Expertise
In-depth experience. Inherent expertise.
When it comes to property insurance risk management and commercial real estate risk management, having the right team is essential.
The Avalon team is comprised of experts with more than 100 years’ combined experience. Our team includes one of the top commercial insurance brokers in the country, the industry’s foremost underwriter and actuary, and a consultant who has built the largest commercial real estate solution in the nation.
Together, the Avalon team is committed to using their skills, knowledge, and experience in providing first-rate services to our clients.
We also partner with industry-leading experts who know the multifamily industry inside and out—lenders, insurance analysts, and third-party consulting groups—to make sure that each claim is backed by deep knowledge and proven data. Some of our data analysis includes:
• Probable maximum loss studies
• Historical claims
• Loss statistics
• Predictive models
• Marketplace comparables
• Reconstruction costs
Avalon uses state-of-the-art technology and real-time data analytics, along with the experience and expertise of our leaders, in providing extensive property insurance risk management and commercial real estate risk management services. Our team values honesty, transparency, and responsiveness.
Our leaders and team members put the clients’ best interests first over anything else.
Leadership
Daniel J. Garzella
Founder & CEO
As the founder and CEO of the Garzella Group and the visionary behind Avalon’s risk-management business model, Dan not only has a passion for disrupting a stale status-quo, but he has the foresight and expertise to make his entrepreneurial ventures profitable and successful.
Dan, who received his Bachelor of Business Administration from Central Michigan University, started his commercial property insurance career with Farmers Insurance in 2008 as a hedge against a down market during the Great Recession. He quickly rose to be their #1 writing agent of commercial property in the United States.
On the heels of that success, Dan founded his independent insurance brokerage company, The Garzella Group, in 2014. He built his company quickly and strategically, with an uncompromising level of perseverance, authenticity, transparency, accountability, and loyalty—and he has attracted a formidable team who share those same core values.
Dan’s two great joys in life are mentoring his staff and watching them develop professionally and teaching his young son Rocco how to grow up strong and happy.
Kevin Conway
Managing Director
Kevin manages Avalon’s overall operations and serves as a key partner to our largest commercial property owners to help them place their portfolio of insurance into Avalon. He brings experience and good judgment to the table and is trusted by both his colleagues and clients.
Kevin joined The Garzella Group of companies in 2011 and quickly became a top-producing agent with a heavy focus on excess and surplus lines in catastrophe-prone regions of the Gulf States. As a producer, he wrote billions of dollars of large property exposures across the United States in both coastal and noncoastal areas.
Kevin’s creed is a simple one: be honest, be candid, be clear and to the point. Explain the details of sometimes complex insurance issues accurately and concisely. Most importantly, give advice based only on the clients’ best interests.
A devoted husband and father, Kevin is equally committed to the well-being and happiness of others, especially his large family in Michigan and his beloved Michigan Wolverines.
Roberto Miranda
Construction Consultant
Roberto is the liaison between Avalon’s clients, property inspectors, third party claims administrator, adjuster, and contractors. He is responsible for consulting on property valuation, claim adjustment, and reconstruction.
Roberto brings more than two decades’ experience managing claims for hail/wind damage, and general contracting in the roofing industry. He has procured, supervised, and managed multiple projects ranging from $5,000 up to $10,000,000. Roberto’s commercial building oversight includes financial planning and analysis, project acquisition and estimating, strategic planning, bank relations and financing, risk management/legal affairs, corporate finance, investment analysis, and financial & tax reporting.