Three Tips for Choosing the Right Contractor After a Disaster

When a fire, storm, or act of vandalism damages your home, you want to get it fixed as soon as possible. Home insurance may provide you with the financial means to pay for these types of repairs. However, you shouldn’t rush into choosing a contractor for the job. Doing so could cause you financial loss in the long term. Instead, follow these tips for choosing a contractor to help you with the process. Who You Hire Matters? Before looking into how to choose a contractor, consider what could go wrong. If you hire a contractor that lacks insurance coverage for its employees, and an accident occurs, you could be on the line for those injuries. More so, your home insurance company is not going to pay out more than once for the work. In other words, you need a team capable of doing an excellent job the first time, every time. How do you know who to hire, then? Insured Professionals Are Essential. Your insurance agent may require you to verify the insurance coverage for the individual before hiring them. As noted, if you hire a contractor without insurance, and he or she suffers a loss on your property, they could file a liability claim against your home’s policy. That only increases your potential costs. Be sure to verify this by seeing the company’s documentation.

Spotlight

Bolton & Company

Bolton & Company is a leading, independent insurance broker serving the needs of thousands of clients across the country. Founded in 1931, our story is one that continues to grow with the industries, organizations and communities we serve every day, and our success has been dependent upon fostering an environment where our team of professionals can grow, develop and thrive in their roles to best support our clients.

OTHER ARTICLES
Insurance Technology

10 Reasons COVID-19 Insurance Plan is a Must-have

Article | July 13, 2022

Since we have launched the COVID-19 Insurance Plan on ETMONEY, our users have been insuring themselves against COVID-19 in huge numbers. And there is a good reason for that. While we are all taking precautions it is a smart idea to be prepared for any eventuality. But if you are someone who is still thinking whether you should get amazing one of its kind insurance, there are 10 reasons you should be getting it right now.

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Insurance Technology

Is Your Policy Management System Costing or Saving Money?

Article | July 14, 2022

Insurtech is advancing, and the significance of an effective policy management system cannot be underrated. Policy management professionals understand the payoff it offers to an organization. On the other hand, a policy management system that just isn’t a good fit can prove to be a lot more expensive than previously budgeted. So what is it actually costing you? Is your policy management software updated, or are you still using an old version? Do you know how much it is hampering your financial productivity? Even then, often, an outdated system may not be affecting your process significantly but damaging it in other intangible ways that are just as crucial to business success. Analyze your current system for the following: Financial Implications of the Current System Manual processes for policy creation and management make up the costliest part of running a policy management system. Paper-based solutions incur high costs that can be easily avoided by using digital systems that use automation extensively. With thousands of policies and compliance procedures for your team to manage, costs can add up quickly, especially with printing and distribution costs. In addition to these expenses, manual processes are also responsible for policies being misplaced or lost. It may also result in a large fine for noncompliance if some policies are accessible to unauthorized employees. Indirect Expenses Organized policy management procedures are critical for high operational efficiencies. Policy management systems that require manual supervision can prove to be expensive over the long run as they require employees to monitor them constantly. However, automated policy management systems enable policy teams to optimize their resources better and direct team members to speed up other more crucial processes. Furthermore, modern policy management systems don’t need constant monitoring and require only a one time set-up. This enables teams to allocate resources where they are urgently needed. Wasted Resources If you have an outdated policy management system, chances are it takes a lot more micro-managing than it needs to. Businesses must be able to optimize their resources better but with old and outdated systems, it ends up cutting into the productivity and performance on an everyday basis. In addition, it puts undue stress on employees to keep up with compliance norms and changing regulations and policies. Policy management often requires various employees to pitch in with their inputs, and using an old system that doesn’t offer the option to collaborate can take away a huge chunk of productivity daily. What’s the Bottom Line? Automated policy management systems can undoubtedly save you a lot of time and resources. If you’re facing sky-high costs just to maintain your policy management system, it might be time for a rethink. From automating the lifecycle of policies and procedures to streamlining the management of policies by your agents, consolidating a policy management process with software is one of the best insurtech trends to look out for in 2023. It is probably what your organization needs to move the needle.

