Do I Have Mental Health Insurance Coverage?

If you purchased your health insurance plan through healthcare.gov or your local state exchange, you have an Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliant plan, which means you have mental health insurance coverage. All ACA-compliant insurance plans must include mental health insurance coverage as one of the 10 essential health benefits. Mental health includes emotional, psychological, and social well-being. A mental health practitioner can help you manage stress and anxiety or more critical illnesses such as depression or substance use disorders. Mental Health Insurance Coverage: The Three Categories. Behavioral treatment, such as psychotherapy or counseling. Mental and behavioral health inpatient services.

Spotlight

Bristol West Insurance Group

Bristol West began providing private passenger automobile insurance to Florida residents in 1973. Since that time, Bristol West has grown to be a leading provider of liability and physical damage insurance focusing exclusively on private passenger automobiles across the United States. Sold through agents and brokers, Bristol West insurance products provide customers the security of a comprehensive range of automobile insurance coverages at competitive prices.

OTHER ARTICLES
Automobile Insurance, Insurance Technology

Innovation rises to meet disability and long-term care risk

Article | December 19, 2022

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, we are learning to live with it and mitigate its risks. While older adults have suffered disproportionately from the health impacts of COVID, they have also suffered from the effects of efforts to control its spread. Infection rates rose in recent months, and many long-term care facilities again closed their doors to visitors. This left many families separated from elderly and disabled loved ones during the holiday period.

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Insurance Technology

4 Aspects of Cyber Insurance that SMBs Must Know

Article | July 19, 2022

The pandemic pressed many businesses to go remote. While this enabled employees and their organizations to continue doing business in the face of global uncertainty, the fragility of cybersecurity infrastructure became more apparent than ever. From remote work to a more powerful online presence, cybersecurity threats are a significant challenge for many organizations. With data security, exposure to these threats meant cyber insurance needed to be amped up. In the race to fortify cybersecurity, small businesses, which have limited resources to train their IT staff, have much catching up to do. As a matter of fact, practically all small businesses maintain sensitive data on their staff, clients, or suppliers, making them open to hacking attempts, malware attacks, digitalfraud, and other online threats. A cyberattack can force a firm to cease operations, incur significant losses, and unanticipated costs, and harm their brand. This is why cyber insurance is so critical. Here are four things SMBs must understand about cyber insurance and what it covers. In Case of Data Breaches Data breaches are one of the most common types of cyberattacks on small firms. Cyber insurance coversthe cost of locating the origin of a data breachand assessing whether the information lost poses any legal obligations. It also includes the price of meeting those obligations, including sending notifications to affected clients, setting up a call center, and providing credit monitoring, as well as the price of hiring legal counsel and paying any fines or penalties. In Case of Malware Attacks Ransomware and malware attacks allow criminals to break into an organization’s back-end data. They use it to steal customer information or simply encrypt it which allows them to demand random from the business to reclaim access. Cyber insurance can pay for all of the expenses involved in restoring the system, including recovering data, ransomware removal, vulnerability patching, and, if required, paying the ransom itself. A ransomware attack is the most disruptive,and it may be covered if there is economic loss for the company. In Case of Phishing and Cyber Fraud By gaining access to a company's computer system, social engineering letscriminals trick employees intosettlingfictitious bills or diverting cash to their accounts. Businesses may be able to recoup lost funds with the use of cyberinsurance. Third-Party Coverage Third-party insurance can shield firms from cyber-related legal troubles, such as government responseor class-action lawsuits brought on by, for instance, unintentional malware spreador the inability to curbunauthorized access to companysystems. It covers all legal expenses, such as settlements and lawyer fees. What’s the Bottom Line? Cyber insurance cannot be an alternative to a robust cyber security infrastructure. And small businesses cannot afford to keep vulnerabilities in their systems. Many cyber advice solution providers offer advisory and risk assessment services that may be just what small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) need to start improving the security of their systems.

