Case Study: Business Insurance

Challenge:
Our client is a privately held repair parts inventory and storeroom management services company that has operations in over 30 states with sales approaching $100 million. Their services include procurement, expediting, inventory analysis and management, surplus materials disposal, receiving and distribution, storeroom management, warranty tracking and recovery management reporting.

Given the growth and complexity of their business, the former broker structured their program in a restrictive manner that did not meet their diverse exposures and also stifled their future growth potential. Also, lack of service and improperly classified risks with the incumbent insurance companies resulted in the issuance of non-renewal notices.  Our client was obviously concerned about obtaining the right coverage as well as their ability to renew their coverages.

The VIST Solution:
VIST stepped in as the broker-of-record with less than three months to renewal to completely re-structure a comprehensive Property & Casualty Insurance program that would meet their current exposures and future growth needs. We met with their senior management for several days in order to gain a complete understanding of their operations, exposures to loss, future growth expectations, and current safety initiatives.  We agreed to be compensated on a fee basis and implemented a dedicated risk management team. In addition, we provided an insurance website portal that enabled access to a host of risk management information as well as a supplemental communication channel for various service requests.

Summary:
Since we took the time to understand every aspect of their business, we could portray them in the best light to the underwriters and structure a comprehensive and competitively priced program that met their immediate needs and also accommodated their future growth projections.

Case Study: Employee Benefits

Challenge:

Our client is a general contractor who had been enjoying several years of sustained and relatively fast-paced growth in his business. The contractor offered an attractive medical benefits package that exceeded most of his competition. The challenging aspect of the firm’s overall benefit plan was that the medical component was the only employee benefit offered. Caught up in running his company’s day-to-day operations, the principal finally acknowledged he needed professional help with his employee benefits plan strategy.

The VIST Solution:

Following several information gathering meetings with the client, VIST developed several innovative approaches based on the premise that hiring and retaining good employees over the long term requires a more comprehensive benefit plan. The client was paying far too much on his medical premium for an outdated medical policy.  While it appeared better than most programs, it was not designed around the construction worker and his/her total family needs. After in-depth research and analyses, VIST introduced and implemented a multi-faceted program that included life insurance, short/long term disability, work/life programs, dental and a duel option (PPO and HMO) medical plan.

Summary:

While the new medical plan options did not rival the previously over-priced plan, it was equal to the industry standard and now the new benefits package included a very broad range of employee benefits. Of note, this new plan was delivered without any additional expense to the employer. 

Case Study: Personal Insurance

Challenge:

We are often presented with requests to manage individual personal lines accounts that interface with complex family business exposures. In one such instance, a family account presented numerous challenges that included multiple property locations (some in difficult-to-write coastal areas), workers’ compensation exposures (domestic employees), vehicles garaged in four different states, several large yachts (multiple port locations) and high excess liability limits. In addition, the client had over $5 million in jewelry and a comprehensive $100 million fine art collection (the artwork is continually in transit). 

The VIST Solution:

We implemented a personal insurance risk management program for this client.  Although the coastal properties were under renovation construction (a major hurdle for most carriers), we successfully placed several Florida beach properties in the course of renovation that included wind and flood coverage. We also worked with the carrier to develop a catastrophe management plan to secure property and valuables in Florida and California in the event of hurricane or earthquake. In addition to the property coverage, we also identified the need for Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) and Kidnap and Ransom insurance, and provided commercial coverages for our client’s new business venture opening up in California.

Summary:

Our challenge was to assess all of the exposures to loss and provide a comprehensive package policy that was cost effective. By careful scrutiny of deductibles and coverage options, we were successful in managing the premiums.