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Insurance Technology

5 Things Contractors Can Do About Insurance During Covid-19

Article | July 20, 2022

With the major impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, contractors appreciate the need for insurance coverage even more. You may be safely covered by Force Majeure and pandemic clauses in your policies. However, you may still be wondering how to deal with the associated costs related to the COVID-19 outbreak risks. In this article, let’s look at some of the steps you can take to handle your insurance position during the pandemic.

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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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Spotlight

Bolton & Company

Bolton & Company is a leading, independent insurance broker serving the needs of thousands of clients across the country. Founded in 1931, our story is one that continues to grow with the industries, organizations and communities we serve every day, and our success has been dependent upon fostering an environment where our team of professionals can grow, develop and thrive in their roles to best support our clients.

Related News

Life Insurance

Norwegian Insurer Gjensidige Pensjonsforsikring Goes Live with Sapiens CoreSuite for Life & Pensions

PR Newswire | January 10, 2024

Sapiens International Corporation, a leading global provider of software solutions for the insurance industry, and the leading Norwegian insurance company Gjensidige Pensjonsforsikring (GPF) today announced that GPF has gone live with Sapiens CoreSuite for Life & Pensions and Sapiens Cloud Services for their individual savings. GPF is the first Nordic customer to go-live with CoreSuite, which will expand the insurer's digital capabilities and boost its leading market position. Designed to enable greater automation and operational efficiency, Sapiens CoreSuite for Life & Pensions provides GPF with an optimised, Norwegian-tailored platform with real-time access to centrally managed data. As a single, unified system on the cloud, CoreSuite provides a cost-efficient, cloud-based IT infrastructure to streamline workflows, accelerate digital transformation and improve customer engagement. The CoreSuite solution is maintained and updated continuously by Sapiens in accordance with the latest technological and regulatory requirements. "Sapiens has now completed the initial phase of our core transformation project to CoreSuite and provided valuable support throughout the journey," said Torstein Ingebretsen, CEO of GPF. A strong core and strategy are essential to GPF's growth in Norway's rapidly changing pensions market." "We are proud to have achieved this important milestone in the Nordics with a regional leader like GPF," added Roni Al-Dor, Sapiens President and CEO. "We will continue to support GPF's journey to drive innovation and set the standard for best-in-class customer service with our transformative, future-oriented, cloud-based IT infrastructure." Sapiens CoreSuite for Life & Pensions is a software solution for end-to-end core operations and processes. An award-winning policy administration system, it supports individual and group products across life, health, wealth & retirement. Sapiens Cloud Services supports business growth with a holistic offering of value-added cloud services that provides all operations and application management services under one roof. About Gjensidige Pensjonsforsikring (GPF) Gjensidige Pensjonsforsikring (GPF) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gjensidige Forsikring. GPF mainly offers defined contribution, investment products, pension plans and risk products for groups and individuals in the Norwegian market. About Sapiens Sapiens International Corporation empowers the financial sector, with a focus on insurance, to transform and become digital, innovative and agile. With more than 40 years of industry expertise, Sapiens' cloud-based SaaS insurance platform offers pre-integrated, low-code capabilities across core, data, and digital domains to accelerate our customers' digital transformation. Serving over 600 customers in more than 30 countries, Sapiens offers insurers across property and casualty, workers' compensation, and life insurance markets the most comprehensive set of solutions, from core to complementary, including Reinsurance, Financial & Compliance, Data & Analytics, Digital, and Decision Management.

