Our People Make the Difference

W. Doug Edens, Senior Vice President of Claims Services, has twenty-three years of experience in the insurance industry and has held multiple notable leadership roles within Eberl and the US Navy. His claims experience includes but is not limited to Property, Property Liability, Auto, Auto liability, Auto & Property Bodily Injury including Litigation Management, and Auto SIU.

Doug holds an Associate in General Insurance (AINS).

Paul Howell, who serves as Senior Vice President of Claims Services, is celebrating twenty-nine years in the insurance industry. Paul is passionate about helping people and representing the positive role insurance plays in the process of recovery from unexpected, tragic events.

Paul spent 28 years at State Farm Insurance where he served in a number of claims leadership roles and went on to join Eberl in June of 2019.

Paul has completed a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and an MBA from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. Paul also holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Associate in Claims (AIC) Designations from The Institutes, as well as the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) designations from the American College of Financial Services.

Joe Slowiak, serving as Vice President of Claims Operations, holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration with a Specialization in Insurance from Arizona State University.

Joe started as a Staff Adjuster and went on to become a Commercial Lines Underwriter and Independent Adjuster where he joined Eberl’s roster in 2004. His expertise led to joining Eberl’s leadership team in 2015. Among many skills, Joe presents at claims conferences and has been an affiliated Xactimate Trainer where he holds an Xactimate Level 3 certification. In his spare time, he enjoys e-biking and off-roading activities.

With a combined total of thirty-six years in the insurance industry, Eberl is lucky to have Joe as a committed and knowledgeable addition to the team.

James Reetz serves as Vice President of Claims Operations with over twenty-five years of experience in the insurance claims industry under his belt in addition to fifteen years of executing team management responsibilities. He provides specialized expertise during categorized CAT (catastrophe) events where team management, project management, and response coordination skills are critical.

James has strategically partnered with innovation companies to develop and implement technology solutions for claims professionals. His passion for delivering world-class customer service and providing unparalleled assistance during some of the most dire weather circumstances has brought him to where he is today.

James is accredited as a Senior Claim Law Associate (SCLA) through AEI.

Jeff Burton, serving as Vice President of Claims Operations, owned an independent adjusting franchise in Denver and Fort Collins prior to joining the Eberl team. After selling that company, he went into the collision repair industry where he managed several direct repair programs for top carriers and was one of the first partners in the nation to pilot a repair express program for a major insurance company.

While in the collision repair business, Jeff worked alongside Eberl’s insurance partners to develop onsite training programs for adjusters (ASE-Certified and I-Car Platinum). In 2009, Jeff began working with Eberl as an Auto Catastrophe Adjuster where he later became an Auto and Field Catastrophe Manager. In addition, Jeff managed inside complex property damage units as well as total loss and daily auto claims units.

In 2018, Jeff became Regional Claims Manager and in 2019 was promoted to Vice President of Claims Operations.

Brent Jones, Vice President of Claims Operations, has twenty-five years of dedicated experience as a team member with Eberl Claims Service where he has held leadership roles within the company for a combined total of thirteen years.

Brent comes from an entrepreneurial background as a principal contributor in several start-up businesses. In addition, he worked diligently in leadership roles within the retail and manufacturing industries and bring a wide-range of diversified experience to Eberl’s leadership team.

Steve Laymance, Vice President of Claims Operations, began his adjusting career in 1988 handling daily claims for a local independent company in Dallas, Texas. He later joined the Eberl Claims Service team in 1994 and has worked diligently in the roles of Adjuster, Trainer, Manager, Regional Manager, and Vice President.

In addition to handling thousands of claims across all policy types for numerous carriers, he has trained and mentored countless adjusters, trainers, and managers. Steve has a focused passion for the success of each individual, which is monumental to all that work alongside him.

Chris serves as VP of Operational Strategy and Innovation with over twenty years’ experience in the insurance industry.

Prior to joining the Eberl leadership team, Chris acquired Carwood Claims, an independent adjusting firm which quickly grew and led to its recent acquisition with Eberl Claims Service.

Chris is a relationship-based, charismatic leader that is focused on facilitating the claims process of the future. His daily mission is to continually develop and support a strategic plan to advance the company’s objectives by promoting long term relationships, diversified revenue, profitability, and growth as an organization.

