Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Adds Commercial Auto Insurance in New York

WILKES-BARRE, PA—Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies recently began offering Commercial Auto coverage in New York. The product can be written on a stand-alone basis or together with other complementary lines. The policy is aimed at accommodating the needs of a broad audience, including artisan contractors, repair and service operations, delivery and distributor classes, vehicles associated with auto service risks, and more. Smaller fleets and local/intermediate travel exposures are targeted.

GUARD’s policy is ISO-based and features various liability and physical damage options; combined single limits up to $1 million; and a variety of optional coverages. According to GUARD Vice President of Commercial Auto Mike Hynes, “We have a Broad Form that allows us to address a dozen miscellaneous exposures at a single affordable price. We are pleased to be introducing this new line in New York and look forward to working with our agents in placing their accounts.”  Hynes also notes that submissions are entered via an updated, online platform that takes advantage of business intelligence (such as automatically incorporated VIN data) to streamline the process.

CEO Sy Foguel points out that the addition of Commercial Auto in New York is part of Berkshire Hathaway GUARD’s long-term strategy to feature One-Stop Insurance Shopping. “From us, New York businesses can now obtain Auto, Property/Liability (via a Businessowner’s Policy that can handle total insured values up to $25 million), Workers’ Compensation, Commercial Excess, and Disability coverages. Together, these lines are the basis of our BizGUARD Plus product suite in New York.”

While Berkshire Hathaway GUARD has been writing Workers’ Compensation insurance in New York for decades, other lines were introduced in 2009. According to Executive Vice President Lyle Hitt, “New York is one of our top-five producing states, so we expect this new product to be of interest to New Yorkers. We are eager to build a solid book of Commercial Auto business and believe we have the product, the systems, and the team needed to succeed.”

In October of 2012, GUARD Insurance Group was acquired by National Indemnity Company, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway—an international holding company with diverse interests that include insurance and reinsurance. In 2013, GUARD unveiled a new identity as Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies. Each of the organization’s carriers (AmGUARD, EastGUARD, NorGUARD, and WestGUARD) are rated A+ (“Superior”) by A.M. Best—a leading source of independent rating information on the insurance industry.

In 2016, Berkshire Hathaway GUARD surpassed $1 billion in premium and issued over 200,000 policies.

Agents interested in learning more can contact the company online at www.guard.com/apply.