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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Risk Management, Insurance Technology
PRnewswire | June 29, 2023
Shift Technology, a provider of AI-powered decision automation and optimization solutions for the global insurance industry, today announced Central Insurance has expanded its use of the company's technology to include Shift Subrogation Detection. As a result, Central Insurance can better identify those claims for which a third party may be wholly or partially responsible for paying. The decision follows the insurer's successful use of Shift Claims Fraud Detection to identify suspicious activity in the claims process over the past three years.
Central Insurance is recognized for delivering exceptional hospitality and fulfilling its promise to quickly pay policyholders for covered losses when they occur. The company's use of Shift's Claims Fraud Detection solution has proven effective in identifying legitimate versus suspicious claims and settling claims quickly and fairly. By introducing subrogation detection into the claims process, Central Insurance can more effectively spot hidden subrogation opportunities and develop optimal recovery strategies.
"When a policyholder files a claim, they want to be made whole for their loss," said Jeff Lieberman, Director of Anti-Fraud and Recovery at Central. "The intricacy of what goes on behind the scenes is not important to them, but it's very important to us. Anytime we're able to efficiently and accurately identify if all or part of a claim is the responsibility of a third party, we ensure our policyholders are paid quickly while creating opportunities to recover that loss for the business."
Shift Subrogation Detection helps insurers accurately identify subrogation opportunities at scale and recommend claims handler actions that improve recovery outcomes, thus reducing claims leakage while providing a top-tier customer experience. Shift uses artificial intelligence to analyze claims data to provide a holistic view of the claim, including what happened, who was involved, and could other parties be at fault. Alerts provided by the solution include clear guidance on the nature and specifics of the subrogation opportunity, allowing for optimized demands and recovery execution. The ability to eliminate manual review and identification of recovery opportunities empowers handlers to focus their time and effort on opportunities with the highest likelihood of recovery.
"Not all claims are the responsibility of the policyholder making the claim; however, it's not always easy to make that determination," explained Paul Edwards, Vice President of Claims at Central. "Doing so has long been a manual and time-consuming process. Central is turning to innovative solutions like Shift Subrogation Detection to better understand what's happening in the claims process and ensure the parties truly responsible for a loss are held accountable."
About Shift Technology
Shift Technology delivers AI-powered decisioning solutions to benefit the global insurance industry and its customers. Our products enable insurers to automate and optimize decisions from underwriting to claims, resulting in superior customer experiences, increased operational efficiency, and reduced costs. The future of insurance starts with Decisions Made Better. Learn more at www.shift-technology.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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