Our Team

James Chippendale is President / CEO of CSI Entertainment Insurance, niche insurance broker specializing in coverage for the entertainment industry.

James began his career in insurance in 1992 with Gregg-Miller & Associates, a specialty managing General Agency with $35 million premium volume. His position as Vice President of Marketing allowed him to implement and develop new programs for the Southwest region. In his two years with Gregg-Miller & Associates, James developed the National Hospitality Program and co-developed the Tow Truck and the Home Health Care National Insurance Programs.

With his background in developing niche insurance programs, James started his own agency, CMI, in April 1994. CMI specializes in niche programs for hospitality venues, convenience stores, used car dealers, contractors and special events. In 2002 CMI merged with Talent Spalding, a specialized company in meeting the insurance needs of individual entertainers and athletes including Spud Webb, Randy White, Mookie Blaylock and formed CSI Insurance Management. Since that time CSI has become one of the nations leading entertainment insurance brokers, providing coverage for over 2000 concerts and special events each year.
The success of CSI and the expertise gained through consulting with over 1500 Entertainment business owners and operators has allowed for the opportunity for James Chippendale President of CSI to be a noted speaker and columnist for the Entertainment Industry, including Pollstar, Rolling Stone, Billboard and the Insurance Journal.

Steve Spalding is President/CEO of CSI Insurance Management, an independent insurance division that specializes in coverage for the hospitality industry. 

Working in the specialty insurance industry since 1988, Steve has been a principal in several successful Hospitality/Entertainment/Sports ventures that specialized in meeting the insurance and financial needs of the many clients served.

Before being gobbled up in 1993 by Host Communications, Talent Sports International (TSI) was the largest sports marketing company in the southwest United States.  The pro athlete client list included Karl Malone, Mookie Blaylock, Spud Webb, Joe Dumars, and 30+ other NBA, NFL, Olympic and professional boxing members.  The corporate client list included EDS, Frito Lay, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Kraft, Texaco, and many other fortune 500 companies.

After TSI, and until the turn of the millennium, Steve’s tenure at SCA Promotions helped propel the company into one of the leading providers of Prize Indemnity coverage in the world.  Many jackpot prizes including Hole-in-One, Radio listen-to-win, Athlete incentive’s, and many others are covered through various insurance and indemnity prize contract placements.

In 2002, the CSI partnership was born through the combination of companies controlled by Jim Chippendale and Steve Spalding.  CSI has since handled the specific client insurance needs for thousands of hospitality and entertainment companies nationwide. 

CSI has evolved into a network of standard and surplus lines carriers, captive programs, and risk purchasing groups that are utilized to provide customized insurance for thousands of clients nationwide. 

Sean Ashford joins the CSI Entertainment Insurance team as their Director of Marketing. Sean brings valuable Marketing and Concert / venue management experience along with diverse music media marketing background. Sean’s marketing career highlights for companies includes: CBS Records, Universal Music, KAZY Radio, in Denver, Colorado, and KHFI & KATG in Austin, Texas.

In 1995, Sean played a major role in the reopening of the historic Bronco Bowl Arena in Dallas, Texas.  Through deep relationships in the entertainment industry, Sean recruited some of the largest entertainers to appear at the arena.  Also, he was involved in planning and coordinating diverse events at the following venues: The Stadium Club at Texas Stadium for International Facility Management Association; Studios of Los Colinas for the Texas Chapter of I.F.M.A.; fundraising events benefiting Cancer Research and the Y.M.C.A.; and theatrical events and many musical concerts.

Sean is a major player in our media relations, ad campaigns, web site enhancements and production of our monthly newsletter. This will allow CSI to secure a position as an industry leader and allow growth both domestically and internationally.

Jennifer D. Crooks
Account Manager

Jennifer Cooks has been at CSI Entertainment Insurance since 2003. Jennifer is the Account Manager for the Entertainment division where she manages and underwrites all new business submissions and current client base.

Jennifer comes to CSI from a background in Promotion & Marketing, Radio and Records. She attended radio broadcasting school in Dallas Texas, where she landed an internship at KJMZ radio in the music department. From there she worked at BMG / Arista Records as the administrative Sales / Promotions assistant where she crossed paths with many artists with diversity from Country to Hip Hop. Jennifer then worked for First Com Inc. a Music Production Company as a customer service representative.

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