MAKING DI EASIER℠

At The DI Center, we believe in personal service driving professional results. Whether it’s helping you walk a client through the application process or discussing how to market DI to new and upcoming demographics, we stand ready to collaborate. Through our partnerships, we help agents and brokers generate new buckets of money. We make disability insurance easy. Period.

Andra Grava CLU, RHU

Founder, Chief Innovation Officer, Rainmaker

Andra Grava is the General Agent (GA) for The DI Center, an agency that traces its roots back to 1996 when Andra became one of the first individual disability insurance-focused GAs in the country. Throughout his career, he has also brought life insurance, annuities, retirement & estate planning, and group dental and vision into his practice.

Andra is an active member of industry associations including the Dallas Association of Health Underwriters (DAHU), Financial Planning Association (FPA), General Agents and Managers Association (GAMA), International Disability Insurance Society (IDIS), NAIFA-Dallas and Society of Financial Service Professionals (SFSP). He has done more than just maintain those memberships though as he is a Past President of DAHU, NAIFA-Dallas and the Texas Leaders Roundtable and speaks to industry and professional groups both locally and nationally on topics of Sales, Practice Management and Disability Insurance.

Andra is active in community and church activities and is a member of the Allen-Fairview Chamber of Commerce. He and his wife, Kathy, enjoy traveling and are avid sports fans. They have two grown children and a grandchild.

Andra Grava is an Investment Advisor Representative. Securities and investment advisory services offered solely through Ameritas Investment Corp. (AIC). Member FINRA/SIPC.

Business Facilitators

Jim Coyle CLU, RHU, REBC

Brokerage Sales Manager

Jim Coyle is responsible for both traditional individual and Guarantee Standard Issue (GSI) disability and life sales. Jim has specialized in disability and life insurance, both group and individual, since entering the industry in 1993. He started his career with The Paul Revere Companies and later served as the Regional Group Sales Manager in Dallas for both The Union Central Life Insurance Company and One America.

Jim graduated in 1993 from The University of Texas at Austin with a double major in Marketing and Psychology. He has since earned the CLU, RHU, and REBC designations from the American College. He is a member of NAIFA and the SFSP. Jim and his wife, Tamara, reside in Lewisville, TX with their two children, Philip and Caroline.

Mike Evans CLU, ChFC, LUTCF

Brokerage Sales Manager

Mike Evans brings almost 40 years of experience in the life and health industry to The DI Center as an expert in individual DI (IDI) and Guarantee Standard Issue (GSI) DI. A native of Lubbock, Texas, and graduate of Texas Tech University, Mike began his DI specialization in 1987 when he opened Paul Revere’s West Texas Brokerage Office. He’s been partnering with employee benefits brokers and financial advisors to protect their clients’ most important asset, their income, ever since!

As a career-long member of NAIFA and a long-time member of NAHU, IDIS, & SFSP, Mike has taught numerous LUTC and CE classes and has been a speaker at multiple state and local industry association meetings. He is also a regular guest instructor at Texas Tech’s nationally renowned Personal Financial Planning Department.

Mike and his wife of 40 years, Karen, live in Coppell, Texas where they are active at First United Methodist Church Coppell. They are blessed with two grown children and five grandsons.

Solution Designers

Derek True DIA, DHP

Brand Manager / DI Internal Wholesaler

Derek True joined The DI Center in April of 2011 as the new position of Brand Manager was created. He is responsible for overseeing all of The DI Center’s industry events, including tradeshows and association events, producer appreciation opportunities and CE courses.

As of February 2012, Derek was promoted to DI Internal Wholesaler in addition to his previous branding and marketing responsibilities. He can now assist all agents with their DI prospecting and quoting needs. Along with helping agents with their marketing materials and presentations, he still administers all of the office’s internal and external marketing communications: subscription e-mails, Dropbox invitations, The DI Center website and social media correspondences.

Derek graduated from Texas Tech University in December of 2010 with a BBA in both Marketing and Management. He is licensed in Texas with his General Lines – Life Accident and Health Agent License and has earned both his DIA, Disability Income Associate and his DHP, Disability Healthcare Professional, designations.

Gyneth Dear

Life Insurance Internal Wholesaler

Gyneth Dear came to The DI Center in 2010 after working for 26 years in the Brokerage Business. She was the Regional Sales Coordinator for Canada Life Assurance Company from April 2000 to August 2003. Canada Life was bought by Great West in 2003 and afterward, she assisted the Regional Director of Brokerage Operations. She later worked with the Texas Medical Association Insurance Trust and with American Medical Insurance Agency from August 2003 until her departure for the DI Center in August 2010.

Gyneth helps find insurance carriers when the Ameritas companies are not appropriate and also assists with all the permanent products offered by Ameritas companies. She is the go-to person for all illustrations on permanent products and Term Conversion campaigns with the Ameritas companies. She specializes in helping producers submit applications, order exams, update application statuses and any information needed to complete the placing of a case.

Gyneth received her Psychology degree from West Texas State University in Canyon, TX, which is now known as West Texas A&M. Gyneth and her husband Jim, reside in Fort Worth, TX and are avid TCU fans. They have four grown children and six grandchildren.

Processors & Problem Solvers

Cherie Young

New Business & Underwriting

Cherie Young was hired by The DI Center in August of 2015 as a case manager and her responsibilities include keeping cases actively moving through the underwriting process and being a liaison between our agents and carriers.

Cherie began her professional career as a commercial casualty underwriter for the Hartford Insurance Group soon after graduating from the University of Hartford. After several years, she left the insurance working world to start a family, but did not leave the industry as her husband, Peter, was an executive for several insurance carriers that moved the family all over the country before landing in Dallas in 2000.

Cherie worked in real estate, education and retail before coming back to the insurance industry to work for her longtime family friend, Andra Grava, at The DI Center. It’s a small world!

Karl Grava

Office Manager – Technology & HR

Karl Grava joined The DI Center in 2005 and was originally responsible for the conversion of the agency into a paperless office. Since then, as the office manager, he has taken on other technology projects and oversees all of the agency’s vendor contracts, bill payments, and HR services. He also assists Cherie with the processing of applications and follow-up on application requirements.

Karl has been a licensed insurance agent in the state of Texas for most of his tenure with The DI Center and is a current member of NAIFA-Dallas. Karl lives in Plano with his wife, Kaylee.

Kaylee Grava

New Business & Underwriting

Kaylee Grava just joined The DI Center as a case manager responsible for making the underwriting process as easy for our producers as possible.

A lifetime member of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America and Gold Award recipient, Kaylee graduated from the Honors College at the University of Nevada Las Vegas in 2006 with a major in Film Studies and dual minors in Cultural Anthropology and Business Management. She has worked for various companies prior to starting at The DI Center, all in the logistics and finance sector.

Rachell Hall

Communications Administrator

Rachel Hall joined The DI Center in December 2013 as the Communications Administrator. Since then, her responsibilities have grown to also include coordinating policy deliveries in addition to handling the majority of the agency’s mailed correspondences, service issues and in-force policy marketing. In addition, Rachel handles all policy funds that flow through the office and helps our carriers administer policy changes.

Rachel graduated from the University of North Texas in August of 2012 with a BA in English with a concentration in Technical Writing. Outside of business, she loves to work on computers and has experience with various computer programs. She has been involved in church groups and has her Gold Award in Girl Scouts.