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Meet the IIA of IL Instructors

Todd Davis | Dennis Garrett | Peter Gulatto | Chuck Schramm | Don Solomon | Nancy Solomon

Dennis W. Garrett, CIC

As Executive Vice President of the Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois, Mr. Garrett is responsible for all products and services of the association. Those include membership, insurance products offered by the association, and responsibilities of the Profit Corporation. Prior to his appointment as Executive Vice President, Mr. Garrett was involved in the Education Department for over 12 years, teaching all lines of insurance classes as well as consulting with member insurance agencies throughout Illinois and other states.

Beginning his career in the insurance industry in 1970 immediately upon graduation from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois; he worked as a claims representative with the Aetna Life & Casualty until 1975, when he purchased ownership in an independent insurance agency in his hometown of Taylorville, Illinois. From 1975-1990 Mr. Garrett was a partner in an independent insurance agency in Taylorville, IL. His responsibilities were production of all lines of property/casualty and life/health insurance as well as management of the agency. He specialized in fertilizer dealers and trucking insurance. The size of accounts ranged from premiums in excess of $300,000 to normal personal automobile and homeowners policy.

During Mr. Garrett’s tenure as an Independent Insurance Agent he became active in insurance education for the Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois. In January 1990, Mr. Garrett sold his interest in the insurance agency and joined the Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois as a full time insurance educator. In 1991 he was promoted to Vice President of Marketing & Membership. In 1995 he was promoted to his current position of Executive Vice President of the IIAI & Agents Insurance Service, the profit corporation of the IIA of Illinois.

Mr. Garrett is a graduate of several insurance schools including the Aetna Life & Casualty Home Office Training School. He is a National Certified Errors & Omissions Instructor. Dennis earned his Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation in 1994.

Mr. Garrett was selected as Springfield, Illinois General Agents and Managers Agent of the Year in 1980 and received the Aetna Life Distinguished Achievement Award in 1979. He has authored several manuals and articles on insurance and insurance agency operations, as well as conducted seminars for insurance agencies and companies throughout the United States. He has also served as a consultant in agency acquisitions and mergers, producer development, and agency operations. In addition he has served as an expert witness in several legal cases involving statutory violations as well as industry standards.

Mr. Garrett is married and the father of three children and two grandchildren. He and his family currently reside in Taylorville, Illinois.

Todd R. Davis, CIC

Todd Davis is the owner and operator of Davis Agency Insurance in Peoria, Illinois. Todd was licensed and started his insurance career at age fifteen working for the family agency in the office. The agency was started in 1924 by Todd’s grandfather. After attending Bradley University with a major in Mechanical Engineering (later returning for a degree in Marketing and Public Relations), he re-entered the family agency with his father. In 1985, he became a partner in the agency, then purchased the agency in 1992. The Davis Agency is a multi-line independent agency.

Todd earned the CIC designation in 1995. He has taught Errors and Omissions Loss Prevention Seminars, as well as a wide range of Personal Lines and Commercial Lines courses for the PIIA of Illinois. He has also been involved in teaching insurance classes in various high schools in Peoria.

Todd served as the president of the Peoria Area Association of Professional Independent Insurance Agents in 1992 and again in 1996. He served as a board member of the Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois from 1990 to 1992. After consolidation of the PIIAI, Todd served as a member of the Board of Directors. Todd received the IIA of IL Young Agent of the Year award in 1996.

Chuck Schramm, MBA, CIC, CPCU, AAI, ARM, CRM

Chuck Schramm became an insurance agent in 1966. He has earned the following insurance designations: Certified Insurance Counselor, Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter, Accredited Advisor in Insurance, Associate in Risk Management, Certified Risk Manager and Construction Risk Insurance Specialist. He also earned his Master in Business Administration, from Roosevelt University.

In addition to advising insurance clients, he also teaches insurance courses. He has taught for the Insurance School of Chicago, The Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois, The Society of Certified Insurance Counselors, and the Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin, and the Independent Insurance Agents of Kentucky. He has published articles in the Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois Insight Magazine. He rewrote the Insurance Chapter for Business Math Today, a college textbook. He previously wrote an insurance column for Broker News, a multi-state newspaper. He is also a member of the IIA of IL Commercial Lines Task Force. He is also a member of the Mid-America Technical Conference and a member of the IIABA National Technical Affairs Committee.

He acts as an insurance consultant and as an expert witness on insurance issues. He affiliates with Rosenthal Brothers Agency in Deerfield, IL. His main duties are to act as their teacher in residence, teaching and mentoring their personnel. After 44 years in production, most of his time is spent in teaching, consulting, and expert witness work.

Donald L. Solomon
Don Solomon is Vice-President of Personal Lines for Martini, Miller & Schloss, Inc. in Northbrook, Illinois. He has been working in personal insurance, agency automation, and management since 1987 and has a degree in engineering from Iowa State University.

Nancy Solomon
Nancy Solomon is an owner/partner of the Martini Miller & Schloss, Inc. Insurance Agency in Northbrook, Illinois. She has been there for the past 30 years along with her husband. The agency is approximately 60% commercial and 40% personal lines.

Nancy is the past President of the Chicago Board of Underwriters, and is a board member of the Survive Alive Fire Prevention Foundation of Chicago. She has also served on the Agents Council of the Indiana Insurance Company, Hanover Insurance Company, and Transamerica Insurance Company.

Nancy teaches insurance courses for the PIIAI. They consist of the CISR program, Dynamics of Service, E&O in commercial and personal lines, two-day technical course for commercial and personal lines. She also teaches for the Insurance School of Chicago, their Property and Casualty licensing program, Commercial Property, BOP Program, along with two-day technical commercial lines and personal lines.