The Accounting / Marketing / Risk Management Teams of WestPac/Virtus

WestPac & Virtus are lucky to have such a great and dedicated group of folks working with our customers and partners. Not only do they strive for excellence in all that they do, but each of them are dedicated to making sure everyone has what they need, when they need it.

Lorens Knudsen IV - Accounting Manager

After finishing his college education & basketball career at Western State College (now Western Colorado University), Lorens started his time at WestPac as an Intern in 2008. Lorens transitioned to the accounting department shortly after and has been there ever since.

Outside of work, Lorens loves spending his time with his wife Kacey and two boys, Lorens V and Cooper. He also enjoys the outdoors, playing golf, basketball, softball, and paddleboarding.

Julie Tedder - Accounting

Julie is a second generation Coloradan, born and raised in southwest Denver. Her background includes human resources, accounting, and employee benefits. She joined Western Pacific in February of 2019, and loves working in the accounting department as an accounting assistant.

Her biggest passion is travel, especially to coastal areas and Hawaii, where she loves snorkeling, the beach, and the salty air. She also loves history and traveling to historic sites, and if they include an ocean nearby, all the better! Her second favorite loved destination is her family cabin in southwestern Colorado where there are many lakes, hiking and 4-wheel drive trails, and the best star-gazing in the state. She lives in Highlands Ranch with her husband Bill and their 2 dogs, Brodie (an English Crème Golden Retriever) and Nikki (a Silky Terrier).

The other loves of her life are her 4 children and her 8 grandchildren (7 grandsons and her first granddaughter born just 6 months ago!), all of whom live in Colorado. She will be welcoming her first great-grandchild (a boy) in August!

Alexandra Vacante - Marketing Representative / UT Broker

Alexandra grew up in the wonderful state of New Jersey (she really misses the beach!) and went on to college at Towson University were she was a proud cheerleader for the Tigers and graduated with a degree in Communications. After sticking around Baltimore for a few years post-college, she decided to move to Denver for the Colorado sunshine and to be closer to her sister.

After the move to Denver in 2015, she got her first opportunity in the insurance industry, and in 2017 she found her home at WestPac and Virtus. She is grateful for all of the opportunities she continues to have at WestPac and Virtus, being the primary Marketing Representative for the state of Colorado and now growing her own book of business as a Broker for Utah.

Outside of work she enjoys traveling back to the east coast, taking advantage of the mountains here in Colorado, coaching gymnastics, staying loyal to her New York sports teams, spending time with her niece, and raising her new puppy!

Steve Brown - Marketing Representative

Steve joined the WestPac/Virtus team in 2018 in their Marketing Dept., as an excuse to work with his best friend once again. New to Insurance, Steve quickly completed both his P&C licensing and obtained his CRIS designation in an effort to learn as much as he could about this new industry. He has been in Sales, Sales Management, Marketing and Business Development his entire career and has done everything from cold calling for prospects, account management, leading sales and marketing teams, being a GM, complete brand overhauls and owning his own businesses. Steve leads the marketing and business development efforts for WestPac/Virtus in Arizona, Kansas and Missouri and is very involved with the state trade associations in these states, and in Colorado.

Getting the opportunity to interact with clients on a daily basis and being able to assist them so they can achieve their goals is why he entered the sales field at such a young age and why he continues 20 years later.

Outside of work, Steve enjoys grooming his green thumb, golfing (when his back allows), working on his car and spending time with his beautiful wife and daughter.

Nick Bredsnajder - Risk Management Coordinator

Born and raised in Colorado, Nick grew up in, and still resides in Lakewood, with his beautiful family. Prior to making the jump into insurance and consulting, Nick spent much of his career managing a midsize construction company that specialized in stream reconstruction, oil field reclamation, Department of Transportation work across many states, including grading and reclamation on most airports in Colorado.

He soon realized the importance of insurance and risk transfer first hand which led him to explore the insurance industry. Now he now runs WestPac's sister company, Conquer Risk Management. Conquer offers a comprehensive approach to Risk Management ranging from certificate of insurance tracking, contract review, to onsite safety consulting.

Much of his free time is spent enjoying the mountains with his family, hunting in the fall, doing cross-fit, and riding dirt bikes with his kids.

Thursday Tidbits - DirtPac Program Highlights

Exclusive Admitted General Liability carrier in select states, including Colorado
Multiple E&S carrier options throughout the Western U.S.
Targeting Excavation, Grading, & Landscaping
Snow, concrete, and more work accepted
No tract home limitations with some markets
No Continuous/Progressive or Prior Acts Language
Subsidence/earth movement coverage
AI for Ongoing and Completed Operations, Primary and Noncontributory, Waiver of Subrogation, and Per Project Aggregate available
New Residential, New Commercial, Industrial, Municipal and Oil & Gas accepted
New ventures accepted
Low deductible options available
Minimum Premium as low as $2,500
Additional policy options available for Workers’ Compensation, Inland Marine, Auto, Umbrella and Pollution Liability
Integrated third party risk management services available