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Insurance Technology

Security Think Up: It’s Time to Give a Thought About Cyber Insurance

Article | July 14, 2022

The rise in remote work during and after the pandemic has increased cyber vulnerabilities significantly. Cyber insurance protects your company from the financial consequences of cyber threats or data breaches involving computer systems and data. Credit card numbers, social security numbers, account numbers, health records, and driver's license numbers are examples of sensitive customer information. According to a recent SBA survey, 88% of small business owners believe they are vulnerable to a cyberattack. If your company is a victim of cybercrime, the cost of recovery can be prohibitively expensive, including specialized repairs and legal fees. One of the most difficult challenges is quantifying cyber risk. Although approaches and frameworks like NIST CSF, CIS 20, NCSC Cyber Essentials, and ISO 270001 aid in the development of cyber security capabilities, they do not provide the tools to quantify risk. As a result, leaders frequently overestimate their cyber maturity while underestimating cyber insurance premiums. Potential Cyberattack Types are: Breach of data: A breach occurs when critical information, such as personal financial information, is stolen. Cyber-attacks on computers:Your computer system is hacked and compromised in this type of cyberattack. Extortion via the internet:During an extortion threat to your company's computer system, thieves may demand ransom payments. To address these issues, a variety of approaches can be used, ranging from zero-trust models to multi-factor authentication (MFA) and end-point detection and response (EDR) (EDR and XDR). Protective monitoring, encryption applied to the most critical aspects of your network, and patch management processes can also provide insurers with the assurance they require. There are options for both small and large amounts of cyber liability coverage. A small cyber liability insurance policy could be added to the policy of a business owner. A larger cyber liability policy with higher limits would necessitate its own policy. Furthermore, they provide a real-time view of compliance through a risk-based approach that is consolidated, consistent, and aggregated across the entire organization. Workflow automation can help the IRM system become more efficient. By consolidating your risk management processes, you can ensure that controls continue to deliver on their objectives and demonstrate compliance with policies, standards, and regulations while having a lower impact on your day-to-day operational demands. All of this will make it easier to meet cyber insurers' requirements and give organizations confidence that their policy will protect them when they need it.

