About Athos Insurance
MEET YOUR ENTERTAINMENT INSURANCE TEAM
FRIENDLY, RESPONSIVE, EFFICIENT, INNOVATIVE, and AVAILABLE FOR YOUR PEACE OF MIND
At Athos, we specialize in the entertainment and sports industry, so we understand this stuff...and the crazy deadlines. From indie filmmakers, production companies, photographers, special event organizers to roller derby leagues, and skateboard parks --and anything you can think of far and few between – we work with all size organizations/individuals in this chunk of our dynamic world. Since this is all we do, we know what it takes to get the job done. The Athos team hustles all day right along with you; and you can always count on us to communicate --from giving email updates on quotes or requests to answering your calls for questions or concerns. We value your time so we don't like to waste any of it.
INDUSTRY ENTERTAINMENT INSURANCE EXPERTS
Athos was founded by Katherine Wong in 2012 after many years of specializing in the entertainment and sports insurance field. Together with her Vice President, Aylene Villarin, they are leading the Athos Team to revolutionize digital insurance solutions.
OUR LEADERS
KATHERINE WONG, CPCU, CLCS
President/Founder
After graduating from UCLA with a degree in Business Economics, Kat started her career in the insurance industry, immersing herself in extreme sports coverages. She soon found her niche in the small to mid-size Entertainment industry sector at a national insurance brokerage and began creating automated online programs to optimize business operations. Kat worked with insurance carriers to revamp archaic business practices and introduced more efficient processes to reduce costs and bring savings to customers. She created the concept of “Instant Insurance” for equipment coverage, where customers can immediately purchase a policy, issue certificates and manage their policies (including renewing them online).
After gaining years of experience and lending her expertise to other insurance companies, Kat decided to create her own company. Athos Insurance launched in 2012. With the support of her insurance carriers and underwriting partners, she created a new version of “Instant Insurance” for the Entertainment Industry, along with complex security and vetting protocols, to protect both the clients and the company’s rental house partners. Kat understands the importance of technology and automation in transforming the insurance industry, but her main passion lies in client service and industry ethics. She embeds this passion throughout her company and makes it a priority to cultivate strong, withstanding relationships with her customers. Kat enjoys growing and developing her team and strives to make Athos a home for all who share her work ethics and values.
Fun Fact: Kat was a competitive hip hop dancer in college, and before that, she won international titles with her guard team twirling rifles, sabers and flags.
AYLENE VILLARIN, CIC
Vice President
A Los Angeles native, Aylene enjoys foodie adventures with her husband and spending time with her two corgis. Aylene graduated from UCLA with a degree in Political Science (Go Bruins!) and had dreams of pursuing a career in law. It was during law school while interning for a federal judge that Aylene decided to re-evaluate her life goals. She eventually took a break from school and accepted a position at a corporate insurance brokerage firm. She enjoyed the work, climbed the ranks and eventually managed the company’s online platform for one of their biggest programs, Inland Marine (production equipment). She thrived off the challenges of the job and began to develop a knack for analyzing risks for complex problems that permeate the entertainment insurance industry.
She joined Athos shortly after Katherine Wong founded the company in 2012, and Aylene has been an integral part of Athos’s growth and development ever since. Aylene’s diverse and robust experience spans across a multitude of services including underwriting, marketing, client management & retention, and business operations. She now serves as Athos’ claims analyst and manages the Underwriting Team, focusing on entertainment-wide insurance solutions for complex production risks.
Fun Fact: Aylene is a Leo and lives up to every characteristic of a fiery lioness.
CHRISTINA LAM
Assistant Vice President/Senior Underwriter
Christina graduated from UC San Diego with a B.S. degree in Psychology, with a minor in Computer Science. She then immediately began teaching abroad in Taoyuan, Taiwan. After coming back to the U.S., she joined the growing Athos team. Finding great mentors in both Kat and Aylene, she realized she enjoyed learning about the ins and outs of the insurance industry. Her teaching experience in Taiwan gave her the necessary skills to simplify complex insurance concepts and make it more palatable to the everyday client. She enjoys educating clients and recommending proper risk management. Currently, she focuses on underwriting Athos' large accounts and renewal business. She works daily to service clients and provide the most optimal and cost-effective insurance solutions available.
Fun Fact: Christina’s life goal is to travel the world.
