PROFESSIONAL INSURANCE SERVICES - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Risk Manager
- Personal Lines Account Manager
Ann Newberg currently serves as the personal lines risk manager for Professional Insurance Services.
Ann worked in accounting for many years with her father. Her first insurance job was with POE & Associates, as a Customer Service Representative (CSR) in the Bond and Liability Department.
After taking time off to raise her girls, Ann went back into the accounting field with a local Engineering Firm. During her employment at the Firm, Ann took advantage of the OJT continuing education courses and learned a lot about Employment Practice Liability, which rekindled her interest in insurance. Ann enjoyed being a CSR, but was excited to get her 220 Agent license and be more involved within the insurance industry.
Professional Insurance Services welcomed Ann in June of 2012. Her knowledge and experience is an asset to the company. "Working at a local agency allows you to get to know your clients and build business relationships, which I believe is valued by both parties". Ann specializes in writing auto, home, flood, boat, and umbrella insurance for the agency.
Job Titles:
- Commercial Account Manager
- Member of the Management Team
Deanna joined the Professional Insurance Services' team in July of 2015 as part of a move to the city of Tampa. Bringing 20 years of insurance experience from both the independent and captive agency arenas, she thoroughly enjoys the challenges of the commercial side of insurance, which has been her wheelhouse for a decade and a half. She believes that education and experience are fundamental to navigating all lines of insurance, and takes those responsibilities seriously, while at the same time focusing keenly on the client, their needs and wants, and lobbing an ever-ready sense of humor into interactions.
Deanna hails from Tarpon Springs, where she grew up and graduated as a Sponger and attended post-secondary at St. Petersburg College. Family and friends range around the tri-county area of Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough, and Deanna has enjoyed becoming familiar with and a local of each of these fantastic parts of Florida. She has also spent several years in Spain, speaks pretty good Spanish and has traveled more than a little in Europe, South America and Asia.
Outside of work, Deanna loves dancing, all forms of ballroom and salsa, going to the Renaissance Festival in costume, Halloween, and mornings. It's true. A recent habit she's picked up is nail art, which she updates and shares with her co-workers about twice a week. She catches them while they're hard at work, so they can't run away. On her bucket list is the chance to sing karaoke in 6 continents. Three down…three to go.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Management Team
- Senior Risk Advisor
Greg Todd is our Senior Risk Advisor handling both Commercial and Personal lines accounts. Greg joined Professional Insurance in April of 2014 and has over 10 years' experience in the insurance and mortgage industries. Prior to joining our agency, he worked with a local State Farm agent for several years and as a mortgage broker before that.
Greg also helped form and run a local non-profit organization that raised funds to donate to charities whose focus was helping children and cancer patients. In 2009, he participated in Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Man & Woman of the Year campaign helping to raise more than $20,000 for the foundation.
Greg is active in the local Tampa Bay community and continues to work with local charities such as Paint Your Heart Out! Tampa and Champions for Children. A long-time resident of the area, Greg currently lives in Tarpon Springs where he enjoys going to local sporting events, cooking, and spending time with his dogs.
Gunnar Schafers is our Associate Risk Advisor, handling both commercial and personal lines accounts. He is a graduate of Florida State University where he earned his BA in Economics, he also holds his 2-20 Insurance License. Prior to joining the team at Professional Insurance Services, Gunnar worked at WB Mason Company in Orlando where he assisted various companies with their business supplies and solutions needs.
He goes above and beyond to make sure he finds the best coverage for the best price for his customers and partners.
Gunnar was born and raised in the Tampa area before moving to Atlanta where he grew up with his family. After graduating and moving back down to Florida for college, he has found his home living close to the beaches and palms trees. Recently, Gunnar has relocated to south Tampa where he enjoys going out on the water, traveling, local sporting events, and spending time with friends.
Jason Levy - Founder, President
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Member of the Management Team
- President
Jason Levy is Founder and President of Professional Insurance Services, an independent Property and Casualty Agency. With over 21 years of experience in the insurance industry, Jason has established his practice into one of the fastest growing independent insurance companies in Tampa.
Professional Insurance Services is designed to be a full service one-stop shop for all of your personal and business insurance needs. With two different locations in the Tampa area, Jason and his staff specialize in all lines of insurance including: auto, home, boat, commercial property, general liability, and workers compensation. Professional Insurance Services works with over 100 different insurance companies to secure the needed coverage at the most competitive price.
Jason served as a founding member of the Bay Area Advisors (BAA) and was the past President of the group for a three year term. Jason also served BAA as the Moffitt Foundation Liaison for "Martinis for Moffitt". Jason stays involved in the community and is an active member of SAN of Tampa Bay, Board Member for the Tampa Trifecta, a member of University of Florida Alumni Association, and he is involved with the Young Agent's Council.
Prior to his career as an independent insurance agent, Jason worked for Nationwide Insurance, as a Commercial Insurance Agent, in the Washington DC metropolitan area, and as an underwriter for Nationwide Insurance in Gainesville, Jason is a native resident of Tampa and currently resides with his wife, daughter and newborn son in the Tampa area.
Keegan is a personal lines producer and was born and raised in St. Petersburg, FL. He has been in the insurance industry for almost 5 years. Before joining the team at Professional Insurance, he worked as a flood insurance underwriter in St. Petersburg for 2 years and converted to the agency side of insurance in 2020.
