10 Things You Didn’t Know about Erie Insurance CEO Timothy G. NeCastro
Timothy G. NeCastro is both the CEO and the President of the Erie Insurance Group. As such, he is responsible for overseeing an insurance company that offers various kinds of insurance to interested individuals through a network of independent insurance agents. He’s one wealthy man who has taken a liking to the business world.
1. Comes From Erie, PA
It is interesting to note that NeCastro is a native son of Erie, PA. In short, the city is situated in Erie County on the shore of Lake Erie, all of which are named for the Erie people who used to live in the region until they were destroyed by the Iroquois in the mid-17th century for control of the lucrative fur trade. In case people were wondering, the Erie Insurance Group is indeed headquartered in Erie, PA.
2. Went to Gannon University
Speaking of which, NeCastro went to Gannon University, which can be found in Erie, PA as well. It is a private, co-educational school that was founded in the 1930s under the name of Cathedral College, meaning that it wasn’t until later in the 1940s that it was renamed for the Bishop of Erie John Mark Gannon. Said name change happened because Gannon was the man who championed the opening of the school.
3. Is a CPA
NeCastro is a CPA, meaning a Chartered Professional Accountant. This indicates that he possesses the expertise and experience needed to provide clients with accounting services, so it should come as no surprise to learn that said designation isn’t handed out until interested individuals meet strict requirements. Nowadays, NeCastro no longer needs his CPA designation. However, he still puts in the effort needed to maintain it.
4. Is a CIC
Besides being a CPA, NeCastro is a CIC as well, which means a Certified Insurance Counselor. The basic concept is similar to that of the CPA. However, a CIC is supposed to show that the designated individual has the expertise and experience needed to be an insurance agent. In particular, NeCastro is licensed for casualty insurance, life insurance, and property insurance, which is important information to know because different kinds of insurance can see significant differences from one another.
5. Used to Be with Ernst & Young
NeCastro is an excellent example of someone who started out as an accountant before making a transition to being a manager in a different industry. To be exact, NeCastro spent about a decade’s time at Ernst & Young, which is one of the Big Four accounting firms. After which, he went from being a senior manager at Ernst & Young to being someone working for a plastics manufacturer called The Plastek Group, where he would rise to become its director of finance.
6. Headed Up Internal Auditing for Erie Insurance
Over the course of his career, NeCastro has handled a wide range of tasks for the Erie Insurance Group. For instance, he started out in internal auditing, which would have been a very important responsibility well-suited for the skills that he had built up through his previous positions. As for why internal auditing is so important, the crux of the point is that accounting documents are useless if they can’t be relied upon, meaning that internal auditors are needed to ensure that fact by checking for everything from errors to malicious individuals. Speaking bluntly, serious accounting errors can kill entire companies, thus making internal auditing a top concern for those that want to remain running in the long run.
7. Switched Over to Operations
From internal auditing, NeCastro was promoted to the position of senior vice president of the Controller Division, which is another accounting-related position. However, NeCastro then proceeded to broaden his experiences by moving on over into the Products and Policy Services Division, which was followed up by him venturing into field sales operations. Eventually, this resulted in NeCastro receiving a promotion to being the person responsible for overseeing operations in six states. Something that prepared him well for his current role.
8. Headed Up Entry Into Kentucky
On a related note, NeCastro was entrusted with overseeing the Erie Insurance Group’s entry into the state of Kentucky as well. Once again, this would have been a position of huge responsibility, seeing as how breaking into a new market tends to be challenging for even the biggest and best-established companies. For that matter, it should be mentioned that such efforts cost a lot of resources, which speaks volumes about the trust put in NeCastro. In any case, it should come as no surprise to learn that NeCastro succeeded with the entry into the state of Kentucky, not least because he has risen further still on the Erie Insurance Group’s company hierarchy since that time.
9. Sells Through a Network of Independent Agents
Sales-wise, the Erie Insurance Group is interesting in that it sells its products to interested individuals through a network of independent agents operating out of independent agencies. Something that NeCastro has stated will remain the case for the foreseeable future even as the Erie Insurance Group strives to make filing claims and paying bills more convenient for its existing customers. On the whole, it isn’t difficult to see how an independent network can be advantageous under certain circumstances, with an excellent example being how it enables faster expansion into new markets.
10. Founding Member of the Board For the Erie Downtown Development Corporation
The Erie Insurance Group has long since expanded beyond the city in which it is headquartered. However, it retains a close relationship with it, which makes sense for any company looking at the long run. Said relationship can take on a wide range of forms, as shown by how NeCastro is a founding member of the board for the Erie Downtown Development Corporation that exists to revitalize the city’s downtown core.