Walnut Creek, Calif., 01 October 2015 – Ascension Insurance, Inc., announced today that Josh Watney has joined its Agribusiness and Employee Benefits team as Vice President in their Fresno office. Josh is a Fresno native and has broad roots throughout the community. He joins with a depth of knowledge and experience in both property & casualty and employee benefits for agriculture, farm labor, and main-street business as well.

Ascension’s CEO, Joe Tatum, remarked, “Josh is a class-act. He has a passion for our industry and seeks to deliver the very best value to his clients. Culturally, he fits the mold of what it means to be an Ascension team member: he’s hard-working, creative, intuitive, and resourceful. I know Josh will do great things in Fresno!”

Greg Merrill, Senior Vice President in Ascension’s Fresno office, added, “Josh is a student of the industry. He really loves what he does. He knows how to deliver results to his clients whether we are talking about property & casualty or employee benefits. And Josh doesn’t just take a cookie-cutter approach; he’ll go above and beyond to develop, design, and deliver the very best products and solutions to his insureds. Josh is a team player and we are looking forward to great things from him!”

“I’m excited to be joining the Ascension team,” said Josh. “The value-added services like loss control, workers’ compensation claims management, and employee benefits compliance resources are the types of tools I plan to bring to the table for our clients. Ascension has a big enough footprint to deliver the resources of a large company, while still being small enough to care.”

Josh Graduated from Fresno State University, then spent some time as a professional golfer. He started his career in the insurance industry selling life & health products, then added property & casualty to his stable with a local Fresno firm in 2009. Josh has a thirst for knowledge and enjoys working on complex projects, seeking the best solutions and resources for his clients.

Josh holds his State of California Property and Casualty and Life and Health Insurance Licenses and has earned his Agribusiness and Farm Insurance Specialist (AFIS) designation along with an Accredited Adviser in Insurance (AAI) designation.

###

About Ascension Insurance, Inc.
Ascension Insurance, Inc. is a premier insurance agency that offers superior risk management and benefits consulting services. It has more than 420 employees and 30 locations nationwide. Ascension is a privately held corporation; together with its private equity partners, Parthenon Capital and Century Capital Management, the company expects to grow to $200 million in revenue by 2018.