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, Risk Management
PR Newswire | August 03, 2023
CCIG, a leader in risk management and insurance solutions for business and individual clients nationwide, has announced a dedicated partnership to support the growth of an established group captive insurance program for companies across the country.
Instead of navigating the volatile traditional insurance market to obtain coverage, group captives unite companies with a shared commitment to safety, risk management and financial oversight to create and fund their own insurance program.
When business leaders embrace this approach as a long-term business strategy, they achieve greater stability in their annual insurance costs by partnering with other like-minded owners. The opportunity to earn a return on premiums allows companies to drive down net costs every year.
"Group captives are an extension of our clients' entrepreneurial spirit, and we're proud to partner with a captive manager that provides an established track record of successful, profitable and stable group captives which we can now offer to clients," CCIG President Andrew Mahoney said. "Clients who already take the initiative to manage their costs through robust safety programs and risk management strategies can further capitalize on additional savings not available in the traditional marketplace."
A successful group captive contains highly vetted members whose stability builds a peer group environment. The group's members have the benefit of sharing best practice ideas and learn from other highly profitable and safe firms that a traditional insurance relationship cannot provide.
Mahoney said that CCIG's exclusive captive manager partnership includes a myriad of industry-specific group captives. He added that a construction-specific group captive has gained attention from clients already, having produced approximately 27% of returns on premium and distributed more than $45 million in premiums back to captive members in its 20 years of existence.
CCIG's practice area leader of safety, Gary Glader, was instrumental in creating the construction captive offering in 2003.
"The historical knowledge he has gained throughout this period results in safer companies and our ability to deliver fast, proactive solutions that others cannot," Mahoney said.
Glader said group captives can be a game-changer for participating businesses.
"Group captives provide a competitive edge for sophisticated companies who are ready to maximize their financial investment in insurance," Glader said. "Not only do companies benefit from a built-in network of peers with a common goal, it can also drive phenomenal business results for participating companies."
About CCIG
Since 1985, CCIG is a fiercely independent, rapidly growing insurance brokerage, delivering risk management and insurance solutions to their clients. They represent clients nationally and have offices in Denver, CO and Austin, TX. Living up to their "curious broker" philosophy, their Advisors are relentlessly focused on understanding the needs and evolving landscape within their respective industry verticals. CCIG has an award-winning culture, being named Max Performer of the Year and a "Best Practices" Insurance Broker by The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America. CCIG lives by the acronym of RISE: Relationships, Innovation, Strategy, Excellence, and this is the foundation on which all decisions are made.
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Core Insurance, Risk Management
Business Wire | August 16, 2023
Insurity, a leading provider of cloud-based software for insurance carriers, brokers, and MGAs, today announced that it has partnered with Web Connectivity Limited (WCL), a Zywave company, a provider of ACORD standards-based solutions for the commercial insurance industry. This partnership will empower carriers, brokers, and syndicates to leverage Insurity's Sure Underwriting platform while expanding access to tools related to London Market insurance operations by adding a London Market messaging function.
WCL aims to make it easier for insurance organisations to exchange critical information and simplify workflows to improve accuracy, accelerate business, and reduce risks. As a longtime ACORD Messaging Gateway provider to the London Market, WCL allows organisations to streamline processes by automating the electronic transfer of data and documents between brokers and insurers and central services to improve client service, increase process efficiency, and decrease cost.
Insurity is the largest provider of cloud-based insurance software solutions, with over 400 of its 500 customers deployed successfully in the cloud. Sure Underwriting recently became available for insurance organisations in the London Market. The cloud-native solution enables insurers to gain 50% faster risk assessment with real-time insights to increase underwriting accuracy and efficiency.
"Our partnership with Insurity allows us to offer a variety of interconnected solutions through collaborations and integrations," said James Willison, Managing Director at Web Connectivity Limited. "By delivering solutions like Insurity's Sure Underwriting to our clients, we can speed up implementations and help our clients achieve significant operational efficiencies."
"Through this partnership, Insurity customers can take advantage of WCL's integrated products, including rapid deployment of ACORD standard-based London Market messaging," said Sylvester Mathis, Chief Insurance Officer at Insurity. "This partnership marks a significant milestone for the London insurance market and solidifies our commitment to providing cutting-edge software for London Market carriers, MGAs, and brokers to capitalise on new opportunities quickly."
About Insurity
Insurity is a leading provider of cloud-based software for insurance carriers, brokers, and MGAs. Insurity is trusted by 22 of the top 25 P&C carriers and 7 of the top 10 MGAs in the US and has over 400 cloud-based deployments. Through its best-in-class digital platform and with unrivaled industry experience and the industry's most robust analytics offerings, Insurity is uniquely positioned to deliver exceptional value, empowering customers to focus on their core businesses, optimize their operations, and provide superior policyholder experiences. Insurity is a portfolio company of GI Partners and TA Associates. For more information, visit www.insurity.com.
About Web Connectivity Limited, a Zywave Company
WCL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Zywave, Inc. Zywave leads the insurance tech industry, fueling business growth for its partners with cloud-based sales management, client delivery, content and analytics solutions. Offering a technology platform embedded with robust data and the most comprehensive content portfolio available, we empower smarter business decisions throughout the entire customer lifecycle. More than 6,000 carriers, HCM service providers, agencies and brokerages worldwide—including all of the top 100 U.S. insurance firms—use Zywave solutions to enhance client services, achieve business growth and promote greater health, wellness and safety. For more information about Web Connectivity Limited, visit www.webconnectivityltd.com
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