Caroline Smith, Esq.

Caroline Smith is the SVP, Deputy General Counsel & Compliance Officer for Patriot Growth Insurance Services, LLC. Caroline has over 15 of experience in the legal compliance area, 12 of which were in the insurance industry.

As the SVP, Deputy General Counsel & Compliance Officer, Caroline works closely with Patriot’s internal HR, Acquisition, and Operations teams and assists Patriot’s partner agencies and their clients. Caroline’s responsibilities as part of the Patriot Growth Team include but are not limited to licensing and insurance compliance, privacy, cybersecurity, and due diligence compliance issues, internal employee benefit plan and other HR compliance matters, and leading employee benefits carrier consolidation, relationships and contracting efforts. Caroline also advises consultants, brokers, and employers on difficult health and welfare plan compliance issues, drafts alerts and newsletters on critical benefits issues, drafts and reviews plan documents, summary plan descriptions, and other required notices and documents.

Prior to joining Patriot in July 2019, Caroline served as the Vice President of Compliance at AssuredPartners for over five years. While at AssuredPartners, Caroline sat beside employee benefits executives from around the country as a member of the AssuredPartners’ National Benefits Committee. Caroline led the national compliance effort for AssuredPartners’ employee benefits agencies, assisting hundreds of clients of all sizes. Additionally, she assisted with the firm’s own corporate compliance efforts. Prior to her time at AssuredPartners, Caroline served as an Associate Attorney focusing on employee benefits law at both Findley, a regional consulting firm, and a boutique law firm in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.

Caroline graduated from Miami University of Ohio earning her Bachelor of Arts degree, Magna Cum Laude, in American Studies. Caroline then earned her Juris Doctorate, Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Akron School of Law where she was an Assistant and Associate Editor for the Akron Law Review and a C. Blake McDowell Full Scholarship recipient. Caroline is admitted to Practice Law in the State of Ohio and the Northern District of Ohio.  Outside of work, Caroline serves as Co- President of the St. Mary School Parent Student Organization and coaches her oldest daughter’s CYO basketball team. Caroline also enjoys boating on Lake Erie, running, reading, cheering on Cleveland sports teams (Go Browns!), and spending time with her friends and family.