Core Insurance, Life Insurance
Business Wire | August 14, 2023
McGill and Partners, the global boutique specialist (re)insurance broker, has announced several important leadership appointments within its US operations.
Karl Hennessy, who currently leads the Global Specialty Insurance teams in London, will be appointed CEO of McGill Global Risk Solutions LLC, the US insurance and reinsurance business, and will move to New York from London, subject to visa approvals. He will be supported by John Judice, who is appointed President of the US business with immediate effect and will be responsible for driving sales and business development activity across McGill and Partners’ specialty insurance platform. Warren Mula will remain Chairman of the US business.
Nirali Shah has been appointed Head of US D&O and to further support Business Development activity in the US, Daisy Jackson has been appointed Partner, Business Development, and will move to New York from London, subject to visa approvals. Alyssa Gerardi is appointed as Steve McGill’s Chief of Staff and has moved from New York to London.
As Karl transitions to the US, his previous responsibilities will be taken over by our Chairman, John Lloyd.
McGill and Partners works closely with many leading high-quality retail and/or wholesale brokerage firms and/or (re)insurers as well as global clients and their captives to deliver superior solutions and services to this segment. Specifically, the focus of the firm is on the design structuring and placement of world class (re)insurance solutions, particularly for larger or more complex clients.
Steve McGill, CEO of McGill and Partners, said: “Since we launched four years ago, we have developed a value proposition and business model that is highly differentiated, enabling us to deliver industry leading organic revenue growth. The US is the most important (re)insurance market in the world and these leadership changes are designed to reinforce our commitment to the US market, for the benefit of all our trading partners and clients.”
About McGill and Partners
McGill and Partners is the fastest growing specialty (re)insurance broker in the world with a boutique approach to help clients manage their most complex and challenging needs. It was launched in 2019 and the firm has significant backing from funds affiliated with Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity firm. McGill and Partners is a global business with centres of excellence in London and New York.
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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.
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Risk Management, Life Insurance
PR Newswire | August 11, 2023
Vitech Systems Group announced that it has been named a Leader of U.S. life and retirement (L&R) policy administration systems (PAS) in the ISG Provider Lens™ Insurance Platform Solutions report for the third year in a row. This report is conducted by Information Services Group (ISG) and offers an L&R PAS provider quadrant analysis and a comprehensive comparison of strengths, challenges, and competitive differentiators.
Vitech's V3locity cloud-native platform was commended in the study for its end-to-end functionality, flexible and agile operationalization, and robust support of group insurance benefits. Its capabilities enable quick time to value, straight-through processing, and an excellent user experience for employees, employers, and brokers.
Ashish Jhajharia, the author of the report, noted, "Vitech's V3locity cloud-native platform, which caters to the market with a system created exclusively for the group benefits area, offers a high degree of configurability, capabilities across the value chain and enhanced functionalities for carriers operating in this category."
According to ISG, L&R PAS quadrant Leaders possess a comprehensive product and service offering, a strong market presence, and an established competitive position. They also represent innovative strength and competitive stability.
"We are thrilled that Vitech has once again achieved the prestigious recognition of Life & Retirement Insurance Platform Solutions Leader by ISG," said David Burns, Vitech's CEO. "Receiving this recognition for the third consecutive time is market validation that our focus on innovation and unwavering commitment to providing market-leading capabilities and services continues to bring exceptional value to our customers and their beneficiaries."
V3locity is Vitech's cloud-native administration, engagement, and analytics platform. It is a transformative suite of complementary applications that offers full life cycle business functionality and robust enterprise capabilities. It marries core administration with a revolutionary digital experience. Its modular design enables flexible, agile deployment strategies. V3locity employs a cloud-native architecture that leverages the unique capabilities of AWS to deliver a solution with unparalleled security, scalability, and resiliency.
About Vitech®
Vitech is a global provider of cloud-native benefit and investment administration software. The organization helps their insurance, retirement, and investment clients expand their offerings and capabilities, streamline their operations, gain analytical insights, and transform their engagement models. Vitech employs more than 1,400 professionals, serving the world's most successful insurance, retirement, and investment organizations. An innovator and visionary, Vitech's market leadership has been recognized by industry experts, such as Gartner, Celent, Aite-Novarica, and ISG. For more information, please visit vitechinc.com.
About ISG
ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 700 clients, including more than 70 of the top 100 enterprises in the world, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry's most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit isg-one.com.
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