling – a Division of EPIC

Matias Ormaza is a Senior Vice President with Greyling Insurance - a Division of EPIC. In his role, he negotiates and places coverage for large design firms and design-builders. He works closely with clients who have global exposures and revenue ranging from $25 million to more than $1 billion. He is experienced in the unique coverage needs of design firms and has negotiated a wide range of large and complex project-specific policies for professional liability, pollution liability and builders risk programs.

Ormaza joined Greyling in 2007. Prior to that, he was an administrative manager of underwriting with Insurance Specialists, Inc., where he focused on lawyers professional liability insurance. He was a professional tennis player on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour from 1999 through 2001. Ormaza holds the Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS) professional designation.

Ormaza earned his degree from University of Georgia, where he majored in risk management and insurance with an emphasis on finance. He is originally from Argentina and is fluent in Spanish.

About Louis Hefter, Principal at The Capacity Group – an EPIC Company

Louis Hefter has been insuring Moving & Storage, Final Mile Home Delivery and Warehousing/Logistics companies for approximately 20 years.  Since joining The Capacity Group – an EPIC Company, Hefter has been instrumental in launching several alternative risk insurance programs.  With a strong background and expertise in the industry, Hefter has been published numerous times addressing risk and liability for moving and storage companies.

About Risk & Insurance Power Broker Awards

A Risk & Insurance® Power Broker® is an individual who stands out among their peers for the exceptional client work they delivered over the past year. While brokers play many key roles in the insurance industry and risk profession, a Power Broker® award recognizes problem solving, customer service and industry knowledge.

Our goal is to broadly recognize and promote outstanding risk management and customer service among the brokerage community. Therefore, we don't select a single winner but instead recognize four to six winners in different industry categories.

About EPIC

EPIC is a unique and innovative retail property and casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and consulting firm. EPIC has created a values-based, client-focused culture that attracts and retains top talent, fosters employee satisfaction and loyalty and sustains a high level of customer service excellence.

EPIC team members have consistently recognized their company as a "Best Place to Work" in multiple regions and as a "Best Place to Work in the Insurance Industry" nationally.

EPIC now has more than 1,400 team members operating from 50 offices across the U.S., providing Property and Casualty, Employee Benefits, Specialty Programs and Private Client solutions to more than 20,000 clients.

With run rate revenues greater than $400 million, EPIC ranks among the top 20 retail insurance brokers in the U.S. Backed by Oak Hill Capital Partners, the company continues to expand organically and through strategic acquisitions across the country. For additional information, please visit www.epicbrokers.com.

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SOURCE EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants

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