JACE HADFIELD
Processing Manager
Jace is California-born but Midwest-raised. He made his way back west to attend UC Berkeley, graduating with a degree in Political Science and German. Jace’s professional background is heavily focused on finance. However, his finance skills were diversified amongst many industries along his career including an education institution, a large tech company, and a software engineering firm. When he joined Athos, he easily found his groove with our program policy processes and now manages the processing department. Jace continues to improve inefficiencies and always make sure accounts don’t fall through the cracks (something essential at an insurance brokerage and agency). With such varied experience, Jace brings a fresh perspective and an enthusiastic attitude to Athos. He enjoys working in the strong Athos team environment and loves coming up with creative solutions. Jace and his husband love to explore Pasadena with their dog Bucky, who also happens to be the Athos office mascot!
Fun fact: Jace is fluent in German. Guten Tag!
JERRY NIHEN
Chief Web Developer
A Northern California native, Jerry started programming and internet marketing as early as his high school days! He has developed dozens of software solutions for multi-million-dollar companies, including some Fortune 500s and government projects. He loves to build systems that help solve complicated business problems. At Athos, Jerry enjoys being able to turn their automation dreams into reality. He leads the development team to efficiently create and constantly improve secure web features, which provides peace-of-mind for Athos customers and team members.
Fun fact: Jerry has written songs that have been on the radio in North America and Europe, and he played as a studio musician with several major record labels.
KATHERINE WONG, CPCU, CLCS
President/Founder
After graduating from UCLA with a degree in Business Economics, Kat started her career in the insurance industry, immersing herself in extreme sports coverages. She soon found her niche in the small to mid-size Entertainment industry sector at a national insurance brokerage and began creating automated online programs to optimize business operations. Kat worked with insurance carriers to revamp archaic business practices and introduced more efficient processes to reduce costs and bring savings to customers. She created the concept of “Instant Insurance” for equipment coverage, where customers can immediately purchase a policy, issue certificates and manage their policies (including renewing them online).
After gaining years of experience and lending her expertise to other insurance companies, Kat decided to create her own company. Athos Insurance launched in 2012. With the support of her insurance carriers and underwriting partners, she created a new version of “Instant Insurance” for the Entertainment Industry, along with complex security and vetting protocols, to protect both the clients and the company’s rental house partners. Kat understands the importance of technology and automation in transforming the insurance industry, but her main passion lies in client service and industry ethics. She embeds this passion throughout her company and makes it a priority to cultivate strong, withstanding relationships with her customers. Kat enjoys growing and developing her team and strives to make Athos a home for all who share her work ethics and values.
Fun Fact: Kat was a competitive hip hop dancer in college, and before that, she won international titles with her guard team twirling rifles, sabers and flags.
AYLENE VILLARIN, CIC
Vice President
A Los Angeles native, Aylene enjoys foodie adventures with her husband and spending time with her two corgis. Aylene graduated from UCLA with a degree in Political Science (Go Bruins!) and had dreams of pursuing a career in law. It was during law school while interning for a federal judge that Aylene decided to re-evaluate her life goals. She eventually took a break from school and accepted a position at a corporate insurance brokerage firm. She enjoyed the work, climbed the ranks and eventually managed the company’s online platform for one of their biggest programs, Inland Marine (production equipment). She thrived off the challenges of the job and began to develop a knack for analyzing risks for complex problems that permeate the entertainment insurance industry.
She joined Athos shortly after Katherine Wong founded the company in 2012, and Aylene has been an integral part of Athos’s growth and development ever since. Aylene’s diverse and robust experience spans across a multitude of services including underwriting, marketing, client management & retention, and business operations. She now serves as Athos’ claims analyst and manages the Underwriting Team, focusing on entertainment-wide insurance solutions for complex production risks.
Fun Fact: Aylene is a Leo and lives up to every characteristic of a fiery lioness.
CHRISTINA LAM
Assistant Vice President/Senior Underwriter
Christina graduated from UC San Diego with a B.S. degree in Psychology, with a minor in Computer Science. She then immediately began teaching abroad in Taoyuan, Taiwan. After coming back to the U.S., she joined the growing Athos team. Finding great mentors in both Kat and Aylene, she realized she enjoyed learning about the ins and outs of the insurance industry. Her teaching experience in Taiwan gave her the necessary skills to simplify complex insurance concepts and make it more palatable to the everyday client. She enjoys educating clients and recommending proper risk management. Currently, she focuses on underwriting Athos' large accounts and renewal business. She works daily to service clients and provide the most optimal and cost-effective insurance solutions available.
