Core Insurance, Insurance Technology
PR Newswire | August 21, 2023
The team from Houston's Iscential, a premier independent insurance agency, risk management and financial services firm, has joined forces with Fort Worth's Higginbotham, the largest independent insurance, financial and HR services firm headquartered in Texas and one of the top firms in the country. This strategic move allows access to enhanced services for Iscential clients and adds a second Houston team to the Higginbotham roster.
As Higginbotham celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, Chairman and CEO Rusty Reid continues looking toward the next milestone. Reid champions strategic growth for the company by bringing aboard agencies and teams that enjoy strong reputations in their local markets and share the same energy, culture, values, and commitment to service as Higginbotham.
"Iscential fits perfectly into our national network of firms," Reid declared. "I could not be more pleased to bring them into the fold. They are a firm with impressive growth and an incredible reputation for client service. Our partnership with Iscential will allow both of us to better provide enhanced services to our clients for years to come."
Warren Barhorst, CEO of Iscential, also looked to the future as he searched for a company that could bring long-term organizational continuity to the business he founded 30 years ago. But his search was complicated by what he found in the marketplace.
"There were a lot of agencies to choose from," said Barhorst. "But when we started taking a closer look, we realized that so many companies are driven by stock price rather than customer and employee care, and they're not run by insurance people.
"Then we looked at Higginbotham," Barhorst continued. "Not only do they have the long-term, proven performance we needed, but they also have the right culture. They're employee-owned. They're sales-driven and customer-focused. And best of all — they're run by insurance people. With Higginbotham, we found a partner that values what we've built, values our culture and associates, and wants more than a financial transaction."
Barhorst noted that he was particularly excited to now be able to offer Higginbotham's wide array of services to Iscential clients: "When we looked at the Higginbotham services, there was no question — they've done what we were trying to do on a smaller scale, and they've done it right."
Reid elaborated, "At Higginbotham, we've strategically and diligently built the in-house services for risk management, benefit plan administration, HR services, and more, and we're looking forward to offering these solutions to Iscential clients."
"Despite the obvious benefits, the decision to team up with Higginbotham was surprisingly emotional," Barhorst concluded. "Higginbotham kept telling us it'll be business as usual, and they were right. Except they're enabling me to refocus on the parts of the business I love most. If you're a baker and you like to bake, you want to make cookies. You don't want to sit at your desk alone doing paperwork. Today, I got to make the insurance version of cookies: I got to be back with clients all day long."
Dowling Hales acted as exclusive financial advisor to the sellers in this transaction.
About Iscential
Iscential is an independent insurance agency, risk management and financial services firm dedicated to helping individuals, families and businesses protect their most valuable assets. One of the largest writers of Nationwide property and casualty insurance in the country, Iscential was founded in 1993 by current CEO Warren Barhorst and his wife. With roots planted in Houston, Iscential has grown to encompass over 140 associates and is licensed in over 38 states. Visit iscential.com for more information.
About Higginbotham
Employee owned and customer inspired, Higginbotham is a single source solution for insurance, financial and HR services. The firm was established in 1948 and ranks by revenue as the nation's 21st largest independent insurance firm. Serving thousands of businesses and individuals through locations coast-to-coast, Higginbotham's approach to finding insurance, employee benefit and risk management solutions is more individual and less institutional. By understanding customer priorities, eliminating inefficiencies and committing to transparency, Higginbotham is a place that leads with values so value leads. Visit higginbotham.com for more information.
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Workers Compensation, Health Insurance
PRnewswire | July 14, 2023
Hourly.io, a fast-growing startup that is committed to fixing workers' comp for businesses with hourly and mobile workers, has teamed up with insurance and financial services provider Nationwide to expand its workers' comp and payroll service.
In this alliance, Hourly will serve as a Managing General Underwriter (MGU) underwriting skilled trade businesses with mobile and hourly workers using technology and millions of real-time data points from the Hourly platform. While most insurers underwrite workers' comp based on data that is 12-18 months old, Hourly's revolutionary use of big data gives business owners an alternative high-quality insurance partner, fairer and more accurate pricing, with personalized customer service. Businesses that will most benefit from using Hourly include construction, contracted services, transportation and trucking, foodservice, and retail stores among others.
Established in 2018, Hourly offers workers' comp insurance and an integrated platform that connects workers' comp, time tracking, and payroll in real-time—an innovation that ensures premiums are calculated with unprecedented precision. Hourly is first of its kind in the industry to bridge this gap seamlessly with a mobile-first platform.
Through Nationwide, Hourly's platform and advanced underwriting model will help Hourly's network of more than 3,000 appointed independent insurance producers expand their client base, retain more of those clients, generate more revenue, and stand out from competitors.
"We're thrilled to announce our partnership with Nationwide as the next step in Hourly's growth strategy," said Hourly Co-founder and CEO Tom Sagi. "With Nationwide on our side, our growing network of independent insurance agents will finally be able to offer small and medium-sized businesses a service-oriented alternative, ensuring they don't overpay for their coverage. And these same small businesses will better understand their labor costs—including workers' comp premiums—information they can use to bid more accurately on projects and manage their expenses to the penny."
