Core Insurance, Life Insurance
PRnewswire | July 12, 2023
Fortegra Specialty Insurance Company ("FSIC"), a subsidiary of The Fortegra Group, Inc. ("Fortegra") and Rockwood Programs, Inc. ("Rockwood") today announced the development of management and professional liability insurance products customized to address the unique liability exposures faced by financial institutions. Mortgage bankers/brokers, auto lenders, asset-based lenders, community development funds, and similar entities are also eligible for coverage. The comprehensive solution is being offered under the Bankers Defender brand name.
"The dynamic nature of our nation's economy can have an adverse impact on the banking industry," said William Hess, Vice President of Rockwood's Financial Institution Division. "Even firms with sound portfolio risk management protocols can be caught off-guard by changing governmental regulations or seemingly unrelated socio-political events. The resulting scrutiny brought by the various state and federal regulatory agencies can make it difficult for the banks to secure vital insurance."
Bankers Defender coverage offers liability limits of up to $5,000,000 on all lines except Employment Practices ($2,000,000 maximum), and financial institution crime bonds are also available. Management and professional liability products include Directors & Officers, Errors & Omissions, Employment Practices, and Lender Liability, among others.
"Through Bankers Defender, we proactively examine exposure areas and offer policyholders additional support alongside their insurance policies, including risk mitigation practices to avoid losses, claim advocacy, and legal assistance through Wilson Elser, an internationally recognized law firm with a reputation for providing an advocacy defense for its clients," said Glenn W. Clark, CPCU, President of Rockwood Programs. With this strategic approach, policyholders are getting the expertise of three entities with decades of experience in this particular class."
Cooper Wallach, Vice President of Specialty Products and Programs at Fortegra, said: "In all our partnerships, we seek to pair innovation with expertise. The combination of experienced underwriters, advocacy defense, dedicated claims response team, and loss prevention tactics, will position our policyholders for long-term success."
About Fortegra
For more than 45 years, Fortegra, via its subsidiaries, has underwritten risk management solutions that help people and businesses succeed in the face of uncertainty. As a global specialty insurer, we offer a diverse set of admitted and non-admitted insurance products and warranty solutions. Fortegra's A.M. Best Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) is a result of our strict underwriting standards, consistent profitability, and high cash flows. For more information, please visit: https://www.fortegra.com.
About Rockwood Programs, Inc.
Rockwood Program Administrators is a full service Managing General Agency licensed in all 50 states. Its wholesale brokerage division, Rockwood Specialty, assists retail agents in finding markets for unique or hard-to-place management liability risks. Its Rockwood Insurance Solutions division provides innovative thinking and counsel to insurance entities seeking to grow and expand their business operations. Since 1996, the company has been committed to protecting its partners. For more information about our offerings, please visit: www.rockwoodinsurance.com.
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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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Core Insurance, Claims
Business Wire | August 09, 2023
One Inc, the leading digital payments network for the insurance industry, announced today that National Indemnity Company (NICO), a leading property and casualty insurance company based in Omaha, Nebraska, has selected One Inc’s inbound payments solution PremiumPay® to deliver a faster and easier payment experience for their policyholders.
NICO becomes One Inc’s first insurer to select Guidewire BillingCenter and Guidewire PolicyCenter on Guidewire Cloud as its core system. The Guidewire platform is designed to offer the flexibility and agility to design and deliver new products to best-fit policyholder needs and support enhancements to the policyholder experience.
One Inc and Guidewire expanded their relationship in 2022, announcing a strategic partnership that empowers insurers to deliver a modern payments experience. NICO and its users will be able to accept payments using PremiumPay products from One Inc. PremiumPay, which natively includes Apple Pay®, Google Pay™, PayPal®, and Venmo, amongst other options, will make payment processes a more cohesive and seamless experience.
“Our integration with One Inc’s PremiumPay solution will help build a strong digital payments infrastructure for the National Indemnity Company to deploy innovative solutions to improve the policyholder experience. Leveraging One Inc’s digital platform with Guidewire will help us modernize and strengthen our core systems,” said Tracy Gulden, Senior Vice President of NICO.
“Today’s policyholders expect enhanced digital speed and convenience, and we are thrilled that National Indemnity Company will be processing its policyholders’ payments on the One Inc network,” said Ian Drysdale, CEO of One Inc. “We are humbled by the company’s vote of confidence in our digital payment solutions and capabilities, and we applaud NICO’s mission of providing the best service to their customers.”
About One Inc
One Inc is modernizing the insurance industry through a unified and frictionless payment network. Focusing only on the insurance industry, One Inc helps carriers transform their operations by reducing costs, increasing security, and optimizing customer experience. The comprehensive end-to-end digital payments platform provides expanded payment options, multi-channel digital communications, and rapid digital claim payment, even for the most complex insurance use cases. As one of the fastest-growing digital payments platforms in the insurance industry, One Inc manages billions of dollars per year in premiums and claim payments. For more information, please visit www.oneinc.com.
About National Indemnity Company (NICO)
Located in the heart of downtown Omaha, Nebraska, and backed by decades of experience, National Indemnity Company specializes in commercial auto and general liability insurance. We are proud to be part of the Berkshire Hathaway group of insurance companies, boasting the highest possible financial strength rating of A++XV by A.M. Best.* We are Berkshire Hathaway’s oldest insurance company and established our roots in Omaha more than 80 years ago with the strength, stability, and integrity which remain today. *As of February 3, 2023. For the latest rating, access www.ambest.com.
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