Case Study: Specialized Coverage
Underwriters Group received a referral from a valued service provider to review the insurance and risk management needs of a large landscape company. The company had been with the same traditional insurance agent for several years and felt as though they were not being provided the adequate coverages and levels of service that they were initially receiving. They had learned of our Risk Reduction Approach™ through a mutual business contact and were anxious to learn what Underwriters Group could do for their company.
Action/Strategy:
Upon conducting a risk survey as part of the Risk Reduction Plan, it was discovered that there were new exposures that their current agent had not taken into account. The landscape company had opened a new supply yard during the past twelve months serving both retail and wholesale customers. Because of this significant addition to their business operations, supplementary coverages should have been secured and property values increased. Neither of these issues had been addressed by the current agent. In addition to the risk survey, a TCOR analysis (total cost of risk) was conducted to identify risks and exposures within the business operations that needed to be addressed. The results of the analysis lead to significant findings.
Result:
Underwriters Group is the only agency within the state of Michigan that is able to provide landscapers with Hortica Insurance, the leading provider for the horticultural industry. With their specialized coverages and competitive price points, Underwriters was able to provide additional coverages such as Landscape Design Errors & Omissions, Herbicide/Pesticide Errors & Omissions, and Employment Practices Liability, none of which had previously been available to the client. Building values and limits were also increased, all the while reducing their annual premium over 30%. The landscape company retained Underwriters Group immediately and has since maintained a strong relationship.
Case Study: Workers Compensation Review
A large landscape company with over 20 employees contracted with Underwriters Group for insurance placement and risk management services. While conducting the initial risk survey with the client, the account executive noticed that the insurance premium for the current workers compensation policy seemed extremely high for that class of business.
Action/Strategy:
The importance of annual internal workers compensation audits can not be overstated. This is standard operating procedure at Underwriters Group and is done as part of the TCOR analysis (total cost of risk). The audit of the client's current policy revealed that the classifications on the policy did not accurately match the client's operations. In addition, payrolls had not been updated accordingly and open claims had been lingering and negatively impacting the MOD for too long.
Result:
We rewrote the workers compensation policy at renewal and worked diligently to portray a more accurate picture of the overall exposure for the carrier. Classifications were restructured and payrolls were updated accordingly. A return to work program was also developed and implemented to assure that future claims did not reach an indemnity stage (paid time off of work). All of these elements together helped in reducing the annual premium significantly.