Fun Fact: Christina’s life goal is to travel the world.
JACE HADFIELD
Processing Manager
Jace is California-born but Midwest-raised. He made his way back west to attend UC Berkeley, graduating with a degree in Political Science and German. Jace’s professional background is heavily focused on finance. However, his finance skills were diversified amongst many industries along his career including an education institution, a large tech company, and a software engineering firm. When he joined Athos, he easily found his groove with our program policy processes and now manages the processing department. Jace continues to improve inefficiencies and always make sure accounts don’t fall through the cracks (something essential at an insurance brokerage and agency). With such varied experience, Jace brings a fresh perspective and an enthusiastic attitude to Athos. He enjoys working in the strong Athos team environment and loves coming up with creative solutions. Jace and his husband love to explore Pasadena with their dog Bucky, who also happens to be the Athos office mascot!
Fun fact: Jace is fluent in German. Guten Tag!
JERRY NIHEN
Chief Web Developer
A Northern California native, Jerry started programming and internet marketing as early as his high school days! He has developed dozens of software solutions for multi-million-dollar companies, including some Fortune 500s and government projects. He loves to build systems that help solve complicated business problems. At Athos, Jerry enjoys being able to turn their automation dreams into reality. He leads the development team to efficiently create and constantly improve secure web features, which provides peace-of-mind for Athos customers and team members.
Fun fact: Jerry has written songs that have been on the radio in North America and Europe, and he played as a studio musician with several major record labels.
OUR MISSION
We are committed to providing cost-effective and efficient solutions to confidently secure the insurance needs of our clients.
We strive to maintain a fair and respectful work experience for our clients and employees.
With our approachable customer service, our goal is to make insurance more accessible through our innovative and tech-focused platforms.
WHAT WE OFFER
To take it a step further, we've built several online 24/7 portals for customers to quote, purchase, and submit certificates of insurance (COIs). At Athos, we are always improving our online technology by adding new platforms or enhancing existing features. We even included helpful notes, pop-ups, and educational videos to clarify some insurance lingo and help explain all the optional coverages. But hey, if you still can’t find what you’re looking for online and you prefer to talk to us on the phone before purchasing a policy, we always welcome your calls and questions too. There is a fine balance between making things TOO easy online and not understanding what the heck you just bought. So if you're still not sure..no worries, no shame-- we would love to hear from you, so go ahead and give us a call!
We can offer any line of coverage you need to get including General Liability, Inland Marine (Equipment), Workers Compensation, Hired/Non-owned Auto Liability & Physical Damage, Errors & Omissions, Directors & Officers Liability Insurance, Cyber Liability, Media Liability, Accident Medical, Travel Accident, and more.
OUR CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
We work hard to make our clients happy and feel secure. We take good care of their coverage needs.
Check out what our clients say and you'll understand why we've built our business on client referrals.
Suren M. Seron | Founder & CEO |Stray Angel Films
"CLEAR LEADER IN THIS SPACE"
“Katherine and Aylene are two of the smartest and most caring truly amazing people working in equipment and production insurance. Athos is the clear leader in this space which is why we have made them our official recommended short term insurance partner at Stray Angel Films. We trust them with our small business and our clients.” We love you guys!!!
Will Moritz | Senior Rental Agent |Camtec, Inc. (Previous Rental Agent at AbelCine)
"ALWAYS DELIVERS OUTSTANDING SERVICE"
When my clients need to purchase insurance to cover their camera rentals, I recommend Katherine Wong and Athos Insurance Services. Athos always delivers outstanding service and amazing value for short or long term coverage options. Kat and her staff know the entertainment business and do provide the specific additional coverage we require. Athos’ website is really helpful, the whole process can be done on-line. It’s always a pleasure dealing with knowledgeable pros. Thanks, Kat Wong.
Jason Chua | Director of Photography
EASY AND PAINLESS CLAIMS EXPERIENCE
Athos insurance has been nothing short of stellar since I started using their service for my video production equipment. First and foremost, the process of insuring my equipment insured with Athos is extremely streamlined and convenient, and the customer service team has been super responsive and approachable. Last year, I had an unfortunate accident where I spilled coffee on my MacBook Pro while working on an edit (a familiar scene I’m sure to many). After getting over the initial panic and dread of having to fork out a decent sum of cash for a new work laptop, I remembered that my insurance policy with Athos does cover my laptop and I reached out to find out more about the claims process. Aylene (at Athos) and Robin (my claim’s examiner) were extremely helpful and patient, guiding me through the entire process. Thanks to them, I had an easy and painless claims experience. Thanks to them, I was up and running with a new laptop in no time without the worry of the financial burden my careless mistake might have cost me.
