An Interview With Gene Levitre

Gene Levitre was interested in more steady work than the construction field offered when he was inspired to apply for with a job as an adjuster with Crawford and Company just before his first son was born.  Twenty-some years and a lot of commuting later, he is enjoying his life among the redwoods in Ben Lomond; ten minutes from his job as a Senior Property Adjuster with the Alliance Member Services group. 

The Alliance group’s mission is to service non-profit entities that have proven 503(c)(3) status with the IRS by providing very broad coverage with a high degree of customer service.  This could be one of the reasons that the company is growing at an impressive rate as Gene explains “calls are answered the same day and access to the top people in the company is extremely easy.  I wish some of the coverage we offer was available on my own homeowner’s policy- it is very comprehensive.” 

Alliance Member Services acts as a TPA for the three companies that are represented; Nonprofits Insurance Alliance of California is concerned with commercial General Liability, Auto Liability, D&O, ISC in the state of California; Alliance of Nonprofits for Insurance Risk Retention Group offers the same coverages to the remainder of the  country  and commercial property is covered through North American Elite Insurance Company  headquartered in Manchester, New Hampshire.  Gene is primarily concerned with commercial property claims, fire and water damage, burglary and theft along with some General Liability and automobile coverage. 

“I was working in construction after college years ago” Gene says “and after experiencing an unreliable schedule of work- especially in the winter- I was encouraged to apply for an adjuster position with Crawford and Company.  They said I was hired for their program and shown a room with stacks of files to work on.  A month later I went to Atlanta for 5 weeks of school just after my first son was born.   Back in San Jose, Ernest Gardner was brought in from the Midwest as the South Bay Property guy and he began cross-training me.  His help and encouragement was invaluable and we stay in touch to this day. “ 

“After 4 or 5 years, I was sent to Monterey as the Adjuster in Charge and the territory extended from King City to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.  I loved living in the area and was able to avoid the relocations offered in other states.  After a while, I was traveling to the Corporate Headquarters to handle the countrywide files of 3 clients; Chevron; Verco Manufacturing and Southern California Water District claims- all huge clients with complex claims.” 

“Once back in San Jose I had the pleasure of working with Ray Depa who became a lifelong friend; I wore several hats as a supervisor for adjusters doing Workers Compensation; Auto Appraising, Property and General Liability all while handling my own claims.  Later, in Los Altos the claims of the American Restaurant Group were a nationwide experience and then large loss duties for Crawford and Company took me from the East Bay to King City- often 15 hours a day; 7 days a week.   It was not surprising that the job with Alliance Member Services close to my home of 22 years was very appealing”. 

Gene has 5 sons whose names he often confuses and as far as remembering their birthdays, he confesses that he is hopeless.  His 26 year old son is in Texas working for HP; the 24 year old son is ‘working for the NFL” which in his case means that he is a starting left guard for the Buffalo Bills; the 21 year old is still home working and looking for his life direction and the 13 and 11 year old boys are in junior high school. 

He likes to get the chores around the house done in the summer because when football season starts, the priorities shift.  Although he no longer has a boat, he still enjoys deep sea fishing when possible. 

Life in the insurance business has been good and as a bonus there’s a river in his backyard. 

by Joan Barrett -

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