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Life Insurance

illumifin Acquires AmeriLife's Administrative Partners of America

PR Newswire | January 10, 2024

illumifin, a leading third-party insurance administration and technology provider, today announced it has acquired Administrative Partners of America (APA), the Third-Party Administrator (TPA) of AmeriLife, a national leader in developing, marketing, and distributing life and health insurance, annuities, and retirement planning solutions. As one of the largest independent marketing organizations (IMO) in the U.S., AmeriLife and APA administer approximately 230,000 policies that generate $3.1 billion of premiums in life insurance, annuities and Medicare Supplement products annually. APA employs nearly 200 associates in Clearwater, Florida, and Salt Lake City, Utah, all of whom will transition to illumifin as part of the sale. Peter Goldstein, President and Chief Executive Officer of illumifin, commented, "This is our second life and annuities acquisition that complements our existing TPA business and further transforms illumifin. We are constantly identifying new opportunities that will enhance our value proposition and make us a key strategic partner to our clients. AmeriLife has a solid platform with key client overlap that strengthens our relationships and opens the door for significant expansion opportunities. We are very excited to build a partnership with AmeriLife to help support their future growth efforts." Scott R. Perry, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AmeriLife, added, "illumifin is a great home for our TPA operations, and APA's customers will benefit greatly from access to a broad set of capabilities and scalable services across all lines of business. We're equally as excited to begin a new era of partnership with illumifin, and – together with our carrier partners – introduce new products to market, fuel our collective growth, and continue transforming our industry for years to come." illumifin was formed by Abry Partners, a leading Boston-based private equity firm, and Hoplon Capital, an asset manager focused on digital transformation and disruption. About illumifin illumifin provides third party administration and technology services to individual and group insurers. The company, launched in 2021, blends insurance industry knowledge, technology leadership and operational execution to prepare insurers for the digital future. illumifin is a diverse, passionate and empowered team of insurance specialists committed to the growth and success of its customers. With illumifin, there's a brighter future. About AmeriLife AmeriLfe's strength is its mission: to provide insurance and retirement solutions to help people live longer, healthier lives. In doing so, AmeriLife has become recognized as a leader in developing, marketing, and distributing life and health insurance, annuities, and retirement planning solutions to enhance the lives of pre-retirees and retirees across the United States. For more than 50 years, AmeriLife has partnered with top insurance carriers to provide value and quality to customers served through a distribution network of over 300,000 insurance agents and advisors and 120 marketing organizations and insurance agency locations nationwide. About Abry Partners Abry is one of the most experienced and successful sector-focused private equity investment firms in North America. Since its founding in 1989, the firm has completed over $90 billion of leveraged transactions and other private equity or preferred equity placements. Currently, the firm manages over $5 billion of capital across its active funds. About Hoplon Capital Hoplon pursues proprietary investments focused on the digital economy that are disruptive in their respective end markets including insurance, financial services, IT and consulting services, healthcare, digital infrastructure and media industries.

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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

Life Insurance

Norwegian Insurer Gjensidige Pensjonsforsikring Goes Live with Sapiens CoreSuite for Life & Pensions

PR Newswire | January 10, 2024

Sapiens International Corporation, a leading global provider of software solutions for the insurance industry, and the leading Norwegian insurance company Gjensidige Pensjonsforsikring (GPF) today announced that GPF has gone live with Sapiens CoreSuite for Life & Pensions and Sapiens Cloud Services for their individual savings. GPF is the first Nordic customer to go-live with CoreSuite, which will expand the insurer's digital capabilities and boost its leading market position. Designed to enable greater automation and operational efficiency, Sapiens CoreSuite for Life & Pensions provides GPF with an optimised, Norwegian-tailored platform with real-time access to centrally managed data. As a single, unified system on the cloud, CoreSuite provides a cost-efficient, cloud-based IT infrastructure to streamline workflows, accelerate digital transformation and improve customer engagement. The CoreSuite solution is maintained and updated continuously by Sapiens in accordance with the latest technological and regulatory requirements. "Sapiens has now completed the initial phase of our core transformation project to CoreSuite and provided valuable support throughout the journey," said Torstein Ingebretsen, CEO of GPF. A strong core and strategy are essential to GPF's growth in Norway's rapidly changing pensions market." "We are proud to have achieved this important milestone in the Nordics with a regional leader like GPF," added Roni Al-Dor, Sapiens President and CEO. "We will continue to support GPF's journey to drive innovation and set the standard for best-in-class customer service with our transformative, future-oriented, cloud-based IT infrastructure." Sapiens CoreSuite for Life & Pensions is a software solution for end-to-end core operations and processes. An award-winning policy administration system, it supports individual and group products across life, health, wealth & retirement. Sapiens Cloud Services supports business growth with a holistic offering of value-added cloud services that provides all operations and application management services under one roof. About Gjensidige Pensjonsforsikring (GPF) Gjensidige Pensjonsforsikring (GPF) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gjensidige Forsikring. GPF mainly offers defined contribution, investment products, pension plans and risk products for groups and individuals in the Norwegian market. About Sapiens Sapiens International Corporation empowers the financial sector, with a focus on insurance, to transform and become digital, innovative and agile. With more than 40 years of industry expertise, Sapiens' cloud-based SaaS insurance platform offers pre-integrated, low-code capabilities across core, data, and digital domains to accelerate our customers' digital transformation. Serving over 600 customers in more than 30 countries, Sapiens offers insurers across property and casualty, workers' compensation, and life insurance markets the most comprehensive set of solutions, from core to complementary, including Reinsurance, Financial & Compliance, Data & Analytics, Digital, and Decision Management.