The real test of any insurance provider is unfortunately only ever seen during the claims process and Athos Insurance has definitely pulled through for me in my experience. I would absolutely recommend anyone looking for insurance for their professional equipment to consider Athos.
Gil Willow | Office Manager |Cinema Support LA
WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND FOR US
Just wanted to let you know that Aylene totally went above and beyond for us today. She can explain the situation, but essentially if she hadn't have gone out of her way to speak to a vendor and explain why their insurance policy didn't make sense we would have been totally screwed. Not to mention explaining to us everything we needed to know. Thanks for making Athos the best insurance company ever!
Theresa Sagan | Manager |Production Junction
GREAT INSURANCE PARTNER TO HAVE
Athos has been a great insurance partner to have on our side. They're quick to respond and go above and beyond to help us with any question or issue we have. In the film industry insurance can be a must and Athos has come up with a fast and easy way to allow both us and our clients easy access to a reliable insurance source.
Arash Shiva | Co-Founder |Sharegrid
EXPERIENCED, DEDICATED, AND ETHICAL TEAM
Athos has been a solid partner from the beginning and we're very grateful to have them as an integral part of ShareGrid. They are an experienced, dedicated and ethical team, who works on behalf of the customer and delivers great value. We trust their insurance knowledge and advice, since they are always looking out for their client's best interest. Based on both our customers and our own experience, their service is top notch too. They're very responsive, approachable, and always just a phone call or email away. If you're looking for the best insurance at the best price, with the best service - Athos is the way to go. Eduardo Saldivar | New Client Applications |Keslow Camera Inc.
I KNOW I CAN RELY ON ATHOS
I came to meet the ladies of Athos Insurance through a phone call about one of our prospective rental customers. They truly do their due diligence when insuring their clients! It also gives me greater security knowing our customers and gear are thoroughly covered and vetted. When my clients are on a time constraint I know I can rely on Athos to take us past the finish line.
Deborah Wolpert | Founder/President |dvDepot LLC
UNDERSTAND THE RISKS OF RENTING OUT EQUIPMENT
I am so glad I have been introduced to Athos Insurance. Kat Wong and her company stand out above the rest. They answer a problem that I have had as a rental house owner for the past 16 years regarding short term insurance policies. Kat and her staff are great to work with and understand the risks of renting out equipment to people we don't know. They have even called me directly when someone didn't meet their vetting standards, which not every Insurance Company will go the extra mile to do. I highly recommend Kat, and her team at Athos Insurance as a trusted insurance service that can offer the best solution for my clients needs. Jeff Jackson | Rental Agent |Birns and Sawyer
SIMPLICITY, QUALITY, AND GREAT PRICE OF [THEIR] SERVICE
Kat Wong has been helping my customers get no hassle, online insurance for quite a while now. I’ve NEVER had a complaint or negative comment from those people she’s served. Many have gone on to purchase permanent equipment insurance from her because of the simplicity, quality, and great price of her service. If you need equipment rental insurance, you can’t do better than Athos and Kat Wong! Reko Moreno | Vice President |Nosotros Organization (Previous Co-Founder of Best Bet Camera)
GOT OUR REPLACEMENTS A WEEK LATER
We, at Best Bet Camera, put our reputation on the line for Kat Wong. She’s been the best insurance agent we’ve had since starting our company. Before her, we struggled to get our phone calls returned from our previous agent, Kat, on the other hand will return your phone call the same day. She’s been there when we had some equipment stolen and took care of everything, we got our replacements a week later. She’s on top of her game and is willing to take her time to inform you on your policy and what you might need or not need. She’s simply amazing!
Christina(Kris) G. Clark | President |SG3 Skateboards LLC
NO-FEAR APPROACH TO INSURING THE SKATEBOARD CULTURE
Thank you!! We feel so blessed to have found your company. Please let Kat know we love her no-fear approach to insuring the skateboard culture! Have a blessed weekend and know you women rock in that [Athos] office. Thanks again for your expedited work. Michael S. Ferguson | Owner Operator