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Insurance Technology

Rising to the challenge of core insurance transformation

Article | August 18, 2021

There is no doubt that we are living in an era in which insurers have been called to transform their business offerings, infrastructure and operations. Successful transformation translates into new revenue opportunities, stronger customer relationships and sustained brand relevance. However, this need to evolve cannot be addressed through superficial changes. Leading insurers are transforming their core offerings to completely reimagine their role in the insurance landscape. As the nominations and winners for the Efma-Accenture Innovation in Insurance Core Insurance Transformation award show, leading insurers are starting their core transformation at the top, and applying it to every touchpoint of the business. Nine pioneering nominees The nine nominees in the core insurance transformation category lead core insurance transformation in various innovations across their value chain. The nominations were: AXA for A.Iconic Claims Discovery for AI Quote RBC for their conversational AI Platform, driven by Personal Insights for Life Insurance Application Generali for their fund transaction through blockchain innovation FWD for the AI-Everywhere Smart Insurance Framework China Life Insurance for an intelligent value evaluation system for salesforce Multiasistencia for MACARENA, an innovative AI voicebot that provides100% automated First Notice of Loss in home insurance claims Humania for their ground-breaking income insurance for accident and disability claims Mapfre for Verbatims, a cognitive behavioural model that integrates live customer feedback As can be seen, by the nominees above, AI is a leading technology in core insurance transformation. In fact, every innovation used technology in fresh, structured ways to create a lasting impact on their business. Let’s look closer at the winners, and what their innovations say about how to lead core insurance transformation in 2021. Gold: Discovery Discovery are transforming the way brokers and clients engage with them through the introduction of their AI Quote service. Users are able to upload a PDF or pictures of competitor insurance and investment documents via phone or computer, and receive an equivalent Discovery quote in seconds. The entire journey can be completed in under a minute. Brokers can take the quotes to their clients and where a client has completed the direct journey, they will be called by a sales agent to discuss the specifics of the quote and close the sale. Romek Sadowski, Discovery Life’s Head of Technical Marketing says, “Ultimately, AI-powered optical character recognition (OCR) technology has been able to equip us with a seamless journey for clients, advisers and employees of the business as a whole. For clients, benefits include receiving a comparable quote in less than a minute and an improved understanding of Discovery’s products relative to the market. For advisers, key benefits include more accurate and consistent competitor comparisons, as well as a reduction in sales and quoting frictions. By automating the process of extracting data from policy documents and then converting it into comparable Discovery Life benefits, our advisers are able to spend less time on manual work and more time assisting our clients. AI Quote has also created opportunities for Discovery Life to incorporate digital tools into many of our existing processes and create a single, seamless, digital journey for advisers and clients alike. Additional innovations, such as Virtual Underwriting which allows clients to undergo underwriting from anywhere they choose, have been developed and are being refined in order to make this goal for a seamless digital journey a reality.” This is an important innovation in the South African insurance and investment landscape, which is highly developed and innovative, and characterised by frequent product updates and enhancements. While products are fine-tuned to meet customer needs, it’s difficult for brokers to keep track of various products in the market and how they compare from one competitor to another. Clients are also not in the position to understand how exactly their financial products compare against competitors. “The South African insurance industry is a complex environment with a vast array of sophisticated products. Financial advisers are faced with numerous competitors each with multiple products and options, resulting in countless different quoting combinations. By automating the comparison process, AI Quote simplifies the new business experience for both advisers and clients, increasing conversion rates and improving stakeholder satisfaction. AI Quote ensures that clients who have existing policies with our competitors are quoted comparable Discovery benefits and gives advisers confidence that they are providing clients with the best possible advice when comparing policies.” By removing sales frictions and automatically carrying out comparisons, Discovery’s AI Quote aims to enhance the company’s exposure to potential clients, attract brokers to sell Discovery products, improve the accuracy of replacements and promote Discovery’s brand as a market-leading innovator. With an efficient client- and broker-centric platform, Discovery has taken quoting to the next level. The potential for AI, however, is just beginning to be untapped. Romek concludes, “The insurance landscape is evolving, and we have seen an influx in microinsurance providers, direct-to-customer insurers and niche players in the market. When it comes to life insurance, clients are faced with a dauntingly large number of options – and that number is increasing. Within such complexity, manual processing of data in order to generate benefit comparisons is simply inefficient. A key benefit of AI is that it can complement or replace manual processes and allows for a far more streamlined user experience. Outside of the new business process, AI has displayed immense success in other areas such as customer service, underwriting and claims. Chatbots are now commonly used by insurers around the world to assist clients and answer their questions. Car insurance has been fundamentally changed through advancements in telematics. Big data is more readily available and, with the help of AI, can be utilised to make faster and more accurate pricing and underwriting decisions.” Silver: Generali Generali conducted a deep transformation in the way they transact with their counterparts and custodians through the use of blockchain technology. Generali France currently processes 250 thousand orders on funds (to cover unit-linked policies) per year through classical schemes via custodians. The aim is to generate a direct link with asset managers for trading shares of funds without using the costly transfer agent of custodians. With this transformation in mind, Generali France invested in a startup called Iznes, developing a trading platform on funds based on blockchain technology. With this as a foundation, Generali has begun to connect its IT and operations to the innovative platform. The innovation can serve all middle and back offices of investment departments and asset management companies. It crunches transaction costs and creates a direct link between the buy-side and the sell-side. The total cost of Generali Unit-linked orders is expected to drop by half, supposing that 50% of counterparts join the platform. Bronze: FWD Led by their customers’ needs and vision to change the way people feel about insurance, FWD Group Data developed a ‘Smart Insurance Framework’ which sees the business embarking on a ‘AI-everywhere’ approach. The platform has transformed the entire insurance journey for both their customers and employees with the use of advanced technologies and AI power. To create a simpler and smoother insurance experience for customers, FWD created a modern data architecture framework that improves operation efficiency internally and convenience externally. The Group Office Data Platform (GODP) streamlines and integrates all data into a single platform that is smart, secured and scalable. This platform allows business users to harness data, insights and run analytics across all our markets, to help support a spectrum of initiatives in FWD with data. The clever use of data allows FWD to evolve and predict customer responses more accurately, develop a better understanding of customer needs and behaviour, and in turn serve them better. As the nominees and winners show, the insurance industry is embracing technology to pre-empt, analyze and streamline customer, broker and employee experiences. We would love to hear how you are transforming your core insurance operations. Submit your core insurance innovation to the Efma-Accenture Innovation in Insurance Awards for 2022.

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Spotlight

Bristol West Insurance Group

Bristol West began providing private passenger automobile insurance to Florida residents in 1973. Since that time, Bristol West has grown to be a leading provider of liability and physical damage insurance focusing exclusively on private passenger automobiles across the United States. Sold through agents and brokers, Bristol West insurance products provide customers the security of a comprehensive range of automobile insurance coverages at competitive prices.

