Henry (Hank) Kowalczyk

With the sale of my former employer, Auto One Insurance, leaving myself and a staff of 10 appraisers in need of employment. I started East Lake Appraisals to provide a home to the staff appraisers who were in need of employment, East Lake's mission is to provide quality appraisal services to the insurance industry through the use of a staff of well-trained appraisers.

In the nearly 18 years as the owner of East Lake Appraisals (E.L.A.), our appraisers have completed in excess of 100,000 appraisals resulting over 11m in sales. Attention to detail and customer service helped us become one of the largest independent appraisal companies in New York State.

In part, as a result of my daily oversight of the quality of our product through file reviews coupled with physical inspections, East Lake rose to become one of the largest regional Independent appraisal firms in New York.

The day-to-day running of a growing business brought with it other responsibilities, including but not limited to ordering, setting a budget, marketing, talent acquisition and retention, personnel issues, payroll reporting, maintaining professional relationships, etc. etc.

In 2002 I was contacted by the Vice President of Claims at Auto One Insurance. It was at that time that I was recruited to work as a Senior field appraiser.

I was quickly promoted to head up the Material Damage re-inspection unit. It was at that time that I honed my skills as an Auto Physical Damage Re-inspector. The department was to report directly to the Material Damage Director and responsibilities included quality control, training of new hires and maintaining salvage audits and controls at the salvage vendor on a quarterly basis.

Once I made my mark as a re-inspector I was offered the position of Material Damage Manager for Southern N.Y. with 6 direct reports as well as the responsibility of oversight concerning staffing decisions, setting the budget for the department and oversight of the training program for both new hires and those appraisers with room for improvement.

• Managed heavy workload of 30+ inspections per week on average thanks to strong organizational, time management and collaboration skills.
• Documented vehicle damage and condition by taking meticulous notes and photographs.
• Evaluated claims for possible fraud, contacting appropriate department for assistance and further investigation.
• Provided excellent service and attention to customers when face-to-face or through phone conversations.
• Maintained updated I-Car training through in person classroom and hands on instruction.
• Recognized by management for providing exceptional customer service.

I purchased the franchise along with inventory and negotiated the terms of the lease with the existing landlord. Part of the purchase required me to secure financing for $325,000 which at the age of 23 was no easy task.

Through continued hands on management we were able to maintain a positive cash flow even during the recession that took place during my tenure. I sold the company in 1996 to take a position at State Farm Insurance.

Franchisee/route owner with responsibilities including, but certainly not limited to:

• Monitored inventory levels and placed new orders for merchandise to keep supply well-stocked.
• Organized promotional events to attract new customers and boost sales revenue.
• Established systems for tracking inventory levels, sales figures and profits.
• Reviewed financial statements and sales or activity reports to measure productivity or goal achievement.
• Monitored progress by establishing plans, budgets and measuring results.