Author: Kayla Sutton
Assurance Financial made the National Mortgage News list of the Best Mortgage Companies to Work For 2025! We value our workplace culture, and it shows.
“While the mortgage industry is known for its customer service focus, prioritizing a seamless borrower experience, those considered for this year’s Best Mortgage Companies to Work For have also focused on enhancing the employee experience.
These companies have invested in innovative technology tools to support loan origination and improved work-life balance for their staff. Such perks could give mortgage shops an edge when the mortgage market heads for recovery. Mortgage lenders are beginning to adapt and stay afloat in a challenging market. Their resilience has led to 36 companies making this year’s ranking, up from 33 in 2024, a year which saw a slew of originators consolidate.
This ranking is a partnership between National Mortgage News and the Best Companies Group, which conducts extensive employee surveys and reviews employer reports on benefits and policies. The employee survey covers eight topics: leadership and planning; corporate culture and communications; role satisfaction; work environment; relationship with supervisor; training, development, and resources; pay and benefits; and overall engagement.”
Assurance Financial Names Jim Clapp
as Chief Lending Officer
October 3, 2024
Baton Rouge, LA – October 3, 2024 – Assurance Financial, a leading mortgage lending company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Jim Clapp to the newly created role of Chief Lending Officer (CLO). With over 25 years of experience in the financial services and mortgage industries, Jim will lead Assurance Financial’s lending strategy, focusing on innovation, efficiency, and continued growth in mortgage services across the nation. In his new position, Jim will oversee the company’s strategic lending initiatives, and business development processes, ensuring that Assurance Financial continues to deliver personalized, streamlined lending solutions to its clients. His leadership will enhance the company’s competitive edge as it adapts to a dynamic mortgage market and implements innovative lending practices.
“We are excited to welcome Jim to our leadership team. His wealth of experience and strategic vision make him an invaluable addition,” said Kenny Hodges, CEO of Assurance Financial. “We are confident that under his leadership we will continue to expand our market presence and deliver exceptional value to our clients and partners.”
Prior to joining Assurance Financial, Jim held executive roles at several prominent mortgage and financial organizations, where he was responsible for strategic growth, risk management, and driving operational efficiency. His expertise in lending and leadership aligns perfectly with Assurance Financial’s mission to provide a superior mortgage experience that is client-focused and rooted in trust.
Jim Clapp’s appointment marks a significant step in Assurance Financial’s commitment to leadership excellence and future-focused lending strategies. The newly established Chief Lending Officer role reflects the company’s dedication to enhancing its service offerings and cementing its position as a leader in the mortgage industry.
For more information about Assurance Financial, please visit www.assurancemortgage.com.
About Assurance Financial
Assurance Financial is a full-service mortgage lender offering a variety of loan solutions for homeowners and homebuyers. With a mission to provide a simple and stress-free mortgage experience, Assurance Financial prides itself on providing customized loan options, superior customer service, and cutting-edge technology to meet the unique needs of each client. The company serves clients across the United States, offering a full range of mortgage products, including conventional loans, FHA loans, VA loans, and more.
Download the press release here. For media inquiries, please contact Lindsi Flynn, Director of Marketing at lflynn@assurancemortgage.com
Assurance Financial Awarded at Total Expert’s 2024 Accelerate Conference
July 5, 2024
We’re proud to announce that Assurance Financial has been recognized in two categories at Total Expert’s 2024 Accelerate conference.
The fourth annual Expy Awards celebrate Total Expert customers for their ability to surpass the limits of what is possible to provide unparalleled customer experiences and drive the financial services industry forward. Winners are chosen for their utilization of the platform to the highest extent to drive business growth and build authentic customer connections. This year’s winners were announced at Total Expert’s 2024 Accelerate Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where financial services leaders gathered to share winning strategies.
- The Adopter: Without universal adoption, even the most innovative technology becomes shelfware. For Assurance Financial, the universal buy-in of the Total Expert platform into daily operations was a route to business growth and overall company success. They noted substantial increases in new loans, funded loans, email click-through rates, and task completion rates correlating to a growth in customer retention
- Firestarter – Director of Marketing Lindsi Flynn: A user who embodies innovation, growth, and industry disruption within their organizations. Firestarters are at the forefront of driving positive change, sparking innovation, and propelling their companies toward a dynamic future.