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Core Insurance

Inszone Insurance Bolsters Missouri Presence with DeVoy Insurance Group Acquisition

Business Wire | October 10, 2023

Inszone Insurance Services, a rapidly growing national provider of commercial, personal, and benefits insurance, announced the acquisition of DeVoy Insurance Group, a well-established insurance agency deeply rooted in the community of Brookfield, Missouri. DeVoy Insurance Group is run by Blake DeVoy, whose family has a storied history in the insurance industry dating back to the early 20th century, DeVoy Insurance Group has been a trusted name in Brookfield. The DeVoy family's dedication to serving their community has spanned generations, epitomizing their commitment to excellence. In 1910, Blake DeVoy's great-grandfather embarked on his journey by establishing the first insurance agency in Brookfield, later selling the original DeVoy & Co. to another local agency. In 1982, Blake DeVoy's father cofounded an agency, a strategic decision that laid the foundation for the family's continued legacy in the insurance business. Blake DeVoy himself entered the insurance industry in 2002 at the age of 19, building upon his early experiences working in his father's office. His diverse background, which includes roles as an underwriter and claims representative, equipped him with a unique perspective and skill set to navigate the complexities of insurance, making him a valuable resource for clients and strong leader for his team. "We're delighted to integrate the DeVoy Insurance Group into the Inszone Insurance umbrella," remarked Chris Walters, CEO of Inszone Insurance Services. "Their impressive legacy and enduring dedication to their local community mirrors our own commitment. This step enhances our position in Brookfield and expands our influence throughout the state, highlighting our unwavering promise to offer the best service to our valued clients." When asked about his decision to merge with Inszone Insurance, DeVoy pointed out the ever-evolving insurance landscape and business environment. He continued, “I recognized the changing demands of the insurance climate and wanted to ensure that my clients received the highest level of service." Clients of DeVoy Group can expect to receive the same exceptional service they are used to, now bolstered by the added resources available through the Inszone brand. Inszone Insurance is expected to announce several significant acquisitions in the upcoming months as part of its ongoing efforts to expand its footprint on a national scale. About Inszone Insurance Services Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Sacramento, California, Inszone is a full-service insurance brokerage firm that provides a broad array of property & casualty insurance and employee benefits solutions. With a strong, experienced management team, Inszone continues to grow organically and through acquisitions. With 44 locations across California, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, and Utah, the company is looking to expand further throughout the United States.

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Core Insurance, Risk Management

Risk Strategies Acquires Benefit Design Group LLC

GlobeNewswire | August 31, 2023

Risk Strategies, a leading national specialty insurance brokerage and risk management firm, today announced that it has acquired Benefit Design Group LLC, a retail agency specializing in health, life and retirement solutions. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Based in Portland, Oregon and led by Joel Biernat and Dennis Warneke, Benefit Design Group (BDG) is an independent insurance agency specializing in health insurance solutions for businesses, individuals and seniors. With a client base across Oregon and Washington, the firm serves businesses seeking tailored employee benefits programs across a wide range of industries, including aged care, education, hospitality and manufacturing, as well as individuals and seniors. “As a national specialist in the increasingly complex world of employee benefits, we’re always seeking new partners who can add to both our geographic presence and expertise,” said John Greenbaum, National Employee Benefits Practice Leader, Risk Strategies. “It’s why we’re excited to bring Joel, Dennis and the BDG organization into the Risk Strategies family.” BDG offers a broad array of products to its individual and group insurance clients including medical, dental, life insurance, Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans, among others. BDG as constituted today, was formed in 2017 when Biernat merged the firm with Warneke’s company, The Warneke Group, LLC. That firm primarily specialized in providing services and products for employers offering group employee benefits to their employees. “We’re extremely excited to join Risk Strategies,” said Biernat, President, Benefit Design Group. “We know that being part of a true specialty brokerage with national scale will bring a myriad of benefits to our people, business and especially our clients.” The purchase of BDG adds to Risk Strategies’ presence in the Pacific Northwest. It builds upon the firm’s previous acquisition of the Fournier Group, a full-service commercial and personal lines retail insurance agency. About Risk Strategies Risk Strategies is the 9th largest privately held US brokerage firm offering comprehensive risk management advice, insurance and reinsurance placement for property & casualty, employee benefits, private client services, as well as consulting services and financial & wealth solutions. With more than 30 specialty practices, Risk Strategies serves commercial companies, nonprofits, public entities, and individuals, and has access to all major insurance markets. Risk Strategies has over 100 offices including Boston, New York City, Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, Grand Cayman, Miami, Atlanta, Dallas, Nashville, Washington DC, Los Angeles and San Francisco. RiskStrategies.com.