He has a passion for building valuable relationships with clients and takes pride in providing excellent customer service while delivering exceptional insurance products that fit the client's needs.
In Keegan's free time he enjoys spending time with friends, playing with his dog Bella, going to the beach, live music, watching sports (especially baseball, go Rays!) and playing golf.
Kristen Graduated from the University of South Florida with her B.S. in Marketing. Her past work experience has included working at several of the Bay Area Hospitals in many different departments within these hospitals.
Kristen is married to her high school sweetheart Bill and has 2 Boys. She spends most weekends and work nights at sporting events for her children. She is a committee member for St Jude's Children's Research Hospital and is involved in an annual Around the World with St Jude dinner event in Tampa. She loves to volunteer and spend time with her family.
Job Titles:
- Commercial Lines Associate
Melissa Heck currently serves as our Commercial Lines Associate and joined Professional Insurance Services in July 2022. In obtaining her 4-40 Customer Representative License, she is quickly moving forward to being a Commercial Lines Manager. She brings her enthusiasm for quality service from her background in education. Prior to joining our agency, Melissa enriched the minds and hearts of students as a secondary science educator and community service coordinator for 14 years in Hillsborough County. Her passion for community service is an excellent fit with our annual agency events supporting local organizations.
Melissa is a Tampa native and loves Cuban-Italian cuisine! She is a graduate from University of Tampa, University of South Florida, and Florida College with a Master of Arts in Teaching and a Bachelor of Science in Physics degree. Her adventurous spirit has led her to experience working at an observatory, go skydiving, and backpack through Europe. Some of her favorite places she has traveled to includes Croatia, Montenegro, Tokyo, Beijing, and Antigua to name a few and plans to add more in the years to come!
Melissa is the youngest of three children and enjoys the quality time she gets with her family. Melissa met her husband, Ryan, in 2018 and were married in 2019 in beautiful Plant Hall at University of Tampa. They recently built a home in the Land O'Lakes area and are loving making it their own with their cat and hope to add a dog to the family in the future. They enjoy frequent getaways to theme parks, concerts, and Tampa Bay Lightning games. GO BOLTS!
Pam is a Florida Native. Pam was born right here in Tampa at Tampa General Hospital. Pam currently works in the Personal Lines Department as a Customer Service Representative. Pam has been in the insurance industry for 30+ years. Starting her career at Chubb Insurance where she held several different positions through- out the years. She started out as a Commercial Lines Rater which she did for 3 years. Other positions she held was a Personal Lines Underwriting Assistant, Customer Service Representative in the Executive Risk Department and wrapped up as a Personal Lines Marketing Assistant. In 2011 she decided to try the agency side of the business and joined our agency in September 2014. Pam enjoys spending time with her 4 grandchildren.
Ricky Patel serves as an Insurance Consultant for Professional Insurance Services since August 2022. Ricky has worked on the captive insurance side for many years out of Richmond Virginia, and Texas. Insurance has always intrigued me, and I'm passionate about finding the best insurance products for my clients.
Before starting my insurance career, I was a restaurant entrepreneur for more than 10 years. I opened and ran several restaurants, which allowed me to grow both professionally and personally. I am a people-person, and interacting with people is what I do best.
Samantha Anderson brings 15 years of insurance experience to Professional Insurance Services with the merger of Keystone Insurance Company, where she was the owner and principal agent.
Samantha is a Florida native, originally from Lake Okeechobee she moved to Tampa to attend USF. She took a part-time job in a local Allstate insurance office and soon this became her career path. Samantha was an agency owner with Allstate for a few years before branching out and opening Keystone Insurance Company. The independent agency route allowed her the opportunity to offer greater insurance options to the benefit of her clients.
In her time away from the insurance office, Samantha loves to travel and collect memorabilia from her visits. She appreciates salvaged finds and restoring life to items that many would think are past their prime. She also enjoys spending time with her 2 well-fed cats and 1 little dog.
Job Titles:
- Director of New Business Development
Shawn Heuton is our Director of New Business Development. He held a four-year stint at Professional Insurance Services from 2008-2012 and has now re-joined the team! Shawn holds a 220 General Lines agent license and earned a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation in 2014. He is dedicated to generating new accounts to the agency and loves helping clients protect their most valuable assets.
One of the few that have been born and raised in Pinellas County, Shawn spent his childhood growing up in Palm Harbor, Florida. A self-proclaimed ‘sports-fanatic', if Shawn wasn't playing some kind of sport, he was watching one on TV with his dad. For college, Shawn attended the University of Florida in Gainesville and graduated with a BA in Business Administration. During college, he spent a life-changing semester abroad living in Madrid, Spain.
When he isn't helping secure valuable coverage for his clients, Shawn loves to travel the world with his wife, Taylor. They have two beautiful daughters together, Lily and London, who take up all of daddy's ‘free' time.
Job Titles:
- Personal Lines Account Manager
I am a Florida Native. I was born at St. Joseph's Hospital here in Tampa. I am the middle child of three girls. My father still lives in the house that I grew up in. I graduated from Hillsborough High School. I love living in Florida.
I have been in the insurance business for over 25 years. I have spent the majority of my career in an agency. I love working in an agency where I can build client relationships.
In my free time I love spending time with my family and friends listening to local musicians. My husband and I have raised three amazing children. We are proud of the adults they have become and they are the light of our lives.