GUARD Now Writing Disability Insurance in New York

GUARD Insurance Group has announced the immediate availability of a new Disability insurance product in New York. Statutory coverage will be offered through independent agents appointed by GUARD for the state, and a number of optional enhancements will be available.

According to GUARD’s Executive Vice President of Insurance Operations Marshall Kornblatt, “We see Disability Benefits insurance as a natural complement to our longterm specialty. Through our Workers’ Comp policies, we provide wage-replacement for job-related illnesses and injuries. This new venture will allow us to do the same for non-occupational situations.” Kornblatt adds, “Our ultimate objective is to become a one-stop insurance shop for small- to mid-sized businesses. Through Disability insurance, we move closer to that goal by essentially offering around-theclock protection against unexpected loss of income.”

For those businesses that want to provide more than the statutory minimum, GUARD is also featuring an In-Hospital Rider (which eliminates the waiting period), Enriched Benefit alternatives (at either 2X or 3X the Statutory level), and an AD&D (Accidental Death and Dismemberment) Rider.

GUARD’s Vice President of Regional Sales Dave Simmons, who has been involved throughout the development of the program, says, “We realize that many business owners will want to provide an additional cushion for their people, so we incorporated enough options to have a suitable policy for almost everyone within our targeted niche. Since DBL premiums tend to be modest, we see our enriched options being attractive to many employers.” Simmons notes, “A half dozen states currently make Statutory Disability mandatory, so we considered various locations for our launch. We chose New York, in part, because of the enthusiastic response from both agents and businesses to our products in the past. A couple of years ago, we introduced BizGUARD Plus in New York, and the state quickly became our largest producer of BOP sales.”

In 2009, GUARD began offering a multi- policy small business solution in New York that included Workers’ Comp as well as a Businessowner’s Policy (BOP) and Commercial Excess coverage. Marketed under the name BizGUARD Plus, this branded product found a substantial audience among restaurants, supermarkets, and other targeted classes, writing in-force policies totaling $60.5 million in the state as of March 31st, 2012.

GUARD’s Disability policy will offer quarterly or annual payments to operations with more than 10 employees (just annual for those with less than 10) and will provide a generous commission for agents. While multiple methods of receiving applications will be accommodated, the product has been engineered to take advantage of webbased submissions and self-service as much as possible to achieve maximum efficiencies and control of expenses.

According to Kornblatt, “Before R&D ever started, we realized that a number of very good markets already existed in New York, but we are firm believers that brand does make a difference. For the past 30 years, GUARD has worked to establish a reputation for bringing good value to customers through an advantageous combination of good price, superior service, sophisticated technology tempered by personalized attention, and overall convenience and ease of use. We are hoping this brand identity will persuade producers to give our new DBL offering a try.” The company’s Chief Operating Officer Carl Witkowski is credited with defining the sales approach GUARD will be taking. Witkowski explains, “We believe cross sales of Disability insurance to our Workers’ Comp policyholders will be our primary source of new business. DBL has a reputation for being uncomplicated, inexpensive, and necessary . . . so we saw a chance to learn a lesson from our friends in the fast food industry. Have you ever ordered a hamburger and been asked, ‘Would you like fries with that?’ Such a simple but extremely powerful strategy! Well, we intend to do the same. When a producer asks us for a Comp quote, we plan to ask whether we can provide one for Disability as well. In fact, we have programmed our web-based submission engine, GUARD E-Z Rate, to be smart enough to ask the question on our behalf in appropriate situations . . . and we’ve taken measures to ensure the process is as simple and as paperless as possible for the agent – including the elimination of unnecessary duplicate data entry.”

Rated “EXCELLENT” by A.M. Best Company, GUARD has grown significantly over the past several years during a time when most carriers (and the industry at large) saw total premiums shrinking. From 2009 through 2011, GUARD’s direct written premium increased by 58%. Over a 12- month period ending March 31st of 2012, a 34% sales gain was realized – while maintaining profitability. GUARD’s combined ratio for Workers’ Comp (which still constitutes over 90% of the group’s volume) is well under 100%, prompting A.M. Best to note in the most recent company narrative, “On a combined ratio basis . . . GUARD’s results outperformed the Workers’ Compensation composite over the recent five-year period.” In July of 2012, GUARD was also named to the 2012 Ward’s 50 group of top performing Property and Casualty companies. Annually, the Ward Group analyzes over 3,000 organizations, using an extensive battery of safety and consistency screens to identify superior performers over the five-year period being analyzed. Licensed in 45 states plus the District of Columbia, GUARD is currently active in 29 and writes policies for over 60,000 small businesses. Kornblatt believes that the company will begin exploring the possibility of writing Statutory Disability coverage in New Jersey in the near future, though no exact time table has yet been set.

Agents interested in learning more can contact the company on-line at www.guard.com/apply or by phone at 1- 800-673-2465 (extension 4567).