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.
Read More
Risk Management, Intellectual Property
PRnewswire | July 24, 2023
Specialty Program Group LLC, (SPG), one of the most successful and fastest-growing specialty platforms, announced that it has acquired the assets of Agency Two Insurance Marketing Group, LLC (d/b/a AgencyONE), a nationally renowned Brokerage General Agency (BGA) specializing in empowering financial advisors to deliver responsible wealth and risk management solutions through insurance – Life, Annuities, Disability, and Long Term Care.
AgencyONE has established itself as a trusted partner to a select group of independent insurance advisors and wealth managers nationwide who focus on planning and implementing financial strategies using insurance-based solutions designed to help secure their clients' families and businesses. By offering full-service, highly personalized back-office support, AgencyONE enables advisors to prioritize the client experience while delivering tailored solutions for financial security and wealth transition.
By acquiring AgencyONE's operations, SPG builds upon its acquisition of the assets of Brokers' Service Marketing Group II LLC, now operating as a division of SPG (BSMG) and expands its life and annuity distribution network.The AgencyONE team, lead by principals Dennis C. Bartos, Gonzalo M. Garcia and Cathy Neifeld will join SPG.
"We're thrilled to join forces with AgencyONE - as we continue to build out a national BGA network of like-minded, leading firms - something truly unique in the life and annuity distribution space," said Jason Lea, CEO of BSMG and head of SPG's Life & Annuity strategy. Lea added that "Gonzalo and his team at AgencyONE are recognized industry leaders and innovators in the advanced markets and underwriting space. I'm excited to get to work with the AgencyONE team to build our shared vision for a differentiated life and annuity platform."
According to Garcia, "Over the past four years, AgencyONE has explored several partnership opportunities without finding a firm that met our business objectives or values. SPG's recent acquisition of Jason's team at BSMG caught our attention. This move allowed SPG an entrée into the wholesale distribution of life, long-term care, and disability insurance, as well as annuities. My partners and I recognized that SPG aligns perfectly with our business objectives and commitment to serving our advisors' advanced planning and underwriting needs. We are very confident about the future success of this partnership and the growth and expansion it will offer AgencyONE. We are excited to be a part of the SPG Team."
By combining the strengths of BSMG and AgencyONE, financial advisors will benefit from expanded resources, advanced planning techniques, and enhanced access to insurance-based solutions.
About AgencyONE
AgencyONE is a Brokerage General Agency (BGA) partnership with long-term industry experience. They are dedicated to collaborating with and empowering financial advisors to deliver responsible and holistic wealth and risk management solutions using insurance-based planning and high-level carrier relationships. By providing full-service back-office support including customized advanced planning strategies and case design, highly skilled medical underwriting, and personalized case management, AgencyONE enables advisors to focus on delivering extraordinary client experiences while ensuring financial security and orderly wealth transition. For more information, visit agencyone.net
About Brokers' Service Marketing Group (BSMG)
For over 50 years, the BSMG operations have delivered uncompromising support and service to top producers in Life, Annuity, and Long-Term Care Insurance. BSMG maintains a long-standing and well-earned reputation for excellence in providing exceptional guidance to financial service professionals and financial institutions. For more information, please visit bsmg.net
About Specialty Program Group
Specialty Program Group LLC (SPG) is a leading specialty platform headquartered in Chicago, IL, with a diverse portfolio of specialty insurance operations spanning underwriting management, digital solutions, wholesale and specialty retail brokerage, and insurance services. SPG has a track record of scaling industry leading businesses by providing access to business resources, technology and process efficiency, capital and investment, deep carrier relationships, and a broad distribution network. Visit specialtyprogramgroup.com to learn more about how SPG can help you scale your specialty business.
Read More
Core Insurance, Risk Management
PR Newswire | July 31, 2023
ESET, a global leader in cybersecurity, today announced that it has partnered with Patriot Growth Insurance Services (Patriot), one of the largest US insurance services firms specializing in cyber insurance, to close the gap between cyber insurance requirements and applicants' cybersecurity technology and processes. The newly launched platform allows ESET and Patriot to proactively assess companies' security postures so they know what they should do to qualify for cyber insurance coverage before applying.
"As cyber insurance specialists, we at Patriot are pleased to endorse ESET's market-leading cybersecurity solutions to safeguard our clients' businesses and ensure they can get the coverage they require to defend against advanced threats and unforeseen incidents," said Jason Bowie, Cyber Practice Lead, Patriot Growth Insurance Services. "Through this innovative joint platform, applicants meet with the right insurance and security experts to quickly guide them through the process of securing coverage while gaining access to highly competitive pricing upfront on our respective solutions. It's about connecting the right dots for each client."
The ESET/Patriot joint solution covers a client's complete resource requirements from cyber insurance to cybersecurity controls and on to assessment, including an option for fully managed Extended Detection and Response with ESET PROTECT MDR. By combining cyber risk and insurance assessments with competitive products and services across the spectrum, ESET and Patriot are solving the longstanding problem of how to bring the right cybersecurity expertise directly into the insurance discussion.
"We are proud to partner with one of the country's leading cyber insurance firms in offering world-class solutions that help companies to stay ahead of bad actors and zero-day attacks, while also ensuring they aren't declined when seeking insurance," said Brent McCarty, president of ESET North America. "When businesses choose ESET, they are benefitting from 30 years of cutting-edge malware identification and incident response expertise developed from our work on the frontlines protecting millions of customers and thousands of companies around the world. This partnership marks a tremendous step forward for ESET in the cyber insurance marketplace – delivering unbeatable business value and guidance for our mutual customers."
ESET offers award-winning multi-layered solutions to help businesses of all sizes prevent, detect, and respond to cyber threats. Recently launched, ESET PROTECT Elite delivers enterprise-grade XDR for maximum visibility and threat-hunting capabilities. The comprehensive offering combines multi-layered endpoint protection with multi-factor authentication, vulnerability and patch management, server security, advanced threat defense, full disk encryption, mail security and cloud application protection. ESET protects against ransomware and zero-day threats by pairing human expertise with proprietary cloud-based sandboxing to provide a powerful, isolated test environment. For organizations that struggle with security resources and require full-time threat monitoring and threat hunting – including digital forensics, root cause analysis, and remediation advice – ESET PROTECT Elite is available as part of the company's world-class ESET PROTECT MDR solution.
About ESET
For more than 30 years, ESET® has been developing industry-leading IT security software and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, and consumers worldwide from increasingly sophisticated digital threats. From endpoint and mobile security to endpoint detection and response, as well as encryption and multifactor authentication, ESET's high-performing, easy-to-use solutions unobtrusively protect and monitor 24/7, updating defenses in real time to keep users safe and businesses running without interruption. Evolving threats require an evolving IT security company that enables the safe use of technology. This is backed by ESET's R&D centers worldwide, working in support of our shared future. For more information, visit www.eset.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
About Patriot Growth Insurance Services
Founded in 2019, Patriot is a growth-focused national insurance services firm that partners with employee benefits and property & casualty agencies across the United States. Patriot is ranked as the 26th largest broker in the U.S. by Business Insurance. With over 1,700 employees operating in 132 offices across 26 states, Patriot's collaborative model delivers resources and strategic support to its agencies, whose leaders continue to operate with a high degree of autonomy in their local markets. Patriot creates true alignment with its partner agencies, and its operating philosophy fosters enhanced career opportunities for its dedicated and professional team. Patriot is backed by GI Partners and Summit Partners. For more information, please visit www.patriotgis.com.
Read More