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Life Insurance, Insurance Technology

LIBRA Insurance Partners Announces Partnership with Highland Capital Brokerage

PR Newswire | August 29, 2023

LIBRA Insurance Partners (LIBRA), the largest independently-owned life insurance marketing organization (IMO) in the United States, announces a partnership with Highland Capital Brokerage (HCB), a national life insurance and annuity distribution company and a subsidiary of Osaic. "Highland Capital Brokerage is a formidable organization and we are excited they have selected LIBRA as their strategic partner to help facilitate its growth and expansion initiatives," said William (Bill) Shelow, CLU®, ChFC®, CPCU®, LLIF, president and CEO of LIBRA. HCB provides risk management strategies and solutions to help financial professionals protect and grow their clients' assets. As a national life insurance, annuity, disability, and longevity planning firm, HCB distributes these solutions across the wealth spectrum to both institutional and independent partners. "The partnership with LIBRA is an important step in Highland's evolution. Our diversified sales organization will rely on the vast array of carriers and their products to provide risk management solutions to our clients," said Teague Wright, president of Highland Capital Brokerage. "We look forward to taking advantage of the breadth of tools and resources this affiliation makes available." HCB is comprised of more than 300 employees nationwide with an exceptionally talented and tenured team. "I have enjoyed having an association in various capacities with Highland Capital Brokerage since its inception. They embody everything that LIBRA and our partners symbolize," said J. Craig Collins, executive vice president and chief relationship officer of LIBRA. "Teague and her senior leadership team have built a first-class organization and will greatly complement the markets we serve and the carriers we represent. Their interest in LIBRA further demonstrates the great value that we bring to our partner firms with our focus on delivering industry-leading tools and resources that support their efforts." Shelow added, "I believe this affiliation elevates the stature of both organizations." LIBRA Insurance Partners takes a true partnership approach with each of its valued relationships with the core belief in "the strength of many and power of one." With unique reinsurance ownership opportunities, agent retention programs, business development consulting, live training events and robust sales and marketing resources, the firm provides an unparalleled community of comradery and commitment to the success of each of its shareholders. By way of partnership, HCB further expands upon its expansive resources and capabilities with direct access to several additional proprietary advanced planning tools and benefits, including: exclusive facultative underwriting program with RGA Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (RGA) established relationships with an expanded lineup of affiliated carriers and reinsurers a dedicated medical director product white papers and benchmarking tools a proprietary quick quoting and informal processing platform About Highland Capital Brokerage (HCB) Highland Capital Brokerage is a national life insurance, annuity, disability, and long-term care distribution company providing point-of-sale support, advanced marketing, and creative estate- and business-planning techniques to financial advisors and insurance professionals. We deliver these services in an efficient, client-focused environment that extends to carrier and product expertise, underwriting negotiation, and complete back-office processing. Highland offers objective access to major insurance carriers, advanced planning support, expertise in risk underwriting, and back-office processing to insurance brokers, financial planners, and various institutions such as banks, wirehouses, and certified public accountant firms. To learn more about Highland Capital Brokerage, visit www.highlandbrokerage.com. About LIBRA Insurance Partners (LIBRA) LIBRA Insurance Partners is an insurance marketing organization dedicated to serving independent insurance producers, brokers, and financial institutions. Formerly known as LifeMark Partners and BRAMCO Financial Resources, and through the merger with Insurance Designers of America (IDA) in 2022, the firm exists to leverage strategic relationships, expertise, and innovation to expand life insurance distribution for the benefit of all stakeholders. LIBRA Insurance Partners is dedicated to the ongoing development and enhancement of resources to differentiate partner agencies from the competition. Its firms benefit from robust proprietary service offerings, unparalleled partnership, product expertise, and access to industry-leading technologies and tools, including expansive underwriting support resources. To learn more about becoming a LIBRA partner firm, visit  www.LIBRAInsurancePartners.com or call (410) 837-3022.

