Meet our Team

Blaine K. Ayers

Vice President

Blaine has served as Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s Chief Executive Officer and, more recently, as the Chief Legislative Officer of the North American Interfraternity Conference. After graduating from the University of Kentucky with a degree in history, Blaine was a teacher and a state-championship winning coach at Trinity High School in Louisville. During that time, Ayers also obtained a Master’s in Education from Spalding University. Ayers’ time as an Assistant Dean of Students at the University of Kentucky provides him a better understanding of Higher Education administration. In 2007, Blaine joined Sigma Alpha Epsilon staff as a Regional Director and served as the Associate Executive Director of Chapter and Alumni Services for two years before becoming Chief Executive Officer. Now as a licensed insurance agent, Blaine assists Favor & Company’s professional and social fraternal clients where he serves as the main contact for Sigma Alpha Mu and Triangle Fraternities.  He also leads Favor & Company’s Fraternal Health & Safety Initiative.

Teresa Bustios, AIC

Vice President of Claims

Teresa has worked for Favor & Company since 1994. Bustios obtained her Associate in Claims designation early in her career.  This provided Teresa with a foundation she uses today to oversee all aspects of Favor & Company’s claims service assistance. Bustios works closely with customers, underwriters, and claims adjustors to assure prompt response and recovery of losses. As a result of her extensive experience and claims handling expertise, Teresa has the authority to settle many claims directly on behalf of underwriters.

Teresa’s nearly 30 years’ experience in directly managing thousands of property and casualty claims gives her a unique perspective in assisting our customers to achieve fast, fair, and equitable claim settlements. Teresa has developed strong professional relationships with adjusters and legal defense counsel from across the country.

Robert M. Curran

President & CEO

Bob’s responsibilities as President and Chief Executive Officer include oversight of all Favor & Company operations including financial management, underwriting, new business development, loss control, claims, agency management, and insurance company relations. Curran operates and manages Favor & Company from the office in St. Charles, Illinois. Prior to joining Favor & Company, Bob served as Senior Vice President, Property & Casualty Division Manager at one of the largest privately held insurance agencies in Chicago. Bob has more than 35 years’ experience as an insurance agent and agency manager serving the specialized insurance and risk management needs of commercial clients across the country from a wide range of industry classes.

Prior to embarking on an insurance career, in the 1980s Bob served on the international headquarters staff of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, including two years as a Chapter Consultant, one year as Associate Director of Chapter Services and three years as Director of Business Affairs. In 1985, while on Lambda Chi’s professional staff, Bob was deeply involved in establishing one of the earliest risk management and international property & casualty insurance programs for college-based fraternal organizations. From 1988 to 2012, Bob served as an alumni volunteer on Lambda Chi’s Risk Management and Insurance Task Force which oversees the administration of the fraternity’s insurance program. Bob is an alumnus of the University of Tulsa.

Drew Hunter

PROPERTY CLAIMS MANAGER

Drew serves as the Property Claims Manager and brings a unique experience to the property claims area in that he has served as both a chapter advisor and house corporation member for more than 30 years. Drew is also an Education Consultant for the Fraternal Health and Safety Initiative (FHSI) assisting with client support, special projects and ongoing initiative efforts. Drew retired after more than a 25-year career with The BACCHUS Network, an association of peer to peer health education programs active on several hundred college campuses. Additionally, he is a past International President for Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. Drew earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from the University of Denver and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Colorado. He lives in Denver with his wife, Carolyn.

Jennifer Jepson

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Jennifer began working at Favor & Company in 2021. She has a 20-year background in Accounting and Finance with experience in the banking, student loan, real estate and insurance industries. Her most recent experience was with a publicly traded specialty insurance company in La Jolla, CA where she worked as an Accounting Manager, overseeing the Reinsurance and Claims division of the Statutory Accounting team. Jennifer works collaboratively with Favor & Company’s Chief Financial Officer and Accounting Specialist in the St. Charles, IL office.

Christine A. Knutte, CPCU

Chief Financial Officer, EMERITUS

Christine has 30 years of insurance industry experience and most recently she was a Senior Vice President of a large Chicago area insurance agency and previously served as a Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of a specialty insurance company with a large program at Lloyd’s of London. Knutte works directly with the company’s Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President in the analysis of actuarial and loss data, policy language, regulatory matters, and agency technology. In addition, Christine assists with exposure and risk analysis, as well as account rating and underwriting.

Cathy C. Lorenz

Accounting Specialist

Cathy works closely with the Chief Financial Officer in our St. Charles office. She has a strong background in finance with a BS in Mathematics and an MBA in Finance and Economics. Cathy worked in commercial banking industry with Fortune 500 clients, followed by an extensive career at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange designing Futures contracts in close collaboration with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission. Most recently, Cathy worked as the Chief Financial Officer for an insurance benefits consulting firm. She has also spent time volunteering as treasurer for several non-for-profit organizations.