Read More

Life Insurance

illumifin Acquires AmeriLife's Administrative Partners of America

PR Newswire | January 10, 2024

illumifin, a leading third-party insurance administration and technology provider, today announced it has acquired Administrative Partners of America (APA), the Third-Party Administrator (TPA) of AmeriLife, a national leader in developing, marketing, and distributing life and health insurance, annuities, and retirement planning solutions. As one of the largest independent marketing organizations (IMO) in the U.S., AmeriLife and APA administer approximately 230,000 policies that generate $3.1 billion of premiums in life insurance, annuities and Medicare Supplement products annually. APA employs nearly 200 associates in Clearwater, Florida, and Salt Lake City, Utah, all of whom will transition to illumifin as part of the sale. Peter Goldstein, President and Chief Executive Officer of illumifin, commented, "This is our second life and annuities acquisition that complements our existing TPA business and further transforms illumifin. We are constantly identifying new opportunities that will enhance our value proposition and make us a key strategic partner to our clients. AmeriLife has a solid platform with key client overlap that strengthens our relationships and opens the door for significant expansion opportunities. We are very excited to build a partnership with AmeriLife to help support their future growth efforts." Scott R. Perry, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AmeriLife, added, "illumifin is a great home for our TPA operations, and APA's customers will benefit greatly from access to a broad set of capabilities and scalable services across all lines of business. We're equally as excited to begin a new era of partnership with illumifin, and – together with our carrier partners – introduce new products to market, fuel our collective growth, and continue transforming our industry for years to come." illumifin was formed by Abry Partners, a leading Boston-based private equity firm, and Hoplon Capital, an asset manager focused on digital transformation and disruption. About illumifin illumifin provides third party administration and technology services to individual and group insurers. The company, launched in 2021, blends insurance industry knowledge, technology leadership and operational execution to prepare insurers for the digital future. illumifin is a diverse, passionate and empowered team of insurance specialists committed to the growth and success of its customers. With illumifin, there's a brighter future. About AmeriLife AmeriLfe's strength is its mission: to provide insurance and retirement solutions to help people live longer, healthier lives. In doing so, AmeriLife has become recognized as a leader in developing, marketing, and distributing life and health insurance, annuities, and retirement planning solutions to enhance the lives of pre-retirees and retirees across the United States. For more than 50 years, AmeriLife has partnered with top insurance carriers to provide value and quality to customers served through a distribution network of over 300,000 insurance agents and advisors and 120 marketing organizations and insurance agency locations nationwide. About Abry Partners Abry is one of the most experienced and successful sector-focused private equity investment firms in North America. Since its founding in 1989, the firm has completed over $90 billion of leveraged transactions and other private equity or preferred equity placements. Currently, the firm manages over $5 billion of capital across its active funds. About Hoplon Capital Hoplon pursues proprietary investments focused on the digital economy that are disruptive in their respective end markets including insurance, financial services, IT and consulting services, healthcare, digital infrastructure and media industries.

Read More

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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