Contract Underwriting Leadership

Jason Dettbarn, AFSB

Senior Vice President, National Contract Surety Leader

Jason joined Merchants Bonding Company in 1998 and has held several positions in our contract underwriting department, working with agent partners across the U.S. He was appointed to Merchants' Executive Committee in 2021 and currently serves as Sr. Vice President, National Contract Surety Leader. He is a member of the National Association of Surety Bond Producers and serves on NASBP's Contract Bond Advisory Committee. He is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa.



Doug Schnicker - Regional Vice President, Contract Underwriting - West Region

Doug Schnicker

Senior Vice President, Contract Underwriting - West Division

Doug serves as the senior vice president of contract underwriting overseeing the West division. Doug began his surety career at Merchants in 1995 and has held several positions in our contract underwriting department covering various territories. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa.



Kirk Rathjen, AFSB - Regional Vice President, Contract Underwriting - Midwest Region

Kirk Rathjen, AFSB

Senior Vice President, Contract Underwriting - East Division

Kirk serves as the senior vice president of contract underwriting overseeing the East division. Kirk joined Merchants in 1999 has held several positions in our contract underwriting department. He is a graduate of Central College in Pella, Iowa.

 

Josh Penwell - Regional Vice President, Contract Underwriting - South Region

Josh Penwell

Vice President, Contract Underwriting - South Region

Josh serves as the vice president of contract underwriting overseeing the South region. Josh began his surety career at Merchants in 1996 and has held several positions including senior vice president managing our contract underwriting department. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.



Aaron Raschke, AFSB - Regional Vice President, Contract Underwriting - Southeast Region

Aaron Raschke, AFSB

Vice President, Contract Underwriting - Southeast Region

Aaron serves as the vice president of contract underwriting overseeing the Southeast region. Aaron joined Merchants in 2005 and relocated to open our Dallas/Fort Worth office in 2009. He returned to our home office in 2014 to oversee our contract business in the Southeast. He is a graduate of Drake University.



Chris Bachman

Vice President, Contract Underwriting - West Region

Chris serves as the vice president of contract underwriting overseeing the West region. Chris began his surety career at Merchants in 2015 with 25 years of surety experience. Chris helped to open and lead our Phoenix office. He is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa.



Ed Sipfle, AFSB - Regional Vice President, Contract Underwriting - Northeast Region

Ed Sipfle, AFSB

Vice President, Contract Underwriting - Midwest Region

Ed serves as the vice president of contract underwriting overseeing the Midwest region. Ed joined Merchants in 2005 with more than 17 years of experience in surety. He served as President of the Surety Underwriters Association in 1999 and is a graduate of Iowa State University.

 

Nate Cook

Vice President, Contract Underwriting - Northeast Region

Nate serves as the vice president of contract underwriting overseeing the Northeast region. Nate began his surety career at Merchants in 2012 and has held several roles in our contract underwriting department. He is a graduate of Iowa State University.