Chris has a B.A. in Business Management from Fort Lewis College and has been an active member of the NAIIA and RMPCA during his career.

Michael Chancellor is the Vice President of Account Services for Eberl Claims Service where he serves a key role in critical business processes that drive client acquisition and ongoing client success.

These business processes include pricing strategies, contract review, program development, partner onboarding, and the continuous management of service deliverables. Michael serves as the Eberl ambassador to the insurance marketplace with a focus on the future of Eberl, Eberl’s partners, and the over-arching industry as new technology emerges.

Michael began his career with Eberl in 2004 as a Catastrophe Field Adjuster where he built a reputation for providing quality expertise which led to career development as a field trainer, field manager, and manager of quality assurance. Since joining the cooperate leadership team, Michael has had leadership responsibility over quality assurance, continuous improvement, business intelligence reporting, and account service functions.

Samantha Krostue joined Eberl in July of 2018 and serves as Eberl’s Head of Marketing. With a background that encompasses both marketing and business development, Samantha spearheads Eberl’s marketing strategy and provides essential business development as well as partner relations support.

Prior to joining Eberl, Samantha gained extensive experience across multiple verticals, while delivering a diverse array of business development and marketing services for a global infrastructure and forensic engineering company.

Samantha holds both a Bachelor of Science degree and a master’s degree in Marketing from the University of South Florida. She successfully leverages her education and experience with a customer driven philosophy in conjunction with a history of developing innovative solutions to complex marketing challenges.

Barton Scott, serving as Commercial Claims Manager, has an impressive thirty-seven years of adjusting experience, thirty-four years of claims and catastrophe management, and twenty-five years of handling complex commercial claims.

Barton has held such positions as Commercial Claims Trainer and Senior Executive General Adjuster. He is a member of the Society of Certified General Adjusters and is a past President of the Austin Claims Association. His multidimensional career also includes trial court and mediation experience and additionally was an instructor for the CPCU Society in Austin, Texas.

Christy McGraw, serving as Regional Claims Manager, began her career in the insurance claims industry in 2005 as a Trainer for State Farm where she later went on to become a Catastrophe Claims Adjuster.

In 2011, she joined Eberl’s team as an Independent Trainer and shortly after, was promoted to the position of Independent Site Manager. In 2018, Christy transitioned into her current role where she exhibits crucial management duties and valuable client-serving assistance with a variety of staffing needs.

Christy holds a B.S. degree from the University of North Florida and is certified as an Associate in Claims Designation.

Dave Gackle, serving as Regional Claims Manager, holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from The University of North Dakota. Dave has been in the adjusting business since 1999 and joined Eberl in 2004.

Dave has completed the Xactimate Level 3 certification and enjoys working with adjusters on complex claims issues and estimates. He has worked as a Field Adjuster on large hurricane losses, large loss fires, complex mold claims and numerous wind and hail events.

Dave brings unparalleled experience and leadership qualities to the team at Eberl and the partners it serves.

Toby Queen, Regional Claims Manager, is a US Navy veteran that entered the insurance industry in 1996 as a Claims Adjuster. He became a Catastrophe Adjuster in 1997 and later went on to join Eberl’s independent adjuster roster. Since then, he’s performed a variety of positions including Catastrophe Claims Adjuster, Field Trainer, and Field Manager.

In 2016, Toby transitioned into the role of Regional Claims Manager where his primary responsibilities were managing and coordinating claims and adjusters across 13 states. Toby is also a proud alumnus of Arkansas State University.

Nick joined the Eberl Claims Service team as a Regional Claims Manager in June of 2016. Since his arrival, he has managed over a dozen large catastrophes including wind, hail, hurricane and freeze losses.

Before joining Eberl, he served for almost 10 years as Senior Commercial Catastrophe Adjuster with American Family Insurance, a leading property and casualty insurer focused in the Midwest. As his first job out of college, Nick quickly learned that he wanted to be in the insurance claims industry because helping someone who may have just had their worst day was a great honor for him. Eberl’s focus on caring, compassion, and responsiveness drew Nick to his position within the organization.

Nick holds a B.S. in Real Estate Sales from Saint Cloud State University’s Herberger Business School.