 |
      |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ALL EMPLOYER-RELATED SERVICES
IN ONE BASKET 
--Mayor Richard Wilkins III of Sunnydale, California, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. When Applied Underwriters was founded in 1994, its intention was to differentiate itself by responding to all the employer-related needs of small and mid-sized companies. Today, whenever one mentions integration and workers comp, it almost always means integrated disability management. However, the San Francisco-based financial services company found another way "to skin a cat." It traveled a different road to integration that better served its target market: It provides not just workers compensation coverage, but employment practices liability insurance, payroll processing and risk reduction services as well. As one insured, Fred Wallace, president of One Big Man & One Big Truck Moving Co., Inc., points out: "Combining workers comp and payroll is just genius. It really takes a lot of headaches away from us." "Our target is employers with anywhere from 10 to 500 employees," Steve Menzies, chief operating officer of Applied, says, adding, "By focusing on these employers, we've been able to develop an integrated approach that takes care of all their employer-related risk transfer, regulatory and administrative needs." The evidence would certainly indicate the efficacy of this approach. Since its inception, Applied Underwriters has doubled its customer base every year and now boasts net revenues in excess of $150 million on premium volume of more than $1 billion. "And we have the highest customer retention rates in the country," Steve adds. Called Solution One®, Applied Underwriters' flagship integrated product basically offers four services to small and mid-sized employers: * Workers Compensa-tion Insurance. Coverage is provided by carriers with an A.M. Best rating of A or better. * Payroll Processing System. Applied provides a team of specialists that will track the customer's payroll throughout the delivery process. The payroll process includes insured warranties. * Employment Practices Liability Insurance. Applied offers coverage to protect employers against allegations of wrongful termination, sexual harassment, age discrimination and other employer-related liabilities. * Risk Reduction System. This system is integrated with the workers comp and EPLI coverages in order to mitigate losses. Applied works with clients to ensure OSHA compliance. It also provides a variety of tools and resources that include safety training modules, employee background checks, drug testing and other risk reducing programs. These are delivered regularly as part of the payroll cycle. In addition, Applied Underwriters also offers alternative risk transfer solutions for employers who have sophisticated risk management in place and want to reap dividends from better-than-average loss control. "Applied Underwriters provides unique, integrated risk retention facilities," Steve adds, "thereby simplifying what can often be a complex process." Committed to independent agents "From the very beginning, we planned to distribute our product through small independent agents," Steve Menzies points out. "They are the people who have the relationships with our target market. We consider our primary job to be to provide our agents with a unique package that will enhance their value-added approach to their clients and maintain strong retention ratios, and marketing materials that will help them grow their market share.
--Steve Menzies, Chief Operating Officer, Applied Underwriters
"Every agent knows that retention goes up as the number of products and services he or she provides to clients increases--provided, of course, that the products and services are of high quality. We offer our agents a chance to take away some of the administrative complexities that particularly plague small and mid-sized employers. It's a win-win-win situation. Our agents get more commission and better retention; their clients can focus on what they do best; and we increase our revenues. And, of course, we have a variety of workers comp solutions available in all states so we can provide flexible solutions for any of our agents' clients." What's with the dog? In addition to developing a unique integrated product, Applied Underwriters also sought a symbol that would be both recognizable and appropriate. As Steve notes, "the St. Bernard has always been respected as a powerful working dog with a keen sense of smell and of direction, combined with unwavering determination and ingenuity. These characteristics allowed St. Bernards to be trained as rescue dogs. Over four centuries, they have saved thousand of lives. We felt that these same characteristics--strength, reliability, resourcefulness and intelligence--described Applied Underwriters. That's why we like to think of ourselves as the St. Bernard of financial services and workers compensation coverage." Adherence to the vision "Probably most important is the fact that we built this from the ground up around the vision of providing a unique product for our target," Steve concludes. "And we've never deviated from the vision. Instead, we've concentrated on perfecting our products and services. "Because of that, we've built up a team of underwriters who understand the unique employer-related risks of the small and mid-sized employers. They have developed a depth of knowledge that allows us to underwrite virtually every risk on an individual basis. At the same time, we have developed unique automated systems that support the needs of our agents and their customers. "We always try to look at our products and services through the eyes of the end user. And, while we have remained true to our vision, that does not mean we have been stagnant," Steve explains. "We constantly review and update to make certain that we remain ahead of the curve in meeting the needs of the small and mid-sized business market." * For more information:
|
|
|||||||||
"There's more than one way to skin a cat ... and
I happen to know that's true."
"We offer our agents a chance to take
away some of the administrative complexities that particularly plague
small and mid-sized employers. It's a win-win-win situation."