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Core Insurance

Inszone Insurance Bolsters Missouri Presence with DeVoy Insurance Group Acquisition

Business Wire | October 10, 2023

Inszone Insurance Services, a rapidly growing national provider of commercial, personal, and benefits insurance, announced the acquisition of DeVoy Insurance Group, a well-established insurance agency deeply rooted in the community of Brookfield, Missouri. DeVoy Insurance Group is run by Blake DeVoy, whose family has a storied history in the insurance industry dating back to the early 20th century, DeVoy Insurance Group has been a trusted name in Brookfield. The DeVoy family's dedication to serving their community has spanned generations, epitomizing their commitment to excellence. In 1910, Blake DeVoy's great-grandfather embarked on his journey by establishing the first insurance agency in Brookfield, later selling the original DeVoy & Co. to another local agency. In 1982, Blake DeVoy's father cofounded an agency, a strategic decision that laid the foundation for the family's continued legacy in the insurance business. Blake DeVoy himself entered the insurance industry in 2002 at the age of 19, building upon his early experiences working in his father's office. His diverse background, which includes roles as an underwriter and claims representative, equipped him with a unique perspective and skill set to navigate the complexities of insurance, making him a valuable resource for clients and strong leader for his team. "We're delighted to integrate the DeVoy Insurance Group into the Inszone Insurance umbrella," remarked Chris Walters, CEO of Inszone Insurance Services. "Their impressive legacy and enduring dedication to their local community mirrors our own commitment. This step enhances our position in Brookfield and expands our influence throughout the state, highlighting our unwavering promise to offer the best service to our valued clients." When asked about his decision to merge with Inszone Insurance, DeVoy pointed out the ever-evolving insurance landscape and business environment. He continued, “I recognized the changing demands of the insurance climate and wanted to ensure that my clients received the highest level of service." Clients of DeVoy Group can expect to receive the same exceptional service they are used to, now bolstered by the added resources available through the Inszone brand. Inszone Insurance is expected to announce several significant acquisitions in the upcoming months as part of its ongoing efforts to expand its footprint on a national scale. About Inszone Insurance Services Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Sacramento, California, Inszone is a full-service insurance brokerage firm that provides a broad array of property & casualty insurance and employee benefits solutions. With a strong, experienced management team, Inszone continues to grow organically and through acquisitions. With 44 locations across California, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, and Utah, the company is looking to expand further throughout the United States.

Read More

Core Insurance, Risk Management

Risk Strategies Acquires Benefit Design Group LLC

GlobeNewswire | August 31, 2023

Risk Strategies, a leading national specialty insurance brokerage and risk management firm, today announced that it has acquired Benefit Design Group LLC, a retail agency specializing in health, life and retirement solutions. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Based in Portland, Oregon and led by Joel Biernat and Dennis Warneke, Benefit Design Group (BDG) is an independent insurance agency specializing in health insurance solutions for businesses, individuals and seniors. With a client base across Oregon and Washington, the firm serves businesses seeking tailored employee benefits programs across a wide range of industries, including aged care, education, hospitality and manufacturing, as well as individuals and seniors. “As a national specialist in the increasingly complex world of employee benefits, we’re always seeking new partners who can add to both our geographic presence and expertise,” said John Greenbaum, National Employee Benefits Practice Leader, Risk Strategies. “It’s why we’re excited to bring Joel, Dennis and the BDG organization into the Risk Strategies family.” BDG offers a broad array of products to its individual and group insurance clients including medical, dental, life insurance, Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans, among others. BDG as constituted today, was formed in 2017 when Biernat merged the firm with Warneke’s company, The Warneke Group, LLC. That firm primarily specialized in providing services and products for employers offering group employee benefits to their employees. “We’re extremely excited to join Risk Strategies,” said Biernat, President, Benefit Design Group. “We know that being part of a true specialty brokerage with national scale will bring a myriad of benefits to our people, business and especially our clients.” The purchase of BDG adds to Risk Strategies’ presence in the Pacific Northwest. It builds upon the firm’s previous acquisition of the Fournier Group, a full-service commercial and personal lines retail insurance agency. About Risk Strategies Risk Strategies is the 9th largest privately held US brokerage firm offering comprehensive risk management advice, insurance and reinsurance placement for property & casualty, employee benefits, private client services, as well as consulting services and financial & wealth solutions. With more than 30 specialty practices, Risk Strategies serves commercial companies, nonprofits, public entities, and individuals, and has access to all major insurance markets. Risk Strategies has over 100 offices including Boston, New York City, Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, Grand Cayman, Miami, Atlanta, Dallas, Nashville, Washington DC, Los Angeles and San Francisco. RiskStrategies.com.