Alison McConnell, AIS, AINS

Account Manager

As Account Manager, Alison assists in the renewal processing for Professional Fraternities and general commercial accounts. Alison began working at Favor and Company in December 2020, after working in the insurance industry for 6 1/2 years in a surplus lines brokerage where she had been an underwriter and previously a renewal underwriter. Alison completed her Associates in Insurance Services and Associates in General Insurance program designations. She is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio where she was initiated as a member of Zeta Tau Alpha.

Jennifer Mores, CIC, CRM

Senior Account Executive

Jennifer is the Senior Account Executive for Alpha Epsilon Pi, Beta Theta Pi, Delta Chi, Delta Sigma Phi, Kappa Sigma, Phi Delta Theta, and Zeta Beta Tau. Jennifer also oversees the agency’s loss control property inspection program. She brings 30 combined years of sorority staff, foundation staff and volunteer experience to the Favor & Company team, including several years in the areas of insurance and housing, as well as time as a licensed Realtor. Jennifer is a member of Alpha Gamma Delta and currently serves on Alpha Gamma Delta’s International Council as International Vice President and on Alpha Gamma Delta’s Fraternity Housing Corporation as a Director. She is a former Chief Panhellenic Officer, former NPC Area Advisor, Past President of the Denver Area Panhellenic and past board member of the Fraternity & Sorority Political Action Committee (FSPAC). Jennifer is a graduate of the University of Georgia and is a Certified Insurance Counselor as well as a Certified Risk Manager.

Marc S. Mores, CIC, CRM, CPRM, CAE (Ret.)

Executive Vice President

Marc oversees the daily operations of the Denver branch office and serves as underwriter for our Lloyd’s of London property program and liability underwriter for the agency’s social and professional fraternity accounts. He is a frequent speaker at client conventions, annual meetings, leadership conferences, client board meetings, and industry events.  Marc is Favor & Company’s lead contact for the fraternity/sorority industry trade associations. Following a long and distinguished tenure with Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, Mores joined Favor & Company in 2008.  At Phi Delta Theta, Mores served in several roles including Associate Executive Vice President and earned his Certified Association Executive designation.  Marc’s nearly 30 years of professional experience in the fraternal community gives him an insider understanding of the risk management and insurance matters facing the Favor & Company customers. 

As an industry advocate, Mores currently serves as President of the Board of Directors of Hazing Prevention Network.  He has lent his expertise to the North American Interfraternity Conference to assist in the creation of the new Alcohol & Drug Guidelines.  Marc is a graduate of Iowa State University and currently serves as Immediate Past Chair of the Iowa State University Alumni Association board of directors and serves on the ISU Gridiron Club board of directors.  He obtained his M.Ed. from Xavier University and is a Certified Insurance Counselor, Certified Risk Manager, and Certified Personal Risk Manager.

 

Dominic Navarro

ASSISTANT ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Dominic brings 5 years of experience in the insurance industry where he’s learned skills in risk assessment, policy analysis, and client relations. Currently, Dominic is an Assistant Account Executive at Favor & Company. Simultaneously, he is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Business, further developing skills for delivering strategic financial and risk management solutions to our clients.

Ashley L. Pabst, CIC

Senior Account Executive

Ashley is the Senior Account Executive for Lambda Chi Alpha, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Chi, Tau Kappa Epsilon, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Ashley assists the President and Chief Executive Officer with other non-fraternity business including Favor & Company’s Tourist and Show Cave Attraction program. Pabst’s career began in the specialty insurance markets involving Lloyds of London. Ashley is a graduate of Regis University in Denver and is a Certified Insurance Counselor.

Dawn Ray, CISR

Assistant Account Executive

Dawn joined Favor & Company as Assistant Account Executive in June 2022. She brings more than 15 years of experience in the insurance industry. Along with providing clients certificates of insurance as needed, she assists in the renewal process of fraternal accounts. Dawn has obtained a Management Degree and her AAS from Des Moines Area Community College and earned a Certificated Insurance Service Representative designation.

About Our Founder

James R. Favor (1945-2012)

Mr. James R. Favor founded Favor & Company in 1979 after working for several years at a major underwriting company and national insurance brokerage firm. Jim was a staunch supporter of fraternal organizations and soon dedicated himself to creating the first risk management and insurance program for college-based fraternities and sororities. Jim authored much of the current Lloyd’s Fraternity insurance program, which has been tested and upheld in a number of federal courts. Because of his expertise, Favor was frequently called to be a professional witness in insurance related cases. Jim’s lifelong passion was to protect the interest of his clients. Favor did so by helping his clients foster a healthy risk management culture through collaboration and counsel, and by providing customized loss-preventing programming and superior asset protection. Jim’s philosophy is still the foundation of Favor & Company today.

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