"It's no secret that commercial insurance has been slow to catch up to personal lines in terms of tech," said Jerico Foutch-Vinsonhaler, Chief Underwriting Officer at Hourly. "Insurance companies typically don't have enough data to quote accurate premiums for hourly workers which means that these small businesses are hit with a big audit bill or are overpaying for their coverage. By harnessing more data points than our peers, Hourly is offering a long overdue solution for small business owners."
"We're excited to join forces with Hourly and help hardworking businesses across the country protect their employees," said Nationwide's Vice President Dale Hoppe who leads the company's Excess & Surplus and Specialty WC programs division. "Workers' comp has been hard to appraise in the past because the technology to price risk simply wasn't there. Our collaboration with Hourly's payroll platform sets new industry standards by prioritizing fair pricing, better overall service, and a commitment to continuous innovation. Nationwide and Hourly's much-needed upgrades to the workers' comp space will become the new benchmark for the industry for the mobile workforce, filling a gap that has plagued workers' comp for far too long."
Hourly is appointing select insurance agents across the nation. Please visit hourly.io to learn more and see if your agency qualifies.
About Hourly.io
Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Hourly.io is a data driven insurance startup offering workers' comp insurance and full-service payroll for small and medium businesses with hourly workers. Powered by real-time data, Hourly's platform ensures running payroll is as quick as pressing a button and that you get accurate workers' comp premiums down to the penny. For more information, visit www.hourly.io.
About Nationwide
Nationwide, a Fortune 100 company based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest and strongest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the United States. Nationwide is rated A+ by both A.M. Best and Standard & Poor's. An industry leader in driving customer-focused innovation, Nationwide provides a full range of insurance and financial services products including auto, business, homeowners, farm and life insurance; public and private sector retirement plans, annuities, mutual funds and ETFs; excess & surplus, specialty and surety; pet, motorcycle and boat insurance. For more information, visit www.nationwide.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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Risk Management, Intellectual Property
Globenewswire | July 27, 2023
Betterview, the insurtech company Property & Casualty insurers rely on to identify and manage real property risk, and EagleView, the leading provider of aerial imagery and accurate property measurements, today announce a strategic alliance. EagleView's imagery will be integrated into Betterview's property intelligence platform to help insurers better understand a customer’s total property risk by providing broader, data-driven intelligence for both underwriters and claims professionals. Additional benefits of the alliance will include the ability for EagleView customers to gain direct access to Betterview’s property insights, scores, and data.
“EagleView chose to join forces with Betterview and their cutting-edge property analytics," said Piers Dormeyer, CEO of EagleView. “We’re launching an alliance that leverages the expertise of both companies to scale our innovative solutions and deliver unparalleled property intelligence to our customers.”
Customers across both product platforms will benefit from these advanced capabilities:
Greatly Expanded Imagery Coverage: Imagery coverage now encompasses 94% of the US population with over 1 billion ultra-high resolution property images.
AI Detections: Access to property condition attributes, including Roof Age, from the most advanced computer vision and machine learning in the industry.
Predictive Risk Scores: From roof conditions to weather-related perils and vulnerability, insurers will get the most accurate predictors of loss—pre-filled in many states.
Historical Image Library: Access to nearly 20 years of historical imagery will deliver expanded intelligence on property changes over time. A significant beneficiary will be Betterview’s new Roof Age product.
Rapid Post-CAT Event Imagery: When a storm strikes, EagleView mobilizes its fleet to capture imagery of the impacted areas, quickly producing before and after views of the event. This imagery will power Betterview’s CAT response solution, further supporting fast decisions and early assistance for homeowners.
Predictive CAT Response Capabilities: Customers will access solutions to remotely identify vulnerability, predict impact, quantify damage, and help homeowners recover faster from severe weather events.
“At Betterview we are continuously looking for ways to improve our customer’s ability to accurately assess property risk,” said David Lyman, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Betterview. “EagleView’s extensive, 20-year library of high-quality aerial imagery paired with our AI-powered property insights greatly expand our customers’ total understanding of property risk, both pre- and post-claim.”
The combined strength of EagleView and Betterview represents a major leap forward for insurance companies in their transition from repair and replace to predict and prevent.
“The addition of EagleView imagery is not just great for our customers in the short-term, but also will lead to long-term enhancements and benefits for our customers and the insurance market,” says Dave Tobias, COO and co-founder of Betterview. “EagleView’s ultra-high-resolution imagery allows us to continue to develop the most accurate AI models, risk scores, and overall property insights. Ultimately, we can build the most innovative tools to solve tough problems for insurance.”
About Betterview
Betterview is the Property Intelligence & Risk Management Solution the insurance industry depends on to identify and mitigate property risk, improve underwriting and inspection efficiency, and build a more transparent customer experience. Applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) and computer vision to aerial imagery and geospatial data, Betterview generates the most accurate property information insurers trust to automate pricing, underwriting, and renewals while focusing strategic action on critical properties. For more information, please visit www.betterview.com
About EagleView
EagleView is a leader in geospatial technology, providing solutions that transform the way our customers work. EagleView has the largest geospatial data and imagery library ever assembled, encompassing 94 percent of the U.S. population. EagleView’s unique technology portfolio comprises more than 300 patents, enabling our highly-differentiated offerings of software, imagery, and analytics products for multiple industries.
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