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Life Insurance, Insurance Technology

LIBRA Insurance Partners Announces Partnership with Highland Capital Brokerage

PR Newswire | August 29, 2023

LIBRA Insurance Partners (LIBRA), the largest independently-owned life insurance marketing organization (IMO) in the United States, announces a partnership with Highland Capital Brokerage (HCB), a national life insurance and annuity distribution company and a subsidiary of Osaic. "Highland Capital Brokerage is a formidable organization and we are excited they have selected LIBRA as their strategic partner to help facilitate its growth and expansion initiatives," said William (Bill) Shelow, CLU®, ChFC®, CPCU®, LLIF, president and CEO of LIBRA. HCB provides risk management strategies and solutions to help financial professionals protect and grow their clients' assets. As a national life insurance, annuity, disability, and longevity planning firm, HCB distributes these solutions across the wealth spectrum to both institutional and independent partners. "The partnership with LIBRA is an important step in Highland's evolution. Our diversified sales organization will rely on the vast array of carriers and their products to provide risk management solutions to our clients," said Teague Wright, president of Highland Capital Brokerage. "We look forward to taking advantage of the breadth of tools and resources this affiliation makes available." HCB is comprised of more than 300 employees nationwide with an exceptionally talented and tenured team. "I have enjoyed having an association in various capacities with Highland Capital Brokerage since its inception. They embody everything that LIBRA and our partners symbolize," said J. Craig Collins, executive vice president and chief relationship officer of LIBRA. "Teague and her senior leadership team have built a first-class organization and will greatly complement the markets we serve and the carriers we represent. Their interest in LIBRA further demonstrates the great value that we bring to our partner firms with our focus on delivering industry-leading tools and resources that support their efforts." Shelow added, "I believe this affiliation elevates the stature of both organizations." LIBRA Insurance Partners takes a true partnership approach with each of its valued relationships with the core belief in "the strength of many and power of one." With unique reinsurance ownership opportunities, agent retention programs, business development consulting, live training events and robust sales and marketing resources, the firm provides an unparalleled community of comradery and commitment to the success of each of its shareholders. By way of partnership, HCB further expands upon its expansive resources and capabilities with direct access to several additional proprietary advanced planning tools and benefits, including: exclusive facultative underwriting program with RGA Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (RGA) established relationships with an expanded lineup of affiliated carriers and reinsurers a dedicated medical director product white papers and benchmarking tools a proprietary quick quoting and informal processing platform About Highland Capital Brokerage (HCB) Highland Capital Brokerage is a national life insurance, annuity, disability, and long-term care distribution company providing point-of-sale support, advanced marketing, and creative estate- and business-planning techniques to financial advisors and insurance professionals. We deliver these services in an efficient, client-focused environment that extends to carrier and product expertise, underwriting negotiation, and complete back-office processing. Highland offers objective access to major insurance carriers, advanced planning support, expertise in risk underwriting, and back-office processing to insurance brokers, financial planners, and various institutions such as banks, wirehouses, and certified public accountant firms. To learn more about Highland Capital Brokerage, visit www.highlandbrokerage.com. About LIBRA Insurance Partners (LIBRA) LIBRA Insurance Partners is an insurance marketing organization dedicated to serving independent insurance producers, brokers, and financial institutions. Formerly known as LifeMark Partners and BRAMCO Financial Resources, and through the merger with Insurance Designers of America (IDA) in 2022, the firm exists to leverage strategic relationships, expertise, and innovation to expand life insurance distribution for the benefit of all stakeholders. LIBRA Insurance Partners is dedicated to the ongoing development and enhancement of resources to differentiate partner agencies from the competition. Its firms benefit from robust proprietary service offerings, unparalleled partnership, product expertise, and access to industry-leading technologies and tools, including expansive underwriting support resources. To learn more about becoming a LIBRA partner firm, visit  www.LIBRAInsurancePartners.com or call (410) 837-3022.

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