“Our Expy Award-winners are some of the most forward-thinking organizations in the industry, empowering their workforce with the resources to meet growing customer expectations,” said Joe Welu, founder and CEO of Total Expert. “They are one step ahead of the industry—changing the way their teams leverage data by clearly recognizing customer needs, improving the decision-making process, and establishing more personalized customer journeys. We’re proud to celebrate their success and inspiring dedication to customer-centric innovation through Total Expert.” Learn more here.
Assurance Financial Announces Internal Promotions
to Drive Continued Growth and Excellence
November 27, 2023
Baton Rouge, LA – Assurance Financial, a leading provider of innovative mortgage solutions, is pleased to announce a series of internal promotions aimed at strengthening the company’s leadership team and supporting its commitment to excellence in the mortgage industry.
The following individuals have been promoted to key positions within the company:
- Steve Ward has been promoted to President, Chief Operating Officer. In Steve’s expanded role as President, he will lead the day-to-day operations of the company, including Risk, Underwriting, Servicing, Post-Closing, Compliance, Licensing and Fulfillment.
- Courtney Henson has been promoted to Chief Administrative Officer. In Courtney’s new role as CAO, the following departments will fall under her leadership: Human Resources, Marketing, IT, and Corporate Council.
- Scott Alexander has been promoted to Chief Risk Officer. Scott’s essential job functions will include managing all company risk policies, as well as overseeing all company products and programs. He will also oversee the Underwriting, Compliance and Construction departments.
Kenny Hodges, Chief Executive Officer, stated, “These leadership changes reflect Assurance Financial’s commitment to deliver exceptional service, innovative solutions, and a best-in-class mortgage experience to the clients we serve.”
Download the press release here. For media inquiries, please contact Lindsi Flynn, Director of Marketing at lflynn@assurancemortgage.com
St. Jude’s goal is 100% survival. Our goal is to help them reach that. Our decision to become a corporate partner with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was based on one simple truth – all a family should worry about is helping their child when they receive devastating news.
Since 2018, Assurance Financial has participated in several community fundraisers, including the St. Jude Walk/Run and Dream Home Giveaways. Our employees regularly give directly from their paychecks. Each September, through our “Apps for Kids” campaign, we donate $50 per application we receive to St. Jude.
We’re proud to say we’ve raised over $371,000.
We set the standard of philanthropic service at a corporate level which empowers our staff to serve at an individual level. Listen to Tracey Lassere, one of our Branch Managers, talk about how Assurance Financial encourages her to help her own community.
Join Assurance, and be part of a community that gives back to those who need it most. Reach out to our National Business Development team today!
Loan Vision Case Study Featuring Assurance Financial
As with all forward-thinking organizations, Assurance Financial is well aware that continuous improvement is a necessity for any business, especially one in the ever-changing mortgage industry. 2019 found Assurance Financial looking for answers. With rapid upgrades to much of their customer-facing technology stack occurring, they knew they had to be able to quantify the spend being made and show some return on investment (ROI), but how? With their volume now averaging $1 billion per year, a far cry from the $25 million they did in their first year of business 18 years prior, Assurance found that their general ledger system could not give them the data they wanted to answer the questions being asked by the business.
“It was an old system that was kind of clunky and not very high tech,” said Chad Hebert, Chief Financial Officer at Assurance. “The capabilities weren’t the best.”
Having made the switch from a generic bookkeeping tool in 2012 to the only industry G/L solution at the time, Assurance felt their prior accounting system had reached the end of its useful life after 7 years. It was affecting the company to the point that the accounting team was having to implement other software to make up for what their current system was lacking. Assurance wanted to make sure their next solution was going to be an all-in-one fix. It needed to not only drive maximum efficiency in accounting, but also help them achieve a better understanding of their true cost to originate a loan, while also allowing them to better measure the ROI on many of the technology investments they had made.
“I think one of the biggest things people think about when investing in technology is how they’re going to get the most out of a tool, not just functionally, but also financially,” says Katherine Campbell, Digital Digital Officer at Assurance. “If they invest in something, what is their ROI going to look like?”
Assurance Financial’s new solution had to be for the long term. It would have to support the growth delivered by an ambitious management team, now and far into the future.
The Solution & The Implementation Experience
Loan Vision was not a new product to Hebert. The talk about Loan Vision had been something he had heard about for several years, as it popped up often during CFO round tables, at conferences, and in other industry events.
“This industry is kind of dominated by two players,” says Hebert. “And when you start hearing that people are making the switch from one to the other, and why they’re making that switch, that’s what led me to pull the trigger.”
What made Hebert most excited about the decision to move, was the solution’s ability to condense many of the support systems and processes into one platform, as their current system’s inability to do so was really weighing on his team.