Bruce Flachs, CPCU - President

Bruce has over 25 years of commercial insurance and workers compensation experience with insurance companies, captives and self-insurance groups. Bruce has served as President/CEO of Synergy since inception. Prior to founding Synergy, Bruce was CEO and Founder of Access CoverageCorp and CompSource.

Access CoverageCorp created a single entry multi-carrier application technology that automated the process of obtaining bindable insurance quotes from multiple insurance carriers. Prior to Access CoverageCorp, Bruce started the North Carolina Commerce Fund (“NCCF”) and served as President of its administrator, CompSource. CompSource was listed as one of the fastest growing companies in America by Entrepreneur Magazine and Bruce was a finalist for the North Carolina Entrepreneur of the Year two years in a row.

Bruce holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Kutztown (PA) State College along with the Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriting (CPCU) designation and Associate Insurance Accounting and Finance (AIAF) designation.

Kelly Smith - Chief Operations Officer

Kelly Smith has over 21 years of experience in the workers’ compensation insurance industry. With Amerisure Insurance Company, Kelly supervised billing and collections, a position she held when she moved to CompSource. Through CompSource’s subsequent merger, Kelly was again promoted to audit, billing, and collections manager prior to taking a supervisor’s position within the underwriting department. Her experience across numerous disciplines has given Kelly a broad knowledge of all aspects of the workers’ compensation industry.

Jim Thomas - Senior Vice President Claims and Loss Prevention

Jim Thomas has over 20 years experience managing claims operations for national insurance companies (Liberty Mutual and The Zenith) and a third party administrator (CompSource). Jim received a degree in Business Management from NC State University and received his Associate in Claims designation from the Insurance Institute of America in 1994. Jim has managed workers’ compensation claims across fourteen states with 80 plus employees and over $100 million in at risk premium. Jim has worked with all major reinsurance companies reporting and managing claims. He has working relationships with defense attorneys, investigators, physicians, medical management companies, and various other vendors associated with managing workers’ compensation claims. Jim has been a member of the NC Industrial Commission Advisory Board since 1999. Jim has also successfully assisted in the prosecution of over $100,000 in fraudulent workers’ compensation claims.

Scott Grant, CPA - Chief Financial Officer

Scott has 12 years of accounting experience in the workers’ compensation industry. After graduating from The Pennsylvania State University, he began his career in insurance working for Riscorp National Insurance Company which was later acquired by The Zenith Insurance Company. Scott later held the position of Controller for a large managing general agency located in the southeast. Prior to joining Synergy, he was Vice President and Controller for Guarantee Insurance Company. There he was responsible for all aspects of financial and regulatory reporting. He works closely with various insurance departments as well as external accounting and actuarial firms.

Scott is a member of the American Institute of Certified Accounts, The North Carolina Association of Certified Accountants and Financial Executives International.

Arlene Higgins, CPCU, CIC - Chief Underwriting Officer

Prior to joining Synergy, Arlene was employed by Access CoverageCorp, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Hartford Insurance Group, as Chief Operating Officer. With 19 years of insurance experience, her background has been very Workers Compensation focused. She has worked as an Underwriting Manager with The PMA Insurance Group, had leadership and large account underwriting responsibilities for The Fireman’s Fund, CompSource and Crum & Forster Insurance Company. She has a degree in Finance and Economics from Appalachian State University and has earned both CPCU and CIC designations.

Jill Bowyer - Vice President Marketing

Jill has been in the Workers’ Compensation arena for over 16 years. She began her career in the industry as a workers’ compensation claims adjuster. She worked for national insurance carriers as well as a regional TPA. More recently, Jill was the marketing director for a regional case management company. In this position she was successful in increasing market share by building strong relationships with clients and providing unsurpassed customer satisfaction. She graduated from Appalachian State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Insurance and Health Care Management. She also holds an Associate in Claims designation. Jill’s claims background, marketing experience and education give her the tools and knowledge needed to be successful in ensuring Synergy has productive partnerships and outstanding service.

Mark Lavoie - Vice President Information Systems

Mark has 12 years experience in information technology. Throughout this period, he has worked as an IT consultant to mainly financial institutions and insurance companies. Mark has worked on different projects taking the roles as an administrator, developer, analyst and manager. He has also worked with Wiley Publishing as a technical editor for the beginning and professional vb.NET 2008 technical books. Mark's career has given him the opportunity to work a variety of disciplines within the information technology industry.