Core Insurance, Risk Management
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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Intellectual Property, Insurance Technology
PR Newswire | September 01, 2023
ISU Insurance Agency Network (ISU IAN) announces the launch of the proprietary ISU Quote&Bind Platform. The platform is the result of a collaboration between ISU Digital Partnerships, ISU preferred carriers, and CoverForce, an InsurTech API platform facilitating the insurance distribution process, to maximize the ease of doing business. The ISU Quote&Bind Platform works directly with ISU preferred carriers' APIs to simplify and streamline the production workflow, allowing ISU Members to access multiple quotes at once and bind policies in one click. The exclusive member benefit aims to reduce the cost of doing business for ISU preferred carriers, ISU members, and the members' prospects and clients through increased efficiency, speed, and transparency.
"The partnership between ISU and CoverForce is opening the door to the future of the insurance industry," says CEO TJ Ryan III. "Providing this cutting-edge technology to our members to increase the ease of doing business shows our investment and commitment to the independent insurance agent. ISU Quote&Bind eliminates the headaches of regional insurance coverage capacity, new market development, and at least half of the cost associated with producer management when used as business-to-consumer direct sales platform, which facilitates a national reach in the chosen vertical market."
ISU preferred carriers presently binding commercial policies from all 420 ISU IAN Members locations include AmTrust, Chubb, CNA, Employers, Great American, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide and Travelers. ISU plans to add more preferred carriers and expand lines of business on the platform throughout 2023 and 2024. ISU is the first organization in the country to quote and bind Great American's business owner's policy digitally. Members will also be the first group to access the latest digital products from the leading commercial carriers in America.
"We are excited to partner with ISU IAN to enable ISU members to digitally connect with their preferred carriers to maximize placement profitability and expand their books of business," says CoverForce CEO Cyrus Karai. "This partnership embodies our mission to strengthen the independent agent with digital capabilities."
Every ISU Member Coast to Coast™ is now taking advantage of the ISU Quote&Bind platform's convenience and speed to access preferred carriers and products, assure data security, usage control, and preferred compensation and coverage terms. In addition to quick and accurate access to bindable products, the ISU Quote&Bind platform incorporates the ISU Commercial Lines Placement Advisor©, a proprietary system delivering the most up to date carrier appetite guide on the market driven by industry classification, state, and line of business.
About ISU Insurance Agency Network
Founded in 1978, the mission of the ISU Insurance Agency Network (ISU IAN) is to help the independent insurance agent thrive. ISU is the largest independently owned and operated independent insurance agency network representing approximately $8 billion in written P&C premiums across 240+ members in 41 states. All ISU Members receive the best-in-class insurance solutions while leveraging the business benefits that come with being part of a large national organization to complement their local presence and independence. Visit www.joinisu.com for more information.
About CoverForce
CoverForce is the first core insurtech API platform working to bridge the gap between insurance distributors and their preferred P&C carrier partners. CoverForce was founded in 2020 at the University of Pennsylvania's Innovation Lab, in conjunction with insurance industry veterans from Travelers and The Hartford, and experienced software engineers from Amazon and Google. Investors include NYCA Partners (www.nyca.com), and QED Investors (www.qedinvestors.com). For more information, visit www.coverforce.com.
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Core Insurance
PR Newswire | September 14, 2023
Cowbell, a leading provider of cyber insurance for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), today announced its partnership with Zywave, an industry-leading provider of insurtech solutions. The partnership is powered by Herald, a digital infrastructure provider that connects software developers to commercial insurance carriers through a single API, and leverages Cowbell's leading technology and individualized coverage options for a superior customer experience through Zywave's expanding, simple and efficient, API-first interface for quoting commercial and E&S insurance. The collaboration marks the first standalone cyber insurance offering on Zywave's Hub, which provides MGAs, wholesale brokers, and retailers, with quicker access to modernized cyber insurance products.
Despite cyber being the fastest-growing line of insurance business in recent history, four out of five SMEs are still uninsured or underinsured, according to a recent report published by the small business resource AdvisorSmith. By partnering with Zywave, Cowbell extends its reach within MGAs and brokers and helps further accelerate the adoption of cyber insurance within the SME market.
"As the first cyber insurance provider on Zywave's Hub via Herald's API, our adaptive programs are now available to over 40 additional trading partners," said Rajeev Gupta, co-founder and CPO of Cowbell. "These partners can now experience the simplicity of placing the industry's best cyber insurance coverage for their clients and protecting their clients' future cyber risks with Cowbell's tailored risk mitigation service."
"This is an exceptionally powerful partnership between the most innovative leaders in the industry," said Duncan Crystal, co-founder and CRO at Herald. "Together, we're proving how API-driven distribution can transform an industry that has traditionally run on paper. Our unified offering makes it easier for carrier partners to plug into networks of brokerages and MGAs, resulting in more premium for all players in the value chain, along with better coverage for businesses."
The ability to adapt to ever-changing market conditions in almost real-time allows capacity providers like Cowbell to expand or contract the markets they serve without being hindered by manual processes and antiquated technology. Expanding Zywave's offerings through Cowbell's advanced technology and quality insurance programs ushers in a new and improved way for brokers to sell cyber insurance to their clients.
About Cowbell
Cowbell is a pioneer of Adaptive Cyber Insurance, a leader in providing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) coverage adaptable to today's and tomorrow's threats and the advanced warning of cyber risk exposures. In its unique AI-based approach in risk selection and pricing, Cowbell's continuous underwriting platform, powered by Cowbell Factors, compresses the insurance process from submission to issue in less than 5 minutes. Cowbell is backed by 20 prominent leading global (re)insurance partners and serves SMEs in 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and the United Kingdom. Founded in 2019, Cowbell is based in the San Francisco Bay Area with employees across the U.S., Canada, India, and the U.K. For more information, please visit https://cowbell.insure/.
About Herald
Herald builds digital infrastructure for commercial insurance. Developers who use Herald quote and bind insurance from multiple carriers through a single API. For more information, visit https://heraldapi.com.
About Zywave
Zywave leads the insurtech industry, fueling business growth for its partners with cloud-based sales management, client delivery, content, and analytics solutions. Zywave's all-in-one platform provides customizable, user-friendly options that enable insurance professionals to build a unique solution to fit their specific growth goals—their own Modern RevOps Machine. More than 15,000 insurers, agencies, and brokerages worldwide—including all of the top 100 U.S. insurance brokerages—use Zywave solutions to enhance client services, achieve business growth and promote greater health, wellness, risk management, and safety. Additional information can be